Sangamon County Illinois Obituaries, 1800-1899

Contribute your ancestors obituary from newspapers for persons who resided, were born or died in Sangamon County from 1800 - 1899.

BRITTIN, EVANS E.

Obituary – Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Illinois, 8 November 1884

Another Old Settler Gone

DIED – In this city Friday morning at 7 o’clock, Evans E. Brittin, Sr., aged 91. Mr. Brittin was one of the earliest settlers of Sangamon County, having entered his farm near Cantrall in the year 1819. He was born in Bucks County, Penn., in 1790 and, when quite young, saw Gen. Washington at a review of Pennsylvania militia. He served as a volunteer under Gen. Harrison in the War of 1812, and shared all the dangers and thrilling experiences of Western frontier life.

His best years were spent on his farm in this county where he established among his neighbors a reputation for industry, thrift, and integrity. On Sept. 18, 1818, Mr. Brittin was married to Mary England, by whom he had ten children, six of whom he survived but left behind him a posterity of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren numbering eighty persons.

The last years of his life were spent at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Wilbur, in this city, where he passed away at a ripe old age. Funeral services will take place at Mr. Wilbur’s residence on East Monroe Street, Sunday morning next at 9 o’clock, after which the remains will be conveyed to the Brittin burial ground near Cantrall for interment.

Submitted by Bill Scroggin

BUCHANAN, Mrs. Barbara Obituary

Died, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. LaFayette Smith, 1027 South 7th Street, at 1:45 Sunday morning, Dec. 2, of old age, Mrs. BARBARA BUCHANAN aged 83 years.

The deceased was born in Kentucky in March 1812, and came with her parents to Illinois in the spring of 1820. She had been a resident of Sangamon county almost seventy five years, and had resided in Springfield 48 years. In 1832 she was married to Reuban Buchanan, who died in 1861. In 1850 she united with the First Baptist church of this city. One child, Mrs. LaFayette Smith, survives her. Mrs. Buchanan was one of the oldest settlers of Sangamon county and always proud of the organization known as the "Snow Birds," of which she was an honored member, and was well informed as regards the early history of this county.

Funeral from residence Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock. Friends desiring to view the remains may call this morning or afternoon. (Barbara Miller Buchanan - Daughter of Solomon Miller and Nancy Antle Miller)

Copied from the Illinois State Journal 12/3/1894 p.5
Located on microfilm - Lincoln Library, Springfield, IL

Ancestor of Alyce Beggs

CANTERBURY, JOHN G.

Obituary – Illinois State Journal, 8 October 1894

CANTERBURY - Died, Saturday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. at his home in Cantrall, Mr. John G. Canterbury, aged 75 years, 1 month, and 10 days.

He is survived by his widow and the following sons and daughters: Mrs. Joseph Cantrall, formerly of this city but now of Arapahoe, Neb.; Mrs. John Stevens of Cantrall; M. C. Canterbury of Chicago; and X. Canterbury of Peoria. Mr. Cantrall was one of the influential and honored citizens of Sangamon County. He was for many years a leading member of the Christian Church.

The funeral will occur at 10 o’clock this morning at the Christian church in Cantrall, Rev. A. P. Cobb of this city conducting the services.

CANTRALL, JOSHUA

Obituary – Illinois State Journal, 20 January 1891

CANTRALL – Died, Jan. 18, at Cantrall, Joshua Cantrall, one of the oldest and most respected citizens and a life-long subscriber to The Journal. He was universally known and respected throughout the county and his death will be sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends.

The funeral took place yesterday morning, Rev. W. H. McGinnis officiating.

DUNCAN, Mrs. Eve

Died Wednesday, April 17, at 2 o'clock a.m. at the residence of her son, Marion M. Duncan in Salisbury, Mrs. EVE DUNCAN, aged 82 years.

Thus has been terminated the life of an estimable and God-like woman who had been a resident of Sangamon county since 1820 - ten years prior to the falling of the great snow. Mrs. Duncan fell into a comatose condition some forty-eight hours before the final summons came and gradually lapsed into the sleep whose awakening is beyond the grave. She was conscious most of the time during the process of dissolution, suffered no pain and recognized the devoted children and grandchildren who surrounded her bed and awaited the end.

Mrs. Duncan's maiden name was Eve Miller and Kentucky was her native state. She was born December 11, 1813, in Adair county and came with the family of her father, Solomon Miller, to Sangamon county in 1820. The journey was made in wagons across the country. Mr. Miller settled in what is now known as Salisbury township and in a few years acquired considerable property. He gave forty acres of land for the town site of Salisbury. The town was originally called Sol'sbury in his honor and the spelling was subsequently changed to what it is now. The deceased was married to William T. H. Duncan, who was also a native of Adair county, Kentucky, and came to Illinois when he was a young man. He died in 1862.

To Mr. and Mrs. Duncan there were born twelve children. All but one of them are living and the youngest is now 41 years old. The children are as follows: Marion M. and James Duncan and Mrs. Polly Ann Baker, Salisbury; Simeon Duncan of Atterberry, Menard county; Mrs. Sarah Jane Combs, Assumption; Mrs. Martha Cogdal, Salisbury; Mrs. Margaret Purvines, Springfield; Mrs. Farinda Batterton, Athens; Mrs. Nancy Connor (dead) formerly of Scottville, Morgan county; George Duncan, Kansas; Mrs. Alice E. Yoakum, Tenino, Washington state; Thomas Duncan, Bradfordton. In addition to these she is survived by a large number of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She had been a member of the Baptist church in Salisbury over sixty years. During all the years of her life in Sangamon county she never resided out of Salisbury township. She was remarkably well preserved for one of her advanced years and was blessed with an almost perfect retention of all her mental faculties to the hour of her death. Her memory was such that she could recall many incidents in her girlhood life with remarkable fidelity to detail. While most of her reminiscences related to things in which she was personally involved, she also possessed much data of value respecting the history of the county in its youth. Within a week of her death she could read whole chapters from her favorite book - the Bible - without the aid of glasses.

Mrs. Duncan was the second member of a family of ten children remarkable for longevity. Her brothers and sisters were: Mrs. Barbara Buchanan, Mrs. Malinda Hoag, Mrs. Sarah Lynch, Mrs. Docia Clark, Mrs. Nancy McMurphy, Jason, John, Allen and G. Washington Miller. Of these Mrs. Buchanan, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Hoag and Jason Miller are dead.

The funeral will take place at the Baptist church in Salisbury at 2 o'clock this afternoon. The interment will be in Salisbury cemetery which is located on land once owned by Mrs. Duncan's father, Solomon Miller.

Copied from Illinois State Journal April 18, 1895 P. 5
Located Microfilm - Lincoln Library, Springfield, IL

Ancestor of Alyce Beggs

DUNN, Samuel W.

Passing of an Aged Pioneer of Curran Township

Sketch of a Good Man Whose Name is Woven into the History of Sangamon County.

Dunn- Died, Wednesday, March 16, (1898) at his late residence near Curran, Samuel W. Dunn, aged 75 years.

The death of Mr. Dunn came as the termination of a struggle with typhoid fever and pneumonia with which he had been seriously ill for about two weeks. His advanced age was an ally of the sickness and his strength was spent gradually but surely until the end came at 2:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Dunn had for many years been one of the most conspicuous figures in the community where he lived. There were few men who had larger holdings of farm land than he in this part of Illinois. His possessions aggregated over 1,400 acres of improved land, about a thousand of which lies in Christian county and the rest roundabout Curran. He concerned himself with purely agricultural pursuits, together with the raising and feeding of stock.

Mr. Dunn was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather was a native of Virginia and one of the early prospectors who sought fortune in Kentucky when that state was still young in development and resources. He chose his home originally in the now famous country near Lexington, but yielding to the encroachments of the Indians, he with his fellow colonists retired to Harrison county. There the father of this sketch was born. Elijah Dunn became one of the wealthiest men in that country. He was engaged in the distillery business incidentally and also owned and cultivated a large plantation. He was prominent in politics aligning himself with the Whigs, and in religion he embraced the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a man of strong convictions and unusual force of character. The mother of the deceased was descended from a leading family of Virginia. She was born in Kentucky and died when fifty years old while on a visit to her son in this county. It was from such parentage S. W. Dunn sprang. From the father and mother he inherited the qualities which brought him success in the world of business and enriched his life with the confidence of his neighbors.

Mr. Dunn was born on a farm near Cynthiana, Ky., Oct. 10, 1823. The school which he attended as a boy was of the typical frontier style and it was located several miles from his home. It was almost a day's work to go to and from the school, but the lad persevered until he had acquired sufficient education to equip him for the sterner battles of his later life. With a body trained into ruggedness by hardship and a heart full of the bravery of the pioneer, he was admirably fortified to hold his own in a new field of labor.

Trusting in his natural and acquired qualities, he came to Illinois after he had become of age, accompanying his eldest brother. The trip was made in a two horse wagon. On the way many creeks and rivers had to be forded and camping out at night soon ceased to be a novelty. The brothers came direct to Sangamon county, reaching here in 1848. At that time there was still much raw land hereabouts and not a few wild animals. At the end of his journey, Mr. Dunn found that he had just seventy-five cents. He spent the first winter splitting rails and chopping wood. Casting up the season's work, he found that he had split 17,000 rails at 44 cents per hundred and had cut fifty cords of wood at 37 cents a cord. After one season of farming on a small scale, he went to Jefferson county and invested his small savings in claims and improvements. Sangamon county had greater charms, however, and he returned here. He bought 100 acres of land at ten dollars an acre. That plat constituted the nucleus of what was afterwards to grow into a very large land proprietorship. Year by year he improved the homeplace but managed to add steadily to his possessions. He made money rapidly raising corn and feeding hogs and sheep. This was especially true just after the war when prices were high.

Mr. Dunn was united in marriage April 1, 1861, in Curran township with Miss Mary J. Foster, who was also a native of Harrison county, Ky. Her father Samuel L. Foster, is another whose name is written in bright letters across the history of Curran township. The only surviving child of Mr. and Mrs. Dunn is Mrs. Narcissa Akers, wife of Dr. J. W. Akers of Curran. Six children are dead.

Although Mr. Dunn was born and reared in Kentucky at a time when the drinking of alcohol was general among all classes, he was rigidly temperate during the latter years of his life. In 1850 he became a member of the Thompson Temperance society and after that date he never drank intoxicating liquors. So strong did his convictions on temperance become that, although originally and for years a Republican, he thought he could better justify his faith by voting the Prohibition ticket and for a number of years prior to his death he cast his ballot for the nominees of that party.

He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for over thirty-five years and had been a strong supporter of the church with which he was connected. As a class leader and Sunday school superintendent he was known at home and abroad. He donated the site for Wesley chapel and further demonstrated his love for the church by giving $1,200 toward the building fund. In this little rural place of worship whose building was made possible through him, his friends and neighbors will gather to pay the last respects to the dead. Few country homes are more beautiful and attractive than that where Mr. Dunn breathed his last.

Mrs. Dunn survives her husband.

The funeral will take place at Wesley chapel tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. The service will be conducted by Rev. T. H. Agnew of Pleasant Plains, an old friend of Mr. Dunn. The chapel is at some distance from Curran and the friends of the family have arranged so that those who attend the funeral services from this cty will be taken in carriages to and from the village. A cordial invitation is extended to the old and young friends of Mr. Dunn to be present at the obsequies.

Ancestor of Alyce Beggs

McMURPHY, George

Died, Friday March 6, at 8 a.m. at his late residence, corner of Sixth and Madison streets, Mr. GEORGE MCMURPHY, aged 73 years.

Mr. McMurphy was born in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and came to this county with his parents when a boy. The family located at Salisbury and remained there until 1862, when he came to this city where he resided until the time of his demise. In 1862 Mr. McMurphy was married to Miss Nancy A. Miller of Salisbury, who survives him. The deceased was engaged in the grocery business during his entire residence here and was a man of quiet and retiring habits who devoted his entire time to his business interests. Assistant postmaster Lester McMurphy is a brother of the deceased and he is also survived by another brother, Otto William, who resides in Nebraska. Mr. McMurphy had been ailing for some time but did not give up until last Monday when he took to his bed and succumbed to the disease of congestion of the lungs, the ravages of which his advanced years made it impossible to withstand.

Mr. McMurphy is also survived by four sons, J.H. of this city; A.C. and G.W. of Makanda, Ill., and W.H. of California and two daughters, Mrs. J.A. Propst of this city and Mrs. J.B. Campbell of Chicago.

The funeral will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. at the late residence. Interment will be made in Oak Ridge cemetery.

Copied from Illinois State Journal 3/7/1896 p. 5
Located on microfilm at Lincoln Library, Springfield, IL

Ancestor of Alyce Beggs

McCARTY, Elizabeth

Elizabeth McCarty, wife of John McCarty, died yesterday of typhoid fever, after an illness of over three months, at the family residence on East Adams street. She leaves five children-three sons and two daughters-and a husband to mourn her loss. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal and Baptist Churches since her eighteenth year. She was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1817, married in 1833, and emigrated to Sangamon county in 1870. The funeral services will be held at Mechanicsburg.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Tuesday Nov 22, 1881 P3 C2

Submitted by Senor

McCARTY, Hugh

THE MORTURY RECORD

McCarty - Died, at the residence of his son, John W. McCarty, Eleventh and Brown streets, at 11:30 p. m. Saturday, November 7, of paralysis, John McCarty, aged 87 years.

A week ago Mr. McCarty suffered a stroke of paralysis and fell at his home. He continued to grow weaker after this until his death last night. The deceased was a native of Ohio and had been a resident of Springfield about twenty-four years. He is survived by three sons and one daughter: William and John W. McCarty and Mrs. Amy Gray of Springfield and David H. McCarty of St. Louis.

The funeral will be announced later.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Sunday Nov 8, 1896 P3 C5

Submitted by Senor

McCARTY, Hugh

The funeral of Hugh McCarty will be held at 9 o'clock this morning at the family residence on South Eighth street. The interment will be made in the Mechanicsburg cemetery.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Sunday October 23, 1898 P6 C4

Submitted by Senor

McCARTY, John W.

THE MORTURY RECORD

McCarty - Died, at the residence of his son, John W. McCarty, Eleventh and Brown streets, at 11:30 p. m. Saturday, November 7, of paralysis, John McCarty, aged 87 years.

The funeral will be announced later.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Sunday Nov 8, 1896 P3 C5

Submitted by Senor

McCARTY, Margaret Ann

McCARTY, Margaret Ann - The funeral of Mrs. Margaret Ann McCarty will be held at 3 o'clock this morning at the family residence 1624 South Eighth street. The interment will be made in the Mechanicsburg cemetery.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Tuesday December 20, 1898 P6 C3

Submitted by Senor

McCARTY, Mary Ann

McCARTY, Mary Ann - Died, Saturday night, December 17, at the family residence on South Eighth street, Mrs. Mary Ann (sic) McCarty.

Mrs. McCarty had been in bad health for many months. She had resided in this county and city for a number of years and was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. She is survived by two daughters and one son.

The funeral will be announced later.

Copied from Illinois State Journal Monday December 19, 1898 P6 C3

Submitted by Senor

NEAL, George C.

NEAL - At the family residence on West Jefferson street, Tuesday, July 3, at 10:45 a.m. George C. Neal, at the advanced age of 79 years and 23 days.

The deceased was one among the oldest settlers of Illinois. He was born in Kentucky in the year 1815. When at the age of 18 he came here with his parents, where he has since resided. He composed one of a blacksmith firm which owned a shop where the C. & A. passenger depot now stands. He was married in 1846 to Miss Lenora Stanley, who died in 1864. In 1867 he was again married to Mrs. Alcy Lewis, who still survives him. He leaves to mourn his loss besides his wife, ten children, Samuel Neal, of Naples, Ill., John Neal, of Barry, and Mrs. Cantrall, of Iowa, and seven residing at home.

The funeral will take place at 8 o'clock this morning from the house, and the interment will be held at the Hopwood cemetery in Salem. (Note: He was buried in the Hopwood Cemetery in Salisbury.)

Copied from Daily Illinois State Register, (Springfield, Illinois) Page 5 (Thursday, July 05, 1894) - by RosePaws on December 24, 2017

TURLEY, CHARLES

Obituary - Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Illinois, 2 August 1892

TURLEY - Died, July 31, at his home near Williamsville, Charles Turley, at the age of 70 years.

With the death of Mr. Turley, another name is stricken from the roll of the living pioneers of Sangamon County. Mr. Turley was born in Montgomery County, Ky., Dec. 11, 1822, and early in life came to Sangamon County, where he wooed and won the heart of Louisa England, to whom he was married in 1842. Five sons and four daughters were born to them, all of whom are living and are left with the stricken widow to mourn the death of the husband and father. S. Sanford is still living near Williamsville at the old home. Two of the daughters, Mrs. Susan J. McClelland and Ina M., also reside at Williamsville. Another daughter, Mrs. R. C. Maxwell, lives near Lincoln, Ill., and another daughter, Mrs. John B. Taylor, lives at Jacksonville. The other four sons are James P., Marshall, Meade, and David, the last of whom lives in Logan County. Two of the sons live in Kansas and one in Missouri.

The funeral services were held at the Christian church in Williamsville yesterday afternoon, Rev. George E. Platt officiating. The pallbearers were N. R. Taylor, I. J. Taylor. John McClelland, William Smith, James Lester, and A. I. Bronson.

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