Chapter 9

Cain and Elizabeth BRACKEN

Cain BRACKEN was born about 1798 in Virginia (per the 1850 census) or about 1807 in North Carolina (per the 1860 census). He was the slave of James B. BRACKEN of Sumner Co., Tenn., who officially gave him his freedom on 21 Oct 1834, in Union Co., Ill. (Marriage records of Sumner Co., Tenn., show James B. BRACKEN married Eliza BRACKEN on 20 Apr 1824.) Cain moved to Illinois and settled in Franklin (now Williamson) County, between 1830 and 1834.

Cain was arrested in Franklin County as a runaway slave by Moses GARRETT and Royal WILLIAMS, probably because he was not able to produce a certificate of freedom. They were early white settlers in Franklin County. Moses GARRETT (page 7, line 7) and Rial WILLIAMS (page 7, lin3 8) are on the 1818 territorial census of Franklin Co., Ill. Moses GARRITT appears on the 1830 census of Franklin Co., Ill. (page 101, line 11). Kidnapping of free blacks was occasional in Southern Illinois and perhaps not as rampant as the 29 Oct 1859, Illinois State Journal claimed. The report suggested that "Southern Illinois is infested with gangs of ruffians, who do nothing else but lie in wait for free negroes and who, when they catch one, make sale of him and pocket the money." Cain was able to file a suit in Jackson Co., Ill., court for false imprisonment and won. This is unusual, as by an 1829 Illinois law, African Americans could not sue for their liberty in court and an 1827 law said they could not even serve as a witness. Unfortunately, the Jackson County court records were destroyed in a fire in 1843.

On 18 Apr 1834, in Franklin Co., Ill., Cain registered his family as free people of colour as required by the 1829 law, however, the Franklin County records pertaining to free blacks are not extant. On 28 Jun 1837, Kain BRACKEN made a promissory note to John T. KNOX of Franklin Co., Ill., for $100 payable on 25 Dec 1837 and 1838. In return, KNOX bound himself to make a deed to BRACKEN for a lot in Frankfort, Ill. (Deed Book B page 158). Cain must have made the payments and received the deed, as he sold lot 36 in Frankfort, fronting Water Street, for $30 on 1 Jan 1838, to William A. ROBERTS of Franklin Co., Ill. Cain's wife, Betsy BRACKEN, was interviewed separately and acknowledged that she consented to the sale (Deed Book B pages 104-105). On the next day, 2 Jan 1838, Kain BRACKEN, a man of colour, sold to William A. ROBERTS for $75, "a certain sorrel mare 6 years old this spring, 15 hands high, a black spot in front on the right arm above the knee" (Deed Book B page 104).

In 1838, Cain and his family moved to Rich Township, a few miles east of Cobden, and appear on the 1840 census in Union County (page 73). After Cain moved his family there, he produced his certificate of freedom before Sidney S. CONDON, clerk of the court, on 16 Mar 1843.

In 1846, Cain BRACKEN paid 24cents in taxes in Union County for a cow worth $6 and other personal property worth $20. In 1847, he was taxed 39cents for a horse worth $20, a cow worth $6 and other personal property worth $25. The 1850 census of Union Co., Ill., records that Cain was a blacksmith (household 410, page 173). His wife, Elizabeth "Betsy", was born about 1811 in North Carolina. They were illiterate.

On 26 Dec 1853, in Union County, Cain BRACKEN and his son, William BRACKEN, were securities for the $200 administrator's bond of Mary WEBSTER. Mary was the widow of Daniel WEBSTER, who was murdered in Union County on 17 Dec 1853. Daniel's personal property was appraised at $118.50 and was awarded to the widow as her specific property. Mary moved to Bond Co., Ill., with the BRACKENs and later married William BRACKEN there.

Daniel WEBSTER, "a man of colour," married Mary Jane SMITH, "mulatto girl," in Union County on 3 Nov 1846. The marriage ceremony was performed by Wesley G. NIMMO, a justice of the peace, with the consent of Adam PALMORE, the guardian of the bride. PALMORE was a white man who died in Union County 13 Mar 1854. He was married on 21 Aug 1843, in Union Co., Ill., Sarah "Sally" DURALL CONAWAY, the widow of Edward CONAWAY. Adam became the guardian of Mary Jane in Union County in 1846 (Guardianship box 592).

John BROWN, whose relationship to the Beverly BROWN family is not known, was indicted by a Union County grand jury for the murder of Daniel WEBSTER, although William A. HACKER of the Cairo Times said that "the evidence is entirely circumstantial." He was prosecuted by John A. LOGAN, state's attorney. LOGAN was a son of Dr. John LOGAN, who had moved from Perry Co., Mo., to Jackson Co., Ill., with his slaves in 1824. One of his slaves was James Wilkinson DUMBALY, the son of Monday DUMBALY. Monday was the indentured servant of James GILL of Jackson County, who was brought to Illinois when 10 and indentured on 5 Aug 1807, in Randolph County, Indiana Territory. Dr. LOGAN owned the mother of James, who was born 10 Jun 1822. Being 2 years old when LOGAN moved to Illinois, James was indentured to serve him until 21. LOGAN sold the remaining six years of James' service, on 3 Jul 1837, in Jackson County, for $175 to James's father, Monday, and "also in consideration of the feelings I have for the said father and son, thinking as I do that parent and child should not be separated even though their colour may be black." Early in life, John Alexander LOGAN, born in 1826 in Jackson Co., Ill.,the son of a slaveholder, is said to have acquired a strong prejudice against African Americans. This bias followed him into his early professional and political life, although after the Civil War, he became a Republican and an avid supporter of Civil Rights legislation.

The murder case attracted much attention. BROWN and his lawyers, John DOUGHERTY of Jonesboro and Wesley DAVIDSON, lost the case. The jury, consisting of Levi VANCIL, Riley NOBLE, Caleb LINGLE, William BLACK, Samuel MARTIN, John L. FREEZE, Jones McGINNIS, James TWEEDY, David LENCE, William ANDERSON, William C. CATHEY, and William CASTLEBERRY, "12 good and lawful men," found the defendant guilty. The judge ordered that BROWN "be hanged by the neck until dead on Tuesday the 24th day of October next between the hours of 11 o'clock in the forenoon and 4 o'clock in the afternoon at some convenient place in the vicinity of Jonesboro." After an address from the scaffold by the Rev. Philip Henry KROH of the German Reformed churches in Union County, BROWN was hanged on the Jonesboro square by Sheriff Syrian DAVIS while an audience of about 2,000 people watched.

The murder and hanging in Jonesboro were remembered for many years. The editor of the Jonesboro Gazette noted 15 Nov 1884, that

Another old landmark of the county has disappeared this week. It was the log house standing on the HALPIN property between Jonesboro and Anna. It was erected in the 1840s by Mr. Levi CRAVER who lived there and raised a large family of children. In 1854 it was occupied by a Negro named Dan who one night was shot and killed through a window. A Negro by the name of John did the shooting and he was hanged in the city by Sheriff S. DAVIS. Rev. P.H. KROH, now living in Anna, made an address from the scaffold. The house was torn away to make room for improvements.

The 13 Nov 1886, Jonesboro Gazette recalls of Daniel WEBSTER and John BROWN

They had run away from the South and the terrors of slavery. One dark night, Dan WEBSTER, who lived in a log house on the HALPIN place in the western extremity of the town of Anna was assassinated, the murderer shooting him through an open window. Ex Mayor John GREAR was coroner at the time and a jury was enpaneled which deliberated on the case four days and nights. The result was that the other Negro was arrested for murder....The evidence, though entirely circumstantial, being conclusive, though he protested his innocence to the last. BROWN was hung to a tree which stood a hundred yards or so south of where Mr. R.T. SHIPLEY's residence now stands. The prisoner was placed in a wagon and the fatal noose was affixed by Syrian DAVIS then sheriff of the county. John SHORE, who is now living in California, drove the wagon from beneath the Negro. The hanging was also witnessed by an immense concourse of people. It is somewhat strange that these two Negroes, one murdered and the other hung for that murder, were the last that ever took up a permanent residence in this place. They were the first negroes that ever lived in the county.

The 1850s was a difficult decade, not only for the BRACKEN family of Union County, but all people of color in the state and the country. Instead of improvement, time brought worse conditions for free African Americans in Illinois. The 1848 Illinois Constitution not only denied free African Americans the right to serve in the state militia and vote, it also allowed the Illinois Legislature the right to pass future laws prohibiting their settlement in Illinois. Representative John A. LOGAN from southern Illinois, who his biographer claimed was "bitterly anti-Negro," and feared an "inundation from the colored population" to Illinois, seized the opportunity and proposed the law, which "skyrocketed Logan into statewide prominence."

The 1853 law prohibited the future residence of additional African Americans, free or slave, in Illinois and made bringing African Americans into Illinois a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $500. If African Americans remained in Illinois more than 10 days, they were liable to capture and a fine of $50. If they could not pay the fine, then, like runaway slaves, their services were auctioned off to the highest bidder until the fine was paid. The law was popular in Southern Illinois and all the legislators from every county south of Springfield voted for it. LOGAN said, "Negroes are not suited to be placed upon a level with white men." This law did not expel free African Americans already living in Illinois, but this 1853 legislation remained on the books until 1865, when it was repealed. In most places it was never enforced, but in Union, Alexander and Pulaski counties, there are cases in which African Americans were expelled from the state and in which white citizens were fined for bringing African Americans into Illinois.

At the national level, during the 1850s, decisions were made which affected African Americans. In 1857, Chief Justice TANEY said in the Supreme Court decision of Dred SCOTT v. SANDFORD that slaves were not U.S. citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court and that Negroes, "being of an inferior order, had no rights which any white man was bound to respect." At the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Jonesboro in 1858, Stephen A. DOUGLAS said, "I hold that a Negro is not and never ought to be a citizen of the United States." The country was racing towards a civil war and as Abraham LINCOLN predicted in an earlier debate, "A house divided against itself can not stand. I believe this government can not endure, permanently half slave and half free."

The 1853 law was not the final word on the question of Negro immigration to Illinois. In the summer of 1862, a new state constitution was proposed to the voters by the delegates to the constitutional convention. William A. HACKER represented Union County at the convention in Springfield and was chosen chairman. Union County overwhelmingly favored the new constitution, although it did not receive support from northern parts of the state and was rejected by the voters.

Two articles involving African Americans were voted on separately. Section 1 read that "No Negro or Mulatto shall migrate or settle in this State" and Union County voters cast 1,583 for the measure and 98 against. For section 2, which stated, "No Negro or Mulatto shall have the right of suffrage or hold any office in this State," the vote in Union County was 1,627 to 79 against. It is surprising that section 2 was even rejected by 79 citizens, as in most southern Illinois counties that proposal was unanimously supported.

The last tax record of Cain BRACKEN in Union County is the 1854 tax list. His personal property was worth $90 and he paid 89cents in taxes. He and Elizabeth are not on the 1855 state census of Union County and had moved to Bond Co., Ill. Cain and Elizabeth are on the 1860 census of Bond County (household 691). They lived near Greenville, where Cain worked as a blacksmith. His real estate was worth $100 and his personal property was valued at $25. The 1860 census of Bond Co., Ill., includes the name of Queen, born about 1833 in North Carolina. Queen was the daughter of Cain BRACKEN, but she had married Haywood DEW and was living in Union County in 1860. Why Queen was included in the household of Cain in 1860 is unknown. Living next to Cain and his family in 1860 was Samuel FOUSE (household 692).

Elizabeth BRACKEN died between 1860 and 1863. Cain BRACKEN died on 20 Sep 1863. His personal estate was valued at $150. James John SLATER was appointed his administrator and made a $300 bond on 31 Aug 1865, with C.H. RAMEL as security. Cain's land had to be sold to pay his debts. He owned 16 acres in the east part of the north half of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 22, township 6 north, range 3 west, which was valued at $65 in 1867. The land was auctioned off on the front steps of the courthouse in Greenville on 27 Apr 1867, to James SMITH for $102Debts of the estate included $2 loaned in 1864 to Cain by E. GASKINS, $10 due George A. STEVENSON for a coffin, $2.80 due William S. SMITH for shrouding. Cain's son, William BRACKEN, charged the estate $26, the amount of cash he paid on a note given by his father to Dr. O.E. HORNIDY. Cain's estate was in debt and his creditors were paid about 18cents on the dollar.

Children of Cain BRACKEN

1. William BRACKEN was born in 1825 in Tennessee (per the 1850 census), in 1831 in North Carolina (per the 1860 census), or in 1820 in Tennessee (per the 1870 census). Since William paid taxes beginning in 1846, the 1825 birth year is probably the most accurate one.

William paid $1.42 in taxes in Union County in 1846, for horses worth $100, cattle worth $30, and other personal property worth $150. He was taxed $1.02 in 1847 for horses worth $150, cattle worth $35, and other personal property worth $25.

William BRACKEN patented the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 16, township 11 south, range 1 west, 40 acres, on 14 Apr 1847 (Deed Book 11 page 209). William sold a right of way across this land to the Illinois Central Railroad Co. for $10 on 3 Nov 1852 (Deed Book 11 page 592). He patented another 40 acres in the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 21, township 11 south, range 1 west, on 1 Jul 1848 (Deed Book 11 page 210). William was a farmer on the 1850 census and his real estate was worth $150. The census reports that he was illiterate.

His personal property was worth $80 and he was charged 79cents taxes in 1854, but it was not marked paid. He had probably already moved to Bond Co., Ill., where he lived on 30 Apr 1855, when he appointed Robert STEWART his attorney to sell his 80 acres in Union County (Deed Book 14 page 246).

William married on 7 May 1857, in Bond Co., Ill., Mary Jane "Polly" WEBSTER who was born in 1831 in Alabama, the daughter of Tenie (Christena?) SMITH. Polly was the widow of Daniel WEBSTER, who was murdered in Union Co., Ill., in 1853. William and Polly were living in Greenville, Bond Co., Ill., on 16 Mar 1866, when they sold to Allen BAINBRIDGE of DeSoto, Jefferson Co., Mo., for $2, their 80 acres in Union County in sections 16 and 21 (Deed Book 23 page 345).

Cyrus WEBSTER, who was a free African American born about 1824 in Maryland, the son of Samuel C. and Anna WEBSTER was a resident of Bond Co., Ill., and may have been related to Mary Jane BRACKEN's first husband, Daniel WEBSTER. This may explain the move to Bond County. Cyrus was married three times in Bond Co., Ill.: to Mary BONDS on 10 Oct 1869; to Mrs. Sarah Jane ROUSE on 21 Aug 1873; and to Amy MOORE, daughter of Murry and Phillis MOORE, on 14 Apr 1885.

William is on the 1865 state census of Bond Co., Ill. (page 29, line 36). There were one male and six females in his household. His livestock was valued at $15.

The 1870 census of township 6 north, range 2 west, Mulberry Grove, Bond Co., Ill. (household 6) records the household of William BRACKEN. He was a day laborer, owned no land and was illiterate, as were also his wife and two oldest children. Their personal property was valued at $100. William was listed as black on the census, but his wife, Mary, and their children were recorded as mulattoes. Living with the family was Robert BASS, who was born about 1847 in Tennessee, who was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth GIPSON BASS. Robert's brother, John, married the daughter of William's sister, Queen BRACKEN DEW.

William has not been located on the 1880 or the 1900 census of Bond Co., Ill.

William's widow, Mary BRACKEN married on 28 Jul 1902, in Bond Co., Ill., Archie EWING, who was born about 1836 in Lafayette Co., Mo., the son of George and Sarah EWING. The marriage was performed by W.T. CARSON. The license records that this was Mary's second marriage, however it was her third. The license also reports that this was Archie's third marriage, but it was his fourth. Archie and Mary were brother- and sister-in-law, as Archie had been married to William BRACKEN's sister, Martha Ann BRACKEN FOUSE.

Mary SMITH WEBSTER BRACKEN EWING died in 1900 and was buried in Wade Cemetery in Shoal Creek Township, Bond Co., Ill. Archie is buried in Wade Cemetery with a military marker which reads, "Archie EWING, Co. H 29th NUSCI." Archie served as a private in Co. H, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. His brothers, George EWING and James EWING, also served in that regiment as privates (Roll 27, Index to Compiled Service Records of Black Soldiers).

a. Elvira J. BRACKEN was born about 1853 in Illinois. This is probably the same person as Eva J. BRACKEN, who married on 10 Apr 1872, in Bond Co., Ill., Samuel MOORE. They were married by M.D. BEVIN, a minister of the gospel.

b. Martha E. BRACKEN was born about 1857 in Bond Co., Ill. This is thought to be the same person as Ellen BRACKEN, who married on 24 Nov 1871, in Bond Co., Ill., Joseph RELFORD. They were married by M.D. BEVAN, a minister of the gospel.

c. Elizabeth "Lizzie" BRACKEN was born in 1860 in Bond Co., Ill., and married on 28 Apr 1877, in Bond Co., Ill., Henry NOWELL, who was born about 1855. They were married by Josiah GIBSON, a minister of the gospel.

d. Nannie (or Nancy) BRACKEN was born about 1862 in Greenville, Bond Co., Ill., and married on 4 Apr 1878, in Bond Co., Ill., James BREWINGTON, who was born about 1857 in Litchfield, Ill., the son of Henry and ? HIGHTOWER BREWINGTON. They were married by Josiah GIBSON, a minister of the gospel.

e. Elmira Alice BRACKEN was born about 1865 in Greenville, Bond Co., Ill., married on 31 Jul 1883, in Bond Co., Ill., Samuel DUKES, who was born about 1861 in St. Clair Co., Ill., (in Lebanon or O'Fallon), the son of Wiley and Eliza TITUS DUKES. They were married by D.A. WILKERSON, a minister of the gospel.

Samuel married again on 1 Dec 1907, in Bond Co., Ill., Mrs. Rosa MANUEL, who was born about 1869 in Terneg, Ill., the daughter of ? and ? STEWARD BUTCHER.

Samuel's brother, Elisha DUKES, who was born about 1859 in St. Clair Co., Ill., married on 12 Sep 1889, in Bond Co., Ill., Lurenia WEBSTER, who was a daughter of Cyrus and Mary BONDS WEBSTER.

(1) Arthur DUKES was born about 1882 in St. Louis, Mo., and married on 19 Sep 1899, in Bond Co., Ill., Lena MOORE, who was born about 1882 in Bond Co., Ill., the daughter of Augustus and Elvira McFARLING MOORE. They were married by W.C. ROACH, a minister of the gospel.

(2) Lillie DUKES was born about 1883 in Greenville, Bond Co., Ill., and married on 9 Aug 1901, in Bond Co., Ill., George LEWIS, who was born about 1874 in Washington, D.C., the son of James and Mary COMPTON LEWIS. They were married by G.A. TURNER, a minister of the gospel.

2. Queen BRACKEN was born about 1827 in North Carolina and married on 1 Jul 1847, in Union Co., Ill., Haywood DEW, who was born about 1820 in Virginia (Marriage Book 1 page 204). John GRAMMER, a justice of the peace, performed the ceremony.

In 1842, Haywood was arrested by the sheriff of Union County as a runaway slave and imprisoned in the county jail in Jonesboro. African Americans had to have proof of their freedom at all times or they were subject to capture as fugitive slaves. It was a matter of being assumed guilty and then having to prove one's innocence. As the Illinois law required, Haywood's physical description was advertised in a newspaper, but no one came forward to claim him. His services were then auctioned off each month for one year to Union County residents who bid the highest. After the one year, Haywood was given a certificate of freedom on 25 Sep 1843.

On the 1850 census Queen is recorded as a mulatto and Haywood is recorded as black (household 413, page 174). He was a farmer, but he owned no land. Both he and Queen were illiterate. They are also on the 1855 state census of Union County. In their household were four males and two females. The 1854 tax list records Haywood's personal property was worth $163 and he paid $1.61 in taxes. In 1856, Haywood DUE was living in township 11 south, range 1 west and paid $2.24 in taxes on personal property valued at $177. In 1858 Haywood DEW paid $2.14 personal property tax on property worth $200 and $3.42 tax on his 40 acres in the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 21, township 11 south, range 1 west. This land was actually his daughter's and was patented in her name, Melvina S. ALLEN, in 1854. In 1859 Haywood paid $1.28 taxes on $82 worth of personal property and in 1861 he paid $1.40 taxes on personal property valued at $170. He was listed as the owner of the same 40 acres, which was worth $280 in 1861 and was taxed $2.38.

Haywood was on the 1860 census of Union County (household 529). His real estate was valued at $1,500 and his personal property at $400. He was illiterate, but the census taker recorded that Queenie could read and write. On the agriculture census of Cobden, Haywood appears as the owner of a farm of 30 acres improved and 10 acres unimproved, worth $1,500. He also owned 3 horses, 3 milch cows, 5 cattle, and 5 swine worth $275. He had 60 bushels of wheat, 300 bushels of Indian corn, 25 pounds of tobacco, 2 bushels of beans, 35 bushels of Irish potatoes, 40 bushels of sweet potatoes and 300 pounds of butter. The products of his orchard were worth $75, home manufactures $40. Animals slaughtered were worth $48.

His personal taxes in 1862 were $1.06 on personalty worth $125. In 1863, he paid no personal property taxes, although he still owned the 40 acres of land worth $240 and paid $2.80 in taxes.

On the 1865 census there are four males and six females in his household. Their livestock was worth $210. In 1869 he paid $2.15 in taxes (of which 19cents was a school tax) on $75 personal property and in 1870 he paid $4.16 (of which $3 was a school tax) on $120.

On the 1870 census Haywood DEW is not listed, but in Cobden Precinct (household 486) Hiram DEW and his wife Viola are listed. Hiram is probably Haywood DEW. It is uncertain if Viola is the same person as Queen or a later wife. Their real estate was worth $2,000 and their personal property was worth $300. His daughters Melvina and Martha had attended school that year.

Haywood is not on the 1873 tax list of Union County and his 40 acres were owned by his daughter, M.S.A. BASS. He and his family are thought to have moved from the county, perhaps to Bond Co., Ill., where Queenie's brother, William BRACKEN lived. None of the family has been found on the 1880 or later census records in Union County.

Haywood lists Virginia as his place of birth in the census, however there is also a DEW family of African descent in the 1850 census of Wake Co., N.C., from where the TABORN family settled. In household 636 in Wake County is Jonathon DEW born about 1798 in North Carolina and his wife, Susan, born about 1787. Children (all born in North Carolina) were: Happy DEW born 1820, Sally DEW born 1827, Hankins DEW born 1832. Also in the household was Susan CHAVIS born in 1833, Theophilus CHAVIS born 1844, Nancy CHAVIS born 1845, Emily CHAVIS born 1849. Living next door was Sandy DEW, born about 1823 in North Carolina, probably a son of Jonathon. In Sandy's household were: Mary DEW born 1828, Jane DEW born 1849 and William H. TABERN born 1828. They were all listed as black, except TABERN, who was a mulatto.

Queen was not named as an heir of the estate of Cain BRACKEN in Bond Co., Ill., in 1866.

a. Melvina S. DEW was born about 1841 in Union Co., Ill., and married on 2 Apr 1863, in Union Co., Ill., John BASS, the son of Thomas and Betsy GIPSON BASS (Marriage book 2 page 368). Although her name on the marriage license was Melvina DEW, she may have been previously married to an ALLEN.

Melvina is not on the 1850 census with her father, Haywood DEW.

On 28 May 1872, when she sold her land in Union County, she gave her name as "Melvina S. ALLEN BASS, formerly Melvina S. ALLEN, daughter of Haywood DEW of Union Co., Ill." She sold to Philip G. LOVING of Carbondale, Jackson Co., Ill., for $1,080, the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 21, township 11 south, range 1 west, 40 acres. This land was patented by Melvina under the name Melvina S. ALLEN on 13 Apr 1854 (Deed Book 28 page 207).

Melvina S. ALLEN BASS sold this same 40 acres to David GREEN of Casper Precinct, for $350 on 21 Oct 1872 (Deed Book 28 page 342).

b. William DEW was born about 1843 in Illinois.

William DEW appears on the 1878 personal property tax list of township 11 south, range 1 west. He paid $3.91 in taxes on property worth $220. He is listed as W.F. DEW of Makanda in 1879. He owned personal property worth $72 and paid $1.35 in taxes. In 1882 W.F. DEW paid $1 in taxes on $50 of personal property.

c. Willis Henry DEW was born about 1845 in Illinois (Willis, William and Matilda were born before Haywood and Queen married and are not on the 1850 census with them. They do not show on the census until 1860.)

d. Haywood DEW Jr. was born about 1847 in Union Co., Ill.

e. Matilda DEW was born about 1849 in Illinois.

f. Walter DEW was born about 1852.

g. Henry DEW was born about 1855.

h. Mary DEW was born about 1857.

i. Martha DEW was born about 1860 in Illinois.

j. Margaret DEW was born about 1863 in Illinois.

k. Ellen DEW was born about 1864 in Illinois.

l. Ida DEW was born about 1867 in Illinois.

3. Margaret BRACKEN was born about 1834 in Tennessee. She is listed with Cain BRACKEN's family as Margaret BASS on the 1860 census of Bond Co., Ill.

There is a marriage license for Margaret BRACKEN and James EWING on 7 Aug 1862, in Bond Co., Ill. James EWING is the son of George EWING and is on the 1860 census of Bond Co., Ill. (household 1557) with his father. The 1860 census gives James's age as 20 (born about 1840), but in 1870 in Township 5 south, range 3 west (household 204) James's age is 26 (born about 1844). Margaret BRACKEN, age 22, died 26 Jul 1866, and was buried in Wade Cemetery in Bond Co., Ill. James EWING married again in Bond Co., Ill., Mrs. Margaret HARRIS, who was born about 1844 in Missouri. When James was 71 years old he married, on 10 Oct 1912, in Bond Co., Ill., Mrs. Betty BURKE, who was born about 1864 in Shelbyville, Ky., the daughter of Ben WASHINGTON.

James EWING served as a private in the Civil War in Co. H, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry.

Margaret's children are not listed as heirs of Cain BRACKEN in his estate file in 1866, suggesting that they died before then.

a. Mary EWING was born about 1861 in Illinois.

b. Loucinda EWING was born about 1864 in Illinois.

4. Martha Ann BRACKEN was born about 1834-40 in Tennessee or Illinois and married Samuel FOUSE, who was born about 1836 in Alabama.

Samuel FOUSE was named in the will of Thomas ALLEN in 1895 in Saline Co., Ill., but his relationship to Thomas was not stated. It is possible that Samuel was the son of Thomas ALLEN's mother, Sarah FROUSE ALLEN.

In 1860, in Bond Co., Ill., Samuel and Martha were living next to Cain BRACKEN and his family (household 692). Samuel was a farm hand, his realestate was worth $25 and his personal property was valued at $45.

Martha Ann married 2nd on 15 Jan 1866, in Bond Co., Ill., Archie EWING, who was born about 1836 in Lafayette Co., Mo., (about 1830 in North Carolina, according to the 1860 census, household 1158), the son of George and Sarah EWING. His first wife Cecilia was born about 1835 in North Carolina, died in 1863 and was buried in Wade Cemetery in Bond Co., Ill. Their children, all born in Illinois, were: George, born about 1853; James, born about 1854; Mary Frances, born about 1856; Amanda Jane, born about 1858; and Archie, born about 1863. Archie married third on 30 Jun 1870, in Bond Co., Ill., Caroline JACKSON. They were married by James S. DAVIS, a minister of the gospel. Caroline was born about 1852 in Missouri, according to the 1870 census of Bond Co., Ill. (household 74). Archie was listed as a 39-year-old farmer.

Archie EWING married on 28 Jul 1902, in Bond Co., Ill., Mary SMITH WEBSTER BRACKEN. The marriage was performed by W.T. CARSON. The license records that this was Mary's second marriage, however it was her third. The license also reports that this was Archie's third marriage, but it was his fourth. Archie and Mary were brother- and sister-in-law, as Archie had been married to William BRACKEN's sister, Martha Ann BRACKEN FOUSE.

Mary SMITH WEBSTER BRACKEN EWING died in 1900 and was buried in Wade Cemetery in Shoal Creek Township, Bond Co., Ill. Archie is buried in Wade Cemetery with a military marker which reads, "Archie EWING, Co. H 29th NUSCI." Archie served as a private in Co. H, 29th U.S. Colored Infantry. His brothers, George EWING and James EWING, also served in that regiment as privates (Roll 27, Index to Compiled Service Records of Black Soldiers).

a. Mary A. EWING, born about 1867

b. Eliza EWING, born about 1869.

5. Alexander Joseph "Sandy" DILLOW was born about 1854 in Union Co., Ill. He married on 28 Dec 1881, in Union Co., Ill., Mary JONES, who was born about 1863 in Union City, Tenn., the daughter of John and Emily JONES. Sandy was then a clerk in Pullman, Cook Co., Ill. His marriage certificate lists his father as "supposed to be Mr. Cain" and his mother was Christina BARRINGER DILLOW.

Sandy is always recorded on the census records as a mulatto. He is on the 1880 census as Sanford L. DILLON, a "mulatto" farmer laborer in the household of S. MATHERS in Cobden Precinct (household 183).

John (born about 1830 in Tennessee) and Emily (born about 1841 in Virginia) JONES are on the 1870 census of Misenhimer Precinct, Union Co., Ill. (household 184). John was a farmer who owned his own land, valued at $1,000. Their personal property was worth $200. Their children, Frank, 21; Madison, 12; Lucy, 9; Mary, 7; Hannah, 6; Willis, 4; and Rachael, 6 months; were living with him and were all born in Tennessee. On 24 Dec 1877, when their ninth child was born in Cobden, John was a wagon maker. The family is also on the 1880 census of Cobden, where John JONES was then working as an engineer (household 190). They are also on the census of Cobden in 1900 (household 218), when John's occupation was recorded as a carpenter, and the 1910 (household 232), when his occupation was recorded as house carpenter. Children born to them between 1870 and 1880 were Frank born about 1870, Ida born about 1872, and Edward born about 1875. Their granddaughter, Lizzie VALENTINE, born about 1870 in Tennessee, was also living with them in 1880. The 1910 census states that John's father was born in Ireland and his mother in Virginia.

Sandy has not been located on the 1900 census soundex of Illinois as Sandy, Alexander or Joseph Dillow. He may have changed his name.