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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.



BELL, ROBERT, was born March 8, 1795, in Bourbon county, Ky. His father was born in Ireland, and had but four children, Robert, and three sisters. After his sisters were married, he had no knowledge of any relative in America, bearing his family name. He was a soldier from Bourbon county in the war of 1812. Robert Bell and Susannah Baker were married Feb. 12, 1818, in that county, and moved to Nicholas county, and from there they moved with their three children to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving in the fall of 1830, and settled four miles south of the present town of Rochester, where they had six children. Of their nine children--

ISAAC B., born June 25, 1820, near Carlisle, Nicholas county, Ky., married in Sangamon county, March 28, 1840, to Susan Stokes. They had six daughters in Sangamon county. CAROLINE M., born April 18, 1842, married March 29, 1868, to Lawson H. Smith, who was born Feb. 20, 1831, in Carlisle, Ky. They have three children, CORDELIA A., WM. RILEY and ANNA BELLE, and reside three miles southeast of Rochester. LOUISA J. resides with her parents. MARGARET A., born Sept. 30, 1846, married Jonathan G. Crouch. See his name. MARY E., EMILY T. and DEBORAH S. reside with their parents, one and a quarter miles west of Clarkesville.

JAMES H., born Nov. 30, 1822, in Nicholas county, Ky., married in Sangamon county, May 7, 1843, to Milla Dotson, who was born Nov., 1822, in Loudon county, Va. They had four children. JOHN W., the second child, died under two years. ELIZA A., born Feb. 25, 1844, married Sept. 4, 1864, to Benj. C. Gray, who was born August 12, 1832, near Hopkinsville, Ky. Mr. Gray has one child, CHARLES Y., by a former marriage. Mrs. Gray died Dec., 1874, and B. C. Gray resides near Clarkesville. HIRAM F., born Dec. 17, 1852, resides in California. JAMES M., born August 6, 1836, lives with his father. Mrs. Milla Bell died March 16, 1870, and James H. Bell resides in Springfield.

MARY J., born June 6, 1828, in Nicholas county, Ky., married in Sangamon county, August 31, 1847, to John S. Dickerson, who was born April 2, 1824, in Nicholas county, Ky., and came to Sangamon county in 1851. They have six children. JAMES H., born June 24, 1848, in Daviess county, Ind., raised in Sangamon county, graduated at the Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia, and is a practicing physician near Taylorville. Dr. Dickerson was married in 1875 to Miss Humphreys. See Humphreys' family sketch. ISAAC S., born August 28, 1850, in Daviess county, Ind., married March 11, 1873, in Sangamon county, to Mary E. Bomhoff, who was born Sept. 20, 1848, in Sangamon county. They have one child, SINAI, and reside one mile west of Clarksville. ROBERT P., born Dec. 4, 1852, SARAH E., born Nov. 14, 1854, MARY S., born Nov. 2, 1856, and ALMARINDA, born Jan. 29, 1859, the four latter in Sangamon county, reside with their parents, one and a quarter miles west of Clarksville.

PHOEBE E., born Nov. 1, 1830, in Sangamon county, married March, 1849, to John Johnson. See his name.

ALMARINDA, born Sept. 25, 1832, in Sangamon county, married March 28, 1850, to James S. Galloway, who was born May 7, 1819, in Bath county, Ky. They had four children, two of whom died young. WILLIAM N. resides near Taylorville, and LIZZIE A. resides in Cotton Hill township. J. S. Galloway died Sept. 14, 1861, and his widow married, Nov. 7, 1865, to Benj. L. Auxier, and resides four miles south of Rochester.

SQUIRE J., born August 10, 1834, died July 17, 1847.

PRESTON B., born Feb. 26, 1837, in Sangamon county, married, August 9, 1863, to Mary Bond, and resides in Rochester township.

AUSTIN, born Feb. 13, 1839, was killed by the kick of a horse, March 10, 1850.

MELVIN, born Feb. 9, 1843, in Sangamon county, married, Oct. 12, 1865, to Rachel Martin, have two children, WILLIAM J. and ALICE, and reside at the Bell family homestead. He is a cripple for life, caused by a runaway team.

Robert Bell died June 25, 1872, near Illiopolis, from injuries caused by a runaway team four days previous. Mrs. Susannah Bell was made a cripple for life by the same accident. They had lived more than 54 years as man and wife. She resides on the farm where they settled in 1830, four miles south of Rochester.



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