PIRKINS, EDWARD, was born March 15, 1791, on the river Yadkin, Wilkes county, North Carolina. His parents moved, when he was quite young, to Adair county, Ky. He was married Aug. 20, 1812, in Campbell county, Tenn., to Anna Pierce, who was born March 28, 1796, in Blount county, Tenn. They made their home in Campbell county, Tenn., until they had four children, and they moved in company with the family of his father-in-law Robert Pierce, to Madison county, Ill., arriving in the fall of 1819. The next spring the two families moved to Sangamon county, arriving in April, 1820, on Richland creek, in what is now Cartwright township, where seven children were born. Of their eleven children--

POLLY, born June 25, 1813, in Campbell county, Tenn., married Tavener B. Anderson. See his name.

LEAH, born March 29, 1815, in Campbell county, Tenn., married in Sangamon county, Dec. 16, 1841, to James W. Beekman, who was born Dec. 9, 1816, in Somerset county, N. J. They had five children, all born in Sangamon county. MARY E., born Dec. 7, 1842, died Feb. 4, 1847. CORNELIUS T., born Oct. 16, 1846, died Nov. 11, 1867. JANE E. and SARAH L., twins, born Mar. 26, 1850. JANE E. married, Sept. 18, 1872, to Thomas C. Richardson, had one child, MARY L., who died in infancy. They reside with Mrs. Richardson's father. SARAH L. married, Oct. 12, 1871, to Winfield S. Caldwell, and reside in Menard county, five miles north of Pleasant Plains. WILLIAM E., married Jan. 1, 1874, to Julia S. Harrison. She died, leaving one child, EDWARD J. Mr. Beekman resides with his father. Mrs. Leah Beekman died, Feb. 21, 1873. James W. Beekman resides three and one-half miles northeast of Pleasant Plains, Sangamon county, Illinois.

ELIZA, born Dec. 25, 1816, in Campbell county, Tenn., married in Sangamon county to Edmund Crafton. They had nine children, and Mrs. Crafton died, in 1869, in Springfield.

ROBERT L., born April 29, 1819, in Campbell county, Tenn., married March 11, 1841, in Menard county, to Harriet E. Bone, who was born Sept. 10, 1819, near Petersburg. They had five children, two of whom died in infancy. Of the other three--CHARLES R. lives in Curran township, near his father. FRANCES JENNIE, born March 7, 1844, married, Feb. 8, 1866, to John F. Purvines. See his name. THOMAS M. lives in Curran township, near his father. Mrs. Harriet E. Pirkins died Sept. 22, 1851, and R. L. Pirkins was married, Nov. 3, 1853, to Emma M. Dorand, who was born July 15, 1825, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y. They had one child, HARRIET E., who died, Nov. 16, 1860, in her seventh year. R. L. Pirkins and wife reside in Curran township, seven miles southwest of Springfield, Sangamon county, Illinois.

EDWARD RILEY, born Sept. 25, 1821, in Sangamon county, married June 16, 1846, to Rachel R. Butler. They had six children in Sangamon county. WILLIAM EDWARD, born March 21, 1849, married, Dec. 16, 1869, to Rose H. Cooper, who was born April 19, 1849. They have two children, ROSE BELLE and NELLIE, and reside five miles southeast of Pleasant Plains, Sangamon county, Illinois. CORDELIA E., born May 23, 1851, married, Oct. 31, 1871, to Wm. H. Little. See his name. He died at Chicago, Aug. 17, 1873, from an accident on the Chicago & Alton railroad, the night before. EMMA L., FANNIE M. and SALLIE B. reside with their parents. JULIA died in her fourth year. E. R. Pirkins lived in Cartwright township, three and one-half miles southwest of Richland station, until he was elected treasurer of Sangamon county, Oct., 1873, for two years, and now--1876--resides in Springfield, Illinois.

JOSEPH B., born May 15, 1824, in Sangamon county, married Aug. 29, 1849, to Melinda A. Iles. They had four children, one died in infancy. The other three--ANNIE C. P. married, October 20, 1869, to William E. Morrison. They had one child, JAMES DON, and Mrs. Morrison died, in 1874, at Morrisonville, Christian county, Illinois. JULIA R. and LOUISA M. reside with their father. Mrs. M. A. Pirkins died, Jan. 12, 1857, and J. B. Pirkins was married June 8, 1864, at Nicholasville, Ky., to Ann Mary Price, who was born Jan. 17, 1842, in Woodford county, Ky. They had three children, one of whom died in infancy. JOSEPH B., Jun., and ROBERT L. live with their parents. J. B. Pirkins resides near Woodside, Sangamon county, Illinois. He was a member of Co. A, 4th Ill. Inf., and served one year in the war with Mexico, under Col. E. D. Baker. He was elected, in Nov., 1858, sheriff of Sangamon county, for two years, and was President of the Sangamon county Agricultural Society, in 1872. He was the first President of the Society as now organized.

WILLIAM F., born Feb. 18, 1827, in Sangamon county, married, April 5, 1860, to Mary Sayre. They had three children, viz: CLARENCE F., the second one, died in his second year. ANNIE L. and JENNIE E. reside with their parents, four miles northeast of Richland station, Sangamon county, Illinois.

RACHEL L., born Jan. 7, 1830, in Sangamon county, died March 9, 1853.

FRANCIS M., born Nov. 19, 1832, in Sangamon county, went, in the summer of 1862, to California and Oregon, and from there to Idaho. He left Fort Berthold, on the Missouri river, for home, with about twenty others in a boat, and all of them were massacred by Sioux Indians, below that Fort, August 3, 1863.

JAMES M., born Sept. 5, 1835, in Sangamon county, died unmarried, Sept. 27, 1869, at the family homestead.

REBECCA E., born Jan. 24, 1840, in Sangamon county, married Dec. 15, 1857, to William H. Wilton, who was born March 31, 1827, at Carlisle, Clinton county, Illinois. They had nine children. ANNA and EMMA, twins, FRANK, NED and HARRY, twins, WILLIE, LIZZIE and ELLA. They reside two and one-half miles north of Richland station, Sangamon county, Illinois, on the farm where her father settled in 1820.

Mrs. Anna Pirkins died Nov. 1, 1854, and Mr. Edward Pirkins, now in his 84th year, resides with his children, principally at the farm where he settled in 1820.

ROBERT PIERCE, the father-in-law of Edward Pirkins, was an early settler of Sangamon county.

Edward Pirkins remembers that when himself and his father-in-law, Mr. Pierce, were looking at the country they were at Island Grove, and Mr. Pierce thought it ought to be called lost grove because there was not more than enough timber for one family, and as one family could not live alone, it would be lost. They went to Richland creek because there was more timber there. Claims were laid to it all before it came into market, and when it was ready for entry the timber land was all taken very soon. It had been a source of great anxiety because there were no pre-emption laws to protect the settlers, and they felt very much relieved when they had generally secured their homes. This happiness did not last long, for they soon began to worry about how long the timber would last. Mr. Pirkins remembers meeting four or five of his neighbors when the timber question came up. He gave it as his opinion, that he would cut the last stick of his timber in twenty years, and he would have to leave the country. One man who had read something about "Peat" or turf, tried to console those present with the thought that before the timber was exhausted a plan would be invented to break the prairie, and they could dry the sod, call it peat and burn it. There is more wood on his land now than when he entered it.

Edward Pirkins took the premium of a gold headed cane, at the Sangamon county Fair, Sept., 1875, for the best equestrianism by aged gentlemen. There were eleven entries, all over sixty years of age. Rev. A. Gross, on behalf of the society, said: "Mr. Pirkins, the committee chosen by the Sangamon county Fair, consider you the most graceful rider, and on behalf of the Society, I present you with this beautiful cane, to which we feel you are justly entitled."