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Category: Illinois

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This is my maternal grandfather’s mother’s line.Eliza S. “Lida” Harding [1869-1942] m. William H. Downing [1863-1903] m. John Rupp [1878-1935]doBenjamin Harding [1836-1915] m. Mary Ellen Clark [1847-1914]so Daniel Harding [1798-1869] m. Elizabeth Wilson [1801-1884]soJohn Bennett Hardin [?-1849] probable but not sufficiently proven – his ancestors are known should proof surfaceMy maternal grandfather’s maternal grandmother’s line.Mary Ellen Clark [1847-1914] m. Benjamin Harding [1836-1915]doRev. Richard Winans Clark [1808-1854] m. Margaret Ann Clark [1808-1867]soRev. David Clark [1776-1847] m. Rachel Rutter [? – c 1803]…

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Expand the View

Expand the View

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I recently had a lengthy email correspondence with another transplanted Logan County native. We have different backgrounds and no ancestors in common but when we started talking our ancestors, collaterals and their families brushed at so many spots that I learned new things.This indicates to me it would be worthwhile to expand our somewhat limited view and see what turns up.If you have any connection to these lines or think you might – or know anything that might be interesting…

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Joseph A. Bozarth Probate

Joseph A. Bozarth Probate

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Joseph A. Bozarth wrote his will on February 28, 1896. He died April 18, 1897, in Illiopolis, Sangamon County. I got it through IRAD because it less expensive. Also, the interns at IRAD are more experienced at finding the entire file. It’s their job. It is not the primary job of the Circuit Court Clerk. Documents from IRAD are generally copied in the format in which they exist, ie, double sided pages are copied double sided. Joseph Bozarth was born…

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William Henry Downing Probate

William Henry Downing Probate

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William Henry Downing’s probate file came from the Logan County Circuit Clerk. Parts of it could be found at IRAD and the whole probate would be in the FamilySearch files. On December 2, 1903, in the typhoid epidemic, William Henry Downing died. He was the only child of William Nelson Downing, who died in the Civil War, ironically of “typhoid pneumonia,” and Delilah Downing Downing. He was 40 years old, not expecting to die and had no will. His heirs…

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Delilah Downing Downing Shellhammer Will

Delilah Downing Downing Shellhammer Will

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Delilah Downing Downing Shellhammer was the youngest child of Robert Downing whose probate was previously discussed. I had never considered that she had a will or probate but I found it in the probate records posted online at FamilySearch. These probate files are more work to collect, not being word searchable, but they are also free. Help with the records.  Delilah died June 22, 1909. She first married William Nelson Downing who died in the Civil War. She then married David…

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10,000 Dead People

10,000 Dead People

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It was a long and miserable December thanks to the cold from hell. The bright spot is when I was able to be up but not able to go out I worked on my “10,000 Dead People” database and got it to a place where it could be uploaded. I had to divide it into thirds to do that and fidget with the formatting to get each part to reasonable size. It went up the last week of December and…

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10,000 Dead People

10,000 Dead People

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For several years I have been working on a massive database of, basically, burials in south Logan County. It includes cemeteries from Hurlbut, Elkhart, Mt. Pulaski, Lake Fork, Laenna and Aetna Townships and two in Chester. Elkhart is not complete. I frivolously named it “10,000 Dead People.” Otherwise it gets a bit too close.It is more than just a list of the burials. Jane DeWitt, who set up the original list, looked up these people in various sources and added…

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War of 1812

War of 1812

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John Downing was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. After the war he left Pennsylvania for Ohio where he lived for many years before moving on to Logan County in 1821. John and his wife Hannah Frakes had nine children, three of whom served in the War of 1812 from Ohio. They were living in Madison County at the time. The eldest son John was a Private in Captain Levi Pinney’s Company, First Regiment [McArthur’s], Ohio Militia. He enlisted May…

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Vanishing DAR Markers

Vanishing DAR Markers

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Humphrey Scroggin was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Note the DAR markers on his grave in Steenbergen Cemetery, Mt. Pulaski Township, Logan County, Illinois. He also has a flat military plaque. The stone was saved and repaired through the intervention of Dalen and the late Sandra Shellhammer, genealogists who oversaw the cemetery operations for years. Literally just a few feet away is the stone for Revolutionary War veteran Abraham Lucas. The above picture was taken in 2001. Note the…

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Blog Hits Pay Dirt

Blog Hits Pay Dirt

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On February 1 I wrote about Berryman B. Wood, my great great grandfather. I have some pictures and a lot of questions. http://genealogysleuth.blogspot.com/2009/02/mystery-of-berryman-b-wood.html As a result I have heard from several people. Two are relatives who have never lived in Logan County. The first is a granddaughter of his son, also Berryman B. Wood, who moved to Minnesota. When I was a child her twin aunts and their husbands [brothers] visited several times. Marlys resides in Minnesota. She has some…

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