Our Ancestors and the Start of Sangamon County, IL (Part 2)
Part 1 told of the general experiences of the first European-American pioneers in what we now know as Sangamon County, Illinois. It took a special breed of people to venture out into the unknown land and find ways to survive in the unfamiliar, unspoiled land. The early settlers were the ones who eventually followed the pioneers into the territory and helped (as settlers would) settle the land.
Our ancestors Robert (1784 – 1840) and Ann (McNary) Blue (1786 – 1820) and his brother John (1777 – 1841) and his wife [and Ann’s sister] Elizabeth (McNary) Blue (1782 – 1849) and their children were among the first settlers to this central Illinois county.
John C. and Sarah A. Power in their book, History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois: “centennial record” (published January 1876 by Edwin A. Wilson & Co., found on Google eBooks), shared a bit of the history of the John Blue family as among those early settlers. Here is the bio of the Blues found in that book (I have typed it exactly as it is found in the book; what look like typing mistakes simply represent how the language has changed over the last 130+ years):
BLUE, JOHN, was born Sept 9, 1777, in South Carolina. His father was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and was taken prisoner by the British the very day of his birth. His parents moved to Fleming county, KY., when he was quite young. Elizabeth McNary was born in South Carolina, and taken by her parents to Fleming county, KY., also. They were there married about 1806, had seven children in that county, and then moved to Hopkins county, where they had four children. About 1823 they moved to Green county, O., [Ohio] where they had two children, and then moved to Sangamon county, arriving in the fall of 1830, in what is now Clear Lake township.
MARTHA married Robert Blue, had six children and died.
SAMUEL married Isabel Webb, had eight children, and resides in Missouri.
DAVID H., born Sept. 23 1816, in Fleming county, KY., married in Sangamon county May 19, 1844, to Fannie Webb, They had two children, one of whom died young. MELISA C. married Abel P. Bice. David H. Blue resides two miles north of Barclay.
ELIZA married Adolphus Jones, had one child and all died.
WILLIAM M. born in Fleming county, KY., married in Sangamon county to Adaline Cline. They had five children. JAMES H. married Catharine Dunlap, had one child DORA E., and live in Fancy creek township. GEORGE W., LUCY, DAVID and PARTHENIA, live with their mother. William M. Blue enlisted in Aug., 1862, in Co. C, 114 Ill. Inf. for three years. He was killed at the battle of Guntown, Miss., June 10, 1864. His widow married M. Hardman, and lives near Cantrall.
HARRISON married Margaret Alexander. They had three children, and he died in Fancy creek township.
CAROLINE married Stephen Cantrall. They have six children, and live near Kansas City, MO.
AMOS went to Oregon when a young man, and resides in Jackson county.
John Blue died in 1842, and his widow in 1848, both in Sangamon county.
The Blue family had been early settlers in Kentucky, arriving there with a land grant after the Revolutionary War (the new federal government had lots of land but not much cash so paid many of their soldiers with land after the war). Moving west to Ohio, they settled in new territory again. The final move for John and Elizabeth (McNary) Blue was to Sangamon County, Illinois. Here they set about the work of domesticating the land so that more people could come and make good lives. The Hon. Milton Hay, continuing his speech at the 12th Annual reunion of the Sangamon County Old Settlers described the early settlers’ task this way:
In process of time came a class who desired progress in improvements and civilizations, and these men began the work. Not content with building for themselves the cabin to live in, they built the early log school houses and churches. They began the work of cultivating the soil for something more than their own personal wants; of opening farms and laying out roads. Then began the location of trading points and towns, and traders and mechanics came in to supply the wants of population. And so, step by step, population and improvement slowly increased. . . . Our trading was mostly a system of barter; an exchange of one article of produce for another; of corn for cattle, or cattle for horses, and of the produce of the farm for labor, manufactures or merchandise. Money as a medium of exchange was scarcely to be had, and hence but little was used. All this belonged to the period anterior to the introduction of railroads. With the facilities afforded by railroads for reaching quickly the great markets, came cash buyers and ready sales. These iron rails not only connected us with the commercial world, but along them came the quickened pulsations of a more commercial life. This quick and ready intercourse with the commercial world, soon affected our old habits and usages, our fashions and modes of doing business. We set about to adapt ourselves to a changed condition of affairs.”
Whence We Come 
I’ve been researching my family and have a Charity Blue who was born aournd 1809 in Ohio. Later she lived in Sangamon County, IL where she married my 2nd great grandfather, Edward Thomas Waldon in 1828. She later married James Dunn in 1840. She lived in McLean, IL until she died in 1892. After reading your blog, I wondered if she fit in with that Blue family. They must be related even if cousins. I can find nothing of who her parents were or where they came from. I suspect there are links to the Blues from Kentucky but have nothing to back it up.
If you have ever run across the name and can share info with me, I would greatly appreciate it!
Hi Kathleen,
I have take a quick scan through the Blue Family geneaology online, Generation 4, at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bluefamily/index.html.
I found a few Charity Blues but not in the right time frame of birth. Then found this piece and wondered if it might by your Charity Blue in Generation 4, Section 4M (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bluefamily/genealogies/gen4.html) . . .
“4M
1.5.7.1 Frederick BLUE (1768-1855), m. Effie TITSORT. He was born in NJ and was married there, since Ezekiel was born in NJ. They moved to VA for a time around 1800-1, then removed to Hamilton Co. OH. On 25 Apr 1807 he purchased 160 acres of land in Butler Co. OH from Joshua and Jemimah Davis; this land was the NW quarter of Section 7, Township 2, Range 3. In 1809 he appears on the Butler Co. tax list. On 6 Sep 1823 he sold 50 acres of this land to son Ezekiel. On 15 Oct 1834 he sold another 50 acres of it to son Peter. In the accounting of the estate of his son, Peter, Frederick is listed as having received $2.87. In the 1820 census for Butler Co., Frederick appears to have three sons and six daughters. According to the 1850 census, Frederick was (b.ca1764).
The families of this Frederick BLUE and his cousin Richard BLUE [1.5.8.3] both lived in Butler Co. OH in the early 1800’s. Richard’s family is quite well defined by his probate records. All of his children, who were married in Butler Co., were married by Justices of the Peace. In this family of Frederick, Ezekiel and Hannah were married by ministers, so Eleanor, who was also married by a minister, is assigned to Frederick. Though Elizabeth was married to William TANNER by a JP, she is assigned to this family because Richard’s Elizabeth is named CARR in his probate records. Also, though Martha was married to David BRAYTON by a JP, she is assigned to this family on the basis of land records and the fact that she was listed directly after Frederick in the 1830 census of Butler Co. OH.
1.5.7.1.1 Elizabeth “Betsey” BLUE, m.1811 William TANNER.
1.5.7.1.2* Martha BLUE (bp.1793), m.1821 David BRAYTON.
1.5.7.1.3 Eleanor BLUE, m.1823 William JOHNSTON.
1.5.7.1.4* Ezekiel BLUE (bp.1795-1857), m.1824 Margaret MILLER (d.bef 1850).
1.5.7.1.5 Peter BLUE (d.1837), m. Charity _____. Probably born after 1810, since he is not in the 1830 census as head of household in Butler Co., or in any other OH county. His estate was administered in Butler Co., with an appraisal on 18 Aug 1837 and a sale held 25 Aug 1837. Among the buyers were Ezekiel Blue, Frederick Blue, Charity Blue (the widow) and John Harper, husband of Hannah Blue (probably Peter’s sister). In 1836, Peter, of Butler Co., bought land in Miami Co. OH, and he and Charity sold it two days later.
1.5.7.1.6 Hannah BLUE, m.1836 John HARPER.
References: A24, A663, A664, A665, A829, B405, B615, B617, B809, B810.”
Peter is not mention in Generation 5 which suggest he and Charity did not have children. She was in Ohio; I wonder if she moved with some of the other Blues to Sangamon County.
I will leave the more intense investigation to you . . . maybe this is a new starting place for your exploration.
Carm
Hi Kathy,
I responded to this earlier today but don’t see that it sent. Let me try again, just in case. I briefly scanned the Blue Family website with lots of generations of Blue (and the source of many of my Blue family stories). You can find the starting site at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bluefamily/index.html.
We come from the Dutch line.
There were a couple of Charity Blues in the generations 4 & 5, but only one that may have been born in the vicinity of 1809. Unfortunately, she was the spouse/young widow of a Blue and there is not much info about her. She was in Ohio, though. Peter, her husband, is not listed in Generation 5 which suggests either they did not have children or we don’t have record of them.
I will leave the deeper research of the Blue Family site to you, but maybe this offers a new angle to explore. Thanks for contacting me!
Carm
4M
1.5.7.1 Frederick BLUE (1768-1855), m. Effie TITSORT. He was born in NJ and was married there, since Ezekiel was born in NJ. They moved to VA for a time around 1800-1, then removed to Hamilton Co. OH. On 25 Apr 1807 he purchased 160 acres of land in Butler Co. OH from Joshua and Jemimah Davis; this land was the NW quarter of Section 7, Township 2, Range 3. In 1809 he appears on the Butler Co. tax list. On 6 Sep 1823 he sold 50 acres of this land to son Ezekiel. On 15 Oct 1834 he sold another 50 acres of it to son Peter. In the accounting of the estate of his son, Peter, Frederick is listed as having received $2.87. In the 1820 census for Butler Co., Frederick appears to have three sons and six daughters. According to the 1850 census, Frederick was (b.ca1764).
The families of this Frederick BLUE and his cousin Richard BLUE [1.5.8.3] both lived in Butler Co. OH in the early 1800’s. Richard’s family is quite well defined by his probate records. All of his children, who were married in Butler Co., were married by Justices of the Peace. In this family of Frederick, Ezekiel and Hannah were married by ministers, so Eleanor, who was also married by a minister, is assigned to Frederick. Though Elizabeth was married to William TANNER by a JP, she is assigned to this family because Richard’s Elizabeth is named CARR in his probate records. Also, though Martha was married to David BRAYTON by a JP, she is assigned to this family on the basis of land records and the fact that she was listed directly after Frederick in the 1830 census of Butler Co. OH.
1.5.7.1.1 Elizabeth “Betsey” BLUE, m.1811 William TANNER.
1.5.7.1.2* Martha BLUE (bp.1793), m.1821 David BRAYTON.
1.5.7.1.3 Eleanor BLUE, m.1823 William JOHNSTON.
1.5.7.1.4* Ezekiel BLUE (bp.1795-1857), m.1824 Margaret MILLER (d.bef 1850).
1.5.7.1.5 Peter BLUE (d.1837), m. Charity _____. Probably born after 1810, since he is not in the 1830 census as head of household in Butler Co., or in any other OH county. His estate was administered in Butler Co., with an appraisal on 18 Aug 1837 and a sale held 25 Aug 1837. Among the buyers were Ezekiel Blue, Frederick Blue, Charity Blue (the widow) and John Harper, husband of Hannah Blue (probably Peter’s sister). In 1836, Peter, of Butler Co., bought land in Miami Co. OH, and he and Charity sold it two days later.
1.5.7.1.6 Hannah BLUE, m.1836 John HARPER.
References: A24, A663, A664, A665, A829, B405, B615, B617, B809, B810.
Thank you for the quick response. I will indeed go digging some more. I have seen stuff about Richard Blue and thought that perhaps there might be a connection there. I think I will probably go to my local library and see if there are any books there that might help. I am pretty much a “beginner” in genealogy and have found it’s very addicting. I’ve found some interesting facts about my ancestors that I never would have suspected. What great fun to “discover” your ancestors! Thanks again, Kathy
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