ILLINOIS GENEALOGY EXPRESS

A Part of  Genealogy Express
 

Macon County, Illinois
History & Genealogy

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CHAPTER X. -
Biographical Sketches of Early Settlers
who came here prior to 1836, and their families, up to the Present time; Births, Marriages, Deaths, etc.
Pages 246 - 298

AB - CD - EF - GH - IJ - KL - MN - OP - QR - ST - UV - WX - YZ
 

DR. B. W. GORIN was born in Christian county, Kentucky, in 1838, and came from there to Vandalia, in this state, where he remained until 1831, when he removed to Shelbyville and thence to Decatur, and was engaged in the practice of medicine.  He remained here but two years, and then went to Louisiana, Mo., where he died in 1874.

HENRY M. GORIN was born in Christian county, Kentucky in 1812, and removed thence to Vandalia, Illinois; he came to Decatur, Illinois, in 1832, and remained until the year 1841; he was at one time circuit clerk and county clerk of Macon county; after removing to Missouri he engaged in farming, and has held the office of clerk of the circuit court in his county; his records kept by him bear evidence of his carefulness and pains taking.

JEROME R. GORIN was born in Hopkinsonville, Kentucky, Oct. 12, 1817, and came to Illinois in 1828 and settled at Vandalia, Illinois; he removed thence to Macon county in 1833; he married in Decatur, Apr. 1, 1845, Miss Eleanor E. D. Fawcett who was born Feb. 18, 1824, in Jefferson county, Virginia.  Mr. G. was admitted to the bar in 1843, but has been engaged for several years past in the banking business in the firm of J. Milliken & Co.

ANDREW HAMILTON was born May 31, 1806; came to Macon county in 1830; married Margaret Hall in 1829.  Of their children -      JOHN W. was born Dec. 9, 1830; married to Amelia Clements.  Robert G. was born Jan. 20, 1832; died Feb. 21, 1832.  Martha F. was born Feb. 21, 1833; died Jan. 21, 1837.  Alfred C. was born June 5, 1835; died Apr. 27, 1876.  Margaret S. was born Jan. 12, 1838; died Dec. 18, 1860.  Mary S. was born Oct. 20, 1840; died Nov. 20, 1840.  Emily H. was born Apr. 17, 1842; married n. Boles.  A. L. was born Jan. 4, 1844; died Dec. 4, 1844.  Mary J. was born May 9, 1849; died Feb. 12, 1873.

JOHN HANKS, once the old friend and associate of Mr. Lincoln, was born in Kentucky about 1802, and come to Illinois in 1826 or '27, and settled on Stevens' creek; he married in Kentucky, Susan Wilson, who was about the same age as Mr. H., and who died in1861.  Of their children -     WILLIAM, who lives in Piatt county, and Lewis, who lives in Oregon, were both born in Kentucky.  Jane was born Jan. 15, 1831, in Pa.  Emily, born in 1833, in Illinois, married to  _____ Lomis, and resides at Minonk.  Phelix, dead.  Grason, resides in Missouri.  Levi resides in Macon county.

DOLLISTON HEFTON was among the very early settlers of the county.  He was one of the old "forty gallon Baptist" preachers, and had a sing-song tone to his preaching that was truly wonderful.  From the recollection of one of his hearers, we are enabled to give a small extract from a sermon delivered by Mr. H. over 40 years ago, which illustrates the peculiar ah's and ideas of which is sermons abounded.  "My respected brethren-ah, hell-ah is like takin' a pillow-slip of corn-ah and wadin' the show-ah and rain-ah, and goin' to Jim Wheeler's mill-ah, and gettin' it ground-ah 'to make mush-ah!  You grind and grind and grind-ah!  Brethren-ah, that is hell-ah.  But, my hearers-ah, there is another good place-ah, which we all expect to go to-ah, and when we get there-ah, will feast forever-ah on spare-ribs, biscuits and coffee-ah, and that's the place we call heaven-ah."  Mr. Hefton kept store at Mt. Gillead for a while, and had his family, household goods and merchandise all in one room.  His stock of goods consisted of a barrel of pale whisky, that would freeze up in winter, a small quantity of tin-ware, and a few dollar's worth of sugar and coffee.  One day some one offered to buy his entire stock of tin-ware at a given price, but he refused to sell, because it would "break his stock."

JAMES HERREL was born in Grayson county, Ky., in1813; came to Illinois in 1833 or'4, and settled in Decatur; remained there until 1840, when he removed to the place where he now lives, about 4 miles west of town.  He was married to Mary Miller in 1840, who was born Apr. 22, 1811.      ALBERT G., son of J. and M. Herrell, was born in 1843, and now resides in this county.

JAMES HERREL was born in Grayson county, Kentucky, Aug. 29, 1813, where he remained until 1835, when he removed to Macon county and remained two years; returned to Kentucky thence to New Orleans, thence to Florida, as teamster in the war against the Seminole Indians; returned to Macon county in 1839, where he married Mary Miller, Nov. 26, 1840.  Of their children -      Albert G. was born Jan. 6, 1843; married S. L. Miller.  Tabitha was born July 6, 1844; died Feb, 1845.  Elizabeth A. was born Oct. 18, 1845; died June, 1846.  George W. was born Oct. 8, 1847.  Francis M. was born June 14, 1850; dead.  James C. was born Jan. 27, 1852; dead.

SAMUEL HORNBACK was born May 8, 1808, in Bath county, Ky., and was married Sept. 2, 1830, to Margaret Johnson, who was born Feb. 24, 1811, in the same county and State.  They removed to Macon county in Sept, 1830.  Of their nine children:      ABRAHAM was born Feb. 5, 1835.       LETHA ANN was born Dec. 16, 1835; was married Dec. 17, 1856, to Geo. W. Schroll.  Isaac was born July 26, 1838; married to Martha Hide, Dec. 20, 1858.       NANCY J. was born Oct. 23, 1841; married to Wm. Gepford, Aug. 22, 1865.       SAMUEL C. was born Jan. 1, 1844; married to Margaret Vice, May 6, 1866.       MARGARET was born Dec. 12, 1846; married to George Houser, Nov. 23, 1865.       ELIZA A. and Lou Ann, twins, were born Feb. 5, 1850.  Jno. W. was born Aug. 15, 1853.

JACOB HOSTETTER was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, July 6, 1810; married Tabitha Crum in March, 1835, and came to Macon county in 1835, where he died in 1873 of small pox.  Mrs. H. was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, Nov. 4, 1816.  Of their children -      Francis M. was born in Clark county, Indiana, Feb. 3, 1835; married Elizabeth Wykel, 1857.  Mary J. was born Oct. 15, 1836 and married Jane C. Campbell, Mar. 8, 1865.  Malinda E. was born Aug. 31, 1838; married Charles E. Hunsley, Oct. 25, 1865.

JOSEPH HOSTETTER was born in Shelby county, Ky., Feb. 27, 1797.  His father and grandfather were natives of Pensylvania.  His great grandfather was born in Germany, near the river Rhine.      Joseph's mother, Agnes, was the daughter of Anthony Hardman of whose ancestry nothing is known.  Mr. Hostetler commenced preaching according to the "Yuncker Doctrine," about the year 1815.  In 1816 he was married, and the same year authorized to preach by the Yuncker church.  In 1817 he moved to Washington county, Ind., and remained there two years.  He then moved to Orange county, in the same State, remaining there until 1832, when he moved to Illinois, settling in this county, not far from Decatur.      In 1828, he, with others, renounced all "creeds," "confessions of faith," and took his stand with the Church of Christ, or Christian church.  After he came to Illinois he performed much hard labor as a pioneer minister, as well as a pioneer farmer.      In October, 1832, he organized a church in his neighborhood, of fourteen members.  The same church is still in existence, having at present over one hundred members.  In 1833 he organized in Decatur the Church of Christ, which exists to-day.  In the following year he moved to Decatur, and commenced the practice of medicine, in connection with his preaching.  In 1836 he returned to Indiana, and settled on an unimproved farm near Bedford, Lawrence county.  In 1843 he moved to Sheboyagan county, Wisconsin, where he opened a farm in heavy timber land, and here, too, he continued to preach and practice medicine.  In 1855 he removed to Salem, Washington county, Ind.  Here he was engaged principally in the practice of medicine.  In 1861 he moved to Lovington, Moultrie county, Illinois.  During all this time he was incessantly engaged in preaching or practicing medicine.  On the 27th day of August, 1870, he died, at his residence, near Lovington.  His disease was a functional derangement of the heart.  He was a heavy built man, weighing about two hundred pounds; was five feet eight inches high, and seemed to bear the weight of years with remarkable firmness and strength.

JAMES HOWELL was born in 1802, in Galleo county, Ohio, and removed to Macon county in 1831, having been in the state five years.  His wife was born in Virginia in 1803.      Their children were Mary, William T., Emily, Nancy, Charles D., Brice A., John, Elizabeth.

WILLIAM HOWELL, DANIEL, JOSEPH and ISAAC, brothers of James, and came to Macon county early.

ULYSSES HUSTON was born Aug. 25, 1824, in Pickaway  county, Ohio; came to Macon county in the month of November, 1836; married to Matilda McCoy, Feb. 25, 1847, who was born May 19, 1825, in Montgomery county, Indiana, and came to Macon county in 1840.  Of their children -      PHEBE was born Jan. 5, 18458; was married to Robert M. McCoy, Nov. 5, 1866.  John was born Oct. 13, 1849; died Apr. 14, 1856.  Robert was born Aug. 22, 1852. Orus B. was born Jan. 3, 1856.  Martha M. was born Feb. 18, 1859.  Emily J. was born Jan. 7, 1862;  William N. was born Mar. 2, 1865.  Mary E. was born Dec. 12, 1868.      All of which now reside in Macon county.

NOTES