VANCIL, SAMUEL
, born about 1768, was but six years of age at the beginning of the American Revolution, when his father separated his family upon going into the army. Samuel was placed in a family of Germans, who, from their religious convictions were opposed to war. At the close of the war John Vancil collected his family in Patrick county, Virginia, where Samuel was married about 1795 to Mary Peckelheimer, and moved to Montgomery county, in the same State, where they had two children, and then moved to Logan county, Ky., where they had one child, and moved back to Virginia, where two children were born, and then moved to Lincoln county, Ky., and from there, in 1811, to Warren county, Ohio, where one child was born; from there to Franklin county, Indiana, and after a stay of five years, moved to Union county, Illinois, where he left his family, and with several others rode up to Sugar creek, and selected a tract of land about one mile southeast of where Auburn, Sangamon county now stands, where he arrived with his family late in November, 1818. They lived in their wagons until cabins could be built. Their only neighbors were the Drennan and Dodds families. See their sketches. Game being abundant, they lived largely on wild meat and honey. The Kickapoo Indians were quite numerous, though friendly. Of the six children of Samuel Vancil--BETSY, was born in 1796, in Montgomery county, Va., married in Warren county, Ohio, to John Walker, and came with her parents to, Sangamon county, where she died in 1830, leaving five children, three of whom, when last heard from, were living in Texas.
PENROD, born in 1797, in Montgomery county, Va., married in 1819, in Preble county, Ohio, to Elizabeth Houston. They had eight children, five of whom lived to maturity, namely: JAMES, married Martha A. Gatton. They had eight children, and she died. He married Sarah E. Greenawalt. He died February, 1872, in Virden, Ill., leaving his widow and children there. NANCY, married Jacob B. Vancil See his name. ELIZABETH, married Abner Hayden. They had six children. WILLIAM D., married Mrs. Melvina Vancil, and live in Montgomery county, Ill. SARAH E., married Noah Greenawalt, and lives near Cerro Gordo, Piatt county, Ill. NANCY J., married James Cruise who died, and she lives in Piatt county. MARY J., married Francis M. Rape. See his name. EMILY E., married Francis M. Cross. See his name. EMILY E., lives with her sisters. Abner Hayden died, and his widow has since been married, but is now a widow living with her children, near Cerro Gordo, Ill. MARY married A. Henderson. He died and she married William Forsythe. See his name. She lives at German Prairie Station, near Springfield, Ill. GEORCE W., married Melvina Gatton, and died in May, 1872, leaving several children. Penrod Vancil died in 1865, and his widow died in 1868, both near Auburn, Sangamon county, Ill.
SARAH, born about 1800, in Logan county, Kentucky, married in Franklin county, Indiana, to John Houston. She died in Preble county, Ohio, leaving four children, one of whom lives in Iowa.
GIDEON, born Feb. 1, 1802, in Montgomery county, Virginia, married in Sangamon county, Illinois, March, 1820, to Feraba Wilson, believed to have been the first marriage ever solemnized in the what is now Sangamon county. They had eleven children, all born in Sangamon county. CLARINDA, born in 1821, married in 1835, to Henry Duke. They had several children, all of whom died except one, who is married and lives in Dallas county, Texas. Mr. Duke died in 1864, and his widow lives in Dallas county, Texas. MARY J. is unmarried, and lives in Lawrence county, Missouri. ADAM, born August 16, 1826, died in Logan county, Illinois, Jan. 18, 1849. AARON BRYANT, born July 9, 1828, married in 1852 to Elizabeth Scott, have one child, and reside six miles southwest of Waverly, Illinois. JAMES M., born June 13, 1830, married in 1865 to Isabel Morland, have two children, and live in Camanche county, Texas. ELIZABETH, born May 26, 1832, married in 1850 to George W. Foster. He died in Texas, leaving a widow and two children, who live in Lawrence county, Missouri. GIDEON H., born May 23, 1835, married in 1862 to Martha A. Severe. They have four children, and live in Lawrence county, Missouri. SARAH A., born Nov. 13, 1837, married Dec. 4, 1851, to Robert Scott, have one child, and live in Carroll county, Missouri. THOMAS J., born Nov. 17, 1841, and died June 26, 1866. BENJAMIN F., born Nov. 7, 1843, is unmarried, and lives in Lawrence county, Missouri. MINERVA C., born Feb. 4, 1846, married J. C. Jenkins, and died in Texas, May 21, 1873. Gideon Vancil lived four miles southwest of Auburn, Sangamon county, Illinois, until 1847, when he moved to Hopkins county, Texas, where he lived until the close of the rebellion, when he moved to Missouri. Mrs. Feraba Vincil died in 1866, and Gideon Vancil resides with his children, near Mount Vernon, Lawrence county, Missouri.
SIMEON, born Jan. 1, 1805, in Montgomery county, Virginia, came to Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1818, with his father, was married March 16, 1826, to Mary Black. They had two children, WILLIAM, died in infancy; JACOB B., born August 11, 1828, married Nancy Vancil. They had three children, all died young. J. B. Vancil died in 1873. His widow is married and lives near Auburn, Illinois. Mrs. Mary Vancil died in 1830, and Simeon Vancil was married Jan. 19, 1832, to Mary A. Gates. They had eight children, three of whom died young. Of the other five, CORNELIUS P. married Emily J. Pritchard. They have three children, and live four miles south of Auburn. Illinois. PAULINE C. married Robert Hudgen. They have one child, OWEN, and reside near Cerro Gordo, Piatt county, Illinois. FRANCIS M., born Jan. 29, 1840, in Sangamon county, Illinois, took a select course at Shurtleff College, and studied law. In 1869 he moved to Brownsville, Nebraska, and engaged in a newspaper enterprise there for two years. He was married October, 1870, to Emma Argo, of Vermont, Illinois, who was born September, 1851, in Jersey county, Illinois. They have two children EARLE FRANCIS and EMMA LEOLA. In 1872 Mr. Vancil initiated the movement and assisted in laying out the town of Bloomington, Franklin county, Neb. He resides there; is engaged in the practice of law and stock raising. MARGARET J., born Jan. 15, 1842, married George W. Cray. They have four children, and reside two miles northwest of Virden, Illinois. MARY A. married Andrew Eagen. They have two children, and live three miles north of Virden, Illinois. Mrs. Mary A. Vancil died Feb. 3, 1873, and Simeon Vancil died April, 1875, both at the homestead where they had lived more than half a century. It was three and a half miles southwest of Auburn, Sangamon county, Illinois.
Mr. Simeon Vancil was very fond of conversing on subjects connected with the early history of the country. Speaking of the "deep snow" of 1830 and '31, he said that it was about three and a half feet deep on a level, but that it drifted to a depth of eight or ten feet. After it became sufficiently hard by thawing and freezing on the surface to bear his weight, he remembered attempting to walk across a ravine where the snow brought all on a level. The crust was weakened by hazel brush that came up through it, and at the deepest place he went down, quick as thought. When he brushed the snow from his eyes and looked up, he found the crust at least three feet above his head. It required a long time for him to work his way out, but he finally succeeded by using his gun to break the crust over his head. He said that after the snow disappeared the stumps from which they had cut the trees for fuel were from six to ten feet high. He said that from the Indians who were here at the time, he learned that a deep snow had fallen about thirty years before, and that the buffalo, unable to find food, would collect on the highest points, where the snow was thinest, and remain huddled together until they died of hunger and cold. He said their account of it was corroborated by large quantities of buffalo bones being found on nearly all those high places. Simeon Vancil was a man of strong mental capacities, hospitable and kind. With one exception, he was for many years the oldest settler of Sangamon county. That exception was William Drennan. They have both passed away.
REBECCA, born in Warren county, Ohio, was married in Sangamon county to Henry Landis, of Logan county, Illinois, and died there a few years later without children.
Mrs. Mary Vancil died in 1822, and Samuel Vancil married a Mrs. Wakefield. He died in 1828, both near where they settled on coming to the country. They were buried in the Wimer grave yard, southeast of Auburn, Sangamon county, Illinois.