BIOGRAPHIES
of Cumberland County, IL Residents
BIOGRAPHIES
of Cumberland County, IL Residents
If
you have any Biographies of your family that lived in Cumberland County
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Marion Brashares
was born July 13, 1844 near
Johnstown, Cumberland Co., Il. Marion enlisted for three years in the
5th Ill. Calvery on Sept. 5th, 1861. Marion mustered into Co. E 5th
Calvery in Mattoon, Il. on Sept 25, 1861. Supplies and Horses were in
short supply so Marion furnished his own horse and equipment and was
paid $35 extra. He gained rank in Co. E and on Oct.22, 1861 he was
promoted to 1st Sargent. In 1862 he was wounded and in the hospital
four months in Keokuk, Iowa with a fractured humerus. He was discharged
with almost a complete paralysis of his arm on Nov. 14, 1862. In
January 1864 he was back again and re-enlisted in Co. E, 5 Regiment
Calvery. On Dec. 15 he was promoted from 1st Sargent, Co. I to 2nd
Lieutenant, Co. G 63rd Colored Infantry. He was discharged in 1866. He
received a pension # 646799 on July 13, 1914. It was increased thru the
years until 1930 when it reached $100 a month. After his discharge he returned to Johnstown and joined the Lerna Masonic Lodge in 1866 and was a charter member and Adjutant of the J.J. Adam Post of the G.A.R. organized in 1865. It so happened that Alonzo Grafton was the Commandant at the time and in 1896 their children would join in marriage, uniting two lines that served their country and ended up in the same Post. While running his general merchandise store in Johnstown, he met and married Caroline Coon of Charleston on March 10, 1868. |
| He moved from the family farm in Johnstown to
Farmington, Il. where he opened a restaurant. Marion's mother was Eliza
Phipps and his father was Perry Brashares, who was a Methodist Circuit
Rider in the 1820's and 30's in this section of Illinois. He often held
prayer meetings in the home of Thomas and Sarah Lincoln who lived just
North East of Janesville. Perry and Eliza were married in Marion Co.,
Ohio on Sept 21 ,1837. Marion was described as being 5' 8" tall with black eyes, dark hair and a dark complextion . He died on August 29, 1935 and is buried in the Janesville Cem, Pleasant Grove Twp, Coles Co. Il. Marion is shown in his military clothes. [Contributed by John Grafton (Cagy2@Yahoo.com.), great-grandson of Marion Brashares] |
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~ JOHNSTOWN
STORY ~
( Excerpt ) written by Freda Landus Misenheimer and contributed to IL
Trails by John Grafton
Bertha Grafton said her
great-grandparents were James and Peggy
Phipps. "My grandmother was Eliza Phipps
Neely. Eliza married and lived half a mile south of Lerna, about where
the large corn crib now stands on the west
side of the road, on the Howard Gray land. Mr. Neely died and Eliza
went to live with James and Peggy Phipps on
the George Phipps farm or more recently known as the Joe Phipps farm,
south of Farmington.: Bertha said she had
heard her grandmother tell of the early days when Tom Lincoln lived on
the "goosenest prairie" and as
there were no regular churches, the folks gathered at each other's
homes and held prayer meetings which were well
attended, and Eliza remembered quite well the many times she went to
Tom Lincoln's cabin to meetings and the rafters
rang with the songs of the pioneers.
"Eliza was married two or three times," went on Bertha. "Once was to a
Brashares and they had two
sons, Pole and Marion Brashares. Marion married Carrie Coon and lived
at Johnstown but it was to "Rough and
ready" for Marion when it came time to raise a family. The folks were
referred to as "Drunken and mean"
largely due to the fighting Richardson's and the feuding Berrys and the
common practice of having a "settling
up" day to right minor wrongs instead of forgetting them or going to
the law." What an amazing thing
for Johnstown's record that no one was ever killed in this noxious
place! But Marion moved out, lock stock and
barrel. In Farmington, a smaller village, more sedated and free of
wilder element, Marion kept a store and Bertha,
daughter of Marion and Carrie was born about one block north of the
"little red brick school house" my
aunt Betty Gowin referred to so often, and so long as she lived never
forgot or forsook. Eliza ( Phipps) Neely
b.Ohio in 1822, died in 1917, age 95 years.
The 60th Anniversary
of Janesville couple Marion
and Carrie (Coon) Brashares
Journal-Gazette, March 19, 1928
Contributed by John Grafton
On Saturday, March 10, 1928, Mr. &
Mrs Marion Brashares of this
place, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
They were married in Charleston in 1868, at 9:00 am. and left
immediately afterward in a wagon with 4 horses attached,
for their home in Johnstown, where he was running a general merchandise
store. The trip home was only 16 miles
long, but they did not reach their destination until 4:00 pm. They
found the roads heavy with mud.
Mr. Brashares was born on what is now known as the N. Phipps farm, on
July 13, 1844. He enlisted in Co. E. of 5th
Ill. Cavalry in Sept. 1861. He was transferred in 1864 to the 63rd.
U.S. Vol., and was mustered out in Jan. 1866.
After the close of the war, he went into the restaurant business in
Charleston. Here, he first met his wife, Carrie
Coon of Charleston. She was born and reared in Charleston, a daughter
of Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Coon. Later
Mr. & Mrs. Brashares moved to Harvey, Illinois. They had 6
children. (1) a son, died at birth. (2) a daughter
Mrs. Osborne, passed away June 9, 1927. (3) Mrs. Rena Low of Los
Angeles, CA; (4) Mrs. Bertha Grafton of Janesville,
(5) Mrs. Floy Isaac of Harvey IL and (6) Harry E. Brashares of St.
Paul, Minn. (contributor's note: Bertha died
March 1966). Marion d. Aug 29, 1935,Caroline d. April 29, 1946
Perry Brashares, father of Marion, was one of the old time Methodist
circuit riders and in the 20's and 30's rode
over this section of Illinois. He preached and held prayer meetings
many time in the home of Thomas and Sarah (Bush)
Lincoln NE of Janesville.
Richard William Wright was
born June 1839 at Johnstown, Coles, Illinois, son of Jesse Wright and
Katharine Phipps. His favorite sister was Anna Mariah Wright, born
1837, married John Michael, and died 3 February 1926 at Mattoon, coles,
Illinois. Richard named a daughter after Anna.
The Wright family lived in Coles County until the
boundaries changed in 1843, and without moving, found themselves living
in Cumberland County.
As Richard was growing up, he did farm work in that area
until the Civil War started. He joined Company B, 21st Illinois
Infantry on 22 June 1861 at Springfield. Near Ironton, Missouri in
October 1861, he contracted a severe earache, which resulted in partial
deafness. One of his comrades said the troops were underfed and ill
equipped, and it was very cold. Richard's deafness was a real source of
irritation to him and his officers. During one battle, a cannonball
whizzed past his head so close that it grazed the right side of his
neck. His spine was injured, his deafness grew worse, and he began to
suffer from recurring headaches.
He was honorably discharged from service 5 July 1864 at
Chattanooga, Tennessee. He returned home and worked part time as a
laborer. He married in Charleston, Coles, Illinois on 15 October 1864
to Mahala Fickes, born 29 September 1848 in Ohio. She was the daughter
of Samuel Fickes and Esther Irwin. Richard and Mahala lived at Pleasant
Grove, Coles, Illinois, where, on 9 January 1869, their son Benjamin W.
was born. Mahala's father had died, and her mother lived in their
household. Esther was born 1804 in Pennsylvania.
In 1872 the family packed up their belongings and moved to
Wisconsin, with some of Mahala's family, including her mother. Richard
settled in Fairchild, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. While living there,
Richard and Mahala had two more children: Francis Fletcher, born 9
December 1882, and Anna Mariah, born 4 March 1886.
Richard's deafness and headaches grew worse and he was
forced to cut down his work load. In 1880 he applied for a disability
pension for his service in the Civil War. His certificate no. is:
265.176.
On 18 January 1885, Mahala's mother, Esther Fickes, died
at their home in Fairchild, apparently from too much excitement and joy
at seeing her daughter Martha Ringer for the first time in 15 years.
In about 1889, Richard moved his family to
Taberville, St. Clair, Missouri. Mahala's brother, James Henry Fickes
lived in that area. While living there, daughter Anna Mariah died 15
June 1905, and was buried in Tabor Cemetery. In 1907 Richard and Mahala
moved to Dayton, Columbia, Washington.
Richard's headaches were growing unbearable and he was
totally deaf. He couldn't work at all anymore, and communicated by
signing or writing. Finally, around the last of August 1914, he was
admitted to the Hospital for the Insane at Medical Lake, Spokane,
Washington, where he died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 9 September 1914.
He was laid to rest in Dayton Cemetery, Dayton, columbia, Washington.
After his death, Mahala moved into Washington Veterans
Home at Retsil, Kitsap, Washington, where she lived for the next two or
three years. She did housekeeping to help pay for her keep. She applied
for Widow's Benefits. Her certificate no. is 784.261. On 8 May 1917 in
Seattle, King, Washington, at the Rainier-Grand Hotel, she married
Robert M. Callison. She died at Retsil, Jitsap, Washington on 3 June
1923 and is buried near Richard in Dayton Cemetery.
Written 2003 by Dorothy Hinkey.
Additions 2007 by Dorothy Hinkey.
Sources: Washington State Death Certificates
Civil War Record of Richard William Wright
1870, 1880, 1900. 1910, and 1920 Federal Census Records
Washington State Death Index
Dayton Cemetery Records
Letters written by Mahala Wright Callison to Civil War Benefits Center.
Documents signed by: Joseph Ringer, Anna M. Michael, Martha Ringer,
James Fickes, Sarah J. Bancroft, and Laura & J.E. Hurst.
.
