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EARLY SETTLERS OF SANGAMON COUNTY - 1876
By John Carroll Power

These biographies were submitted by a researcher and evidently abstracted from the 1876 History of Sangamon County, IL. Errors could occur, so one should always verify the correctness by obtaining copies of vitals and performing all necessary research to document what is contained herein.



DAWSON, JOHN, was born Nov. 24, 1791, in Fairfax county, Va. His parents moved to Bracken county, Ky., in 1805. He enlisted in Bracken county in the war against the England in 1812, and was wounded and captured at the battle of River Raisin. After being held as a prisoner in Canada by the Indians who had captured him, his friends paid a ransom for him and he returned home. Cary Jones was born May 22, 1801, in Nicholas county, Ky. John Dawson and Cary Jones were married in Nicholas county, Oct. 9, 1817. They had one child in Nicholas county and moved to Bracken county, where they had three children, and the family moved to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving Oct. 24, 1827, north of the Sangamon river, in Clear Lake township, where they had six children. Of their children:

NAPOLEON B., born June 10, 1820, is an invalid and resides with his mother.

MARIA L., born July 22, 1822 in Bracken county, Ky., married in Sangamon county to George B. Merriman. See his name

LUCY M., born March 7, 1825, in Bracken county, Ky., married in Sangamon county to Lindsay Ridgeway. See his name.

BERTRAND, born April 10, 1827, in Bracken county, Ky., is unmarried and resides adjoining Dawson on the south. He is an extensive farmer and stock raiser.

MARTHA W., born Oct. 21, 1829, in Sangamon county, married Sept. 24, 1850, to James Vanvoris, of Pennsylvania. She died April 2, 1853, in Washington county, Pa.

MARY F., born Dec. 27, 1831, in Sangamon county, married John S. Merriman Nov. 9, 1848. See his name

ISABEL, born Dec. 22, 1833, resides with her mother.

SARAH E., born July 31, 1837, in Sangamon county, resides with her mother.

JOHN, Jun., born March 22, 1840. He went to Cairo, Ill., in 1862 and enlisted in the United States navy, served one year, and died at home Oct. 26, 1869.

DICK A., born April 3, 1842, in Sangamon county, died at eleven years of age.

John Dawson died Nov. 12, 1850, in Sangamon county. His widow resides on the farm where they settled in 1827. It is three miles southwest of Dawson.

Mr. Dawson was Captain of a company from Sangamon county in the Black Hawk war of 1831. He was elected to represent Sangamon county in the State Legislature of 1831 and '2. He was again elected in 1835, and continued, by re-election, to represent the county until 1840, and was consequently one of the "Long Nine" who secured the removal of the State capital to Springfield at the session of 1836-'7. (See Article: "Long Nine") Mr. C. was also a member of the convention that framed the State constitution of 1848. The ball received in his lungs at the battle of River Raisin was never extracted, and was the cause of his death.



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