The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be Tuesday, October 8th at 7 PM when Sue Kaufman of Peoria will present an overview of FamilySearch.

She will return on Saturday, October 12th for a FamilySearch Beginners Workshop. Registration is required as space is limited. See the TCGHS website for more details.

There’s still time to submit your Terri Lynn Nut and Candy order but not much. Orders need to be received before October 7th. You can find an order form online at tcghs.org or drop by during regular hours. This is our popular fall fundraiser.

We are excited to be celebrating Pekin’s Bicentennial this year and we are participating on the bicentennial planning committee. The next bicentennial event takes place Sunday, October 27th in Lakeside Cemetery. The Pekin’s Pavers Mausoleum Tour will feature several of Pekin’s Movers, Shakers, Builders and Merry Makers! 

All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County, including Revolutionary War Veterans.

As this is being written it’s the first day of Constitution Week so what could be more fitting than a discussion of the men that made the USA possible. There are at least nine Revolutionary War Soldiers believed to have lived in Tazewell County and several are buried here. Here are just a few:

James Broyhill
James Broyhill was born 29 April 1761 in Caroline County, Virginia and was thought to be the grandson of Irish immigrant William Broughill. His pension application refers to a ledger kept by his grandfather William. James was a private in the Virginia Militia under Captain Fountain and others according to his pension records. After the war he lived in Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties in Virginia before moving to Wilkes Co., North Carolina where he can be found in the 1820 census. The 1830 census finds him in McMinn Co., Tennessee before making his last move to Tazewell County, Illinois. The 1840 Tazewell census lists him with his wife. He first applied for his pension in 1837 and again on 9th of September 1840. It was eventually granted but the funds were paid to Rebecca as they were not received until three years after his death. In fact, by the time the federal bureaucracy finally came through Rebecca had passed so the funds were acknowledged as received by her administrators.

James (1761-1842) and Rebecca Bailey (1763-1845) Broyhill married 25 September 1785 in Virginia. They had seven children, all born in Virginia: John Norman married Polly Davis 15 Sept 1810; Mary ‘Polly’ married Nathaniel Brown 26 Feb 1810; William married Nancy Johnson 22 Mar 1816; Sarah married Isaiah Hampton 23 Sep 1815; Frances married Elijah Hampton 12 Oct 1814; James married Clarissa H Johnson 28 Jun 1820 all in Wilkes; Anna Louisa married Mathias Mount 31 May 1836 in Tazewell Co., Illinois. 

James Sr. died 7 January 1842 at his home in Tremont Twp. and is believed to be buried on the old home place in a small family cemetery. The 1873 Atlas & History of Tazewell relates that William & James Broyhill among others arrived here from McMinn Co., TN in late 1830. The ’73 atlas shows a tiny cross on Section 22 where the Broyhill cemetery is located. Illinois Public Domain purchases show James buying 40 acres in the NE corner of Section 28 in 1835; James Jr buying 40 acres in the SW quarter of Section 22 in 1833; William buying 40 acres in Section 16 and another 40 in Section 21 in 1835, all in Tremont Township.

Curiously, there is an 1841 deed that conveys property from Horace Richmond to Michael Trout, William Sterling, and James Broyhill in the south ½ of the east ½ of the SE ¼ of Section 17 of Tremont Township which is Tennessee Point Cemetery. It’s unclear as to why the early family wasn’t buried in that cemetery since it predates their deaths.

The small family cemetery on Section 22 was restored by John Heider in 2009 but no stone was found for James Sr. so although James is believed to be buried in Tremont Township we can’t prove exactly where his remains lie.

James Broyhill was proved to be a Revolutionary War Veteran as evidenced by the payment of his pension by the federal government. He is listed on the Rolls of the Illinois recipients.

Norman Newell
Norman Newell was born 28 August 1760 in Farmington, Connecticut. He enlisted in the Continental Army in December 1776 at age 16. He served as a private under Captains Whiting and Walker in Colonel Samuel Webb’s battalion of Conn. Forces. He appears on the rolls off and on for three to four years.

Norman is listed in the 1800 census of Elizabethtown, New York with a wife and son 10-15 which must be Apollas. Apollas then appears as head of house in the 1810, 1820 & 1830 censuses of Elizabethtown. His mother, Rosetta (1761-1821) died in Elizabethtown, NY on 27 September 1821 and is buried there. 

Norman applied for his pension 21 April 1818 while living in Batavia, Genesee County, New York and it was granted. He named a wife aged 41, Lucy, and a son aged 12, Sidney as dependents. This is the only mention of Sidney. By 1837 he and Apollas had moved to Ohio where we find Apollas in Norton, Summit Co., Ohio in the 1840 census.

Norman moved around a lot and had to ask for a transfer of his pension every time. Various pension records show he moved from Monroe Co., NY to Medina Co., OH about 1837. He appears in the 1840 Tazewell census living with a Thomas Brooks family. He then moves back to Ohio briefly before returning to Tazewell for a few years and then again making a final move to Summit Co., Ohio in late 1848.

The 1850 Summit County, Ohio census lists Norman Newell living with his son Apollas on 4 November 1850 whereas Norman’s second wife, Lucy, is still living in Tazewell County, Illinois in 1850 with the Brooks family. Norman died 6 April 1851 at the age of 90 in New Portage, Summit Co., Ohio. Find-a-Grave lists his burial as being in Lakewood Cemetery in Akron, Ohio along with his son Apollas (1784-1862). There is no stone for Norman but there is a SAR marker for him in that cemetery. Apollas is also known as Pollaus A. Newell.

Norman’s final pension payment was made from the Cleveland, Ohio office which lists his date of death. Prior to that, he had been on the Illinois rolls.

The final bit of trivia regarding Norman is that while he was living in Tazewell he was assisted by attorney Abraham Lincoln not once but on three different occasions in receiving his pension. While Lincoln may have helped other pensioners, this was the only instance found in Tazewell county. 

Elliot Gray
Elliot Gray was born 17 September 1755 in Pelham, Hampshire County, Massachusetts to Jonathan (1730-1801) and Margaret (1734-1771) Patrick Gray. He first enlisted in the Massachusetts Militia in 1776 under Captain Benjamin Bonney & Colonel Samuel Brewer. He later served under Captain Moses Montague and Colonel Israel Chapin in 1779. In his first engagement he helped fortify Ticonderoga and in his second he was in Albany.

Elliot married Hannah Crawford 11 February 1787 in Pelham. It seems he spent nearly his entire life in Pelham where he and his family can be found in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 census records. Sometime in 1839 Elliot and Hannah along with three of their children moved to Tazewell County and settled in what is now Morton Township. The 1840 Tazewell census lists three men and one woman in Eri Gray’s household.

Daughter Margaret born 15 June 1788 never married. Daughter Pamela born 11 February 1792 married Chester Chapin about 1814. She died 20 November 1865 and is buried in Fondulac County, Wisconsin. Daughter Sarah born 29 May 1800 married Jason Carpenter. She died 10 August 1875 and is buried in Hardwick, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

Elliot died in March 1841 and was buried in Deacon Cemetery in Groveland Township along with his wife Hannah (1762-1839) and daughter Margaret (1788-1848). His son Eri born 21 May 1803 died 2 May 1868 and son Willard born 17 February 1806 died 18 April 1874. Sometime after the 1860 census Eri and Willard moved to Gridley, McLean County and they are buried in Gridley Cemetery.

Finally, daughter Susanna born 8 May 1790 married Samuel Clark 27 November 1815 in Pelham. She died 18 September 1870 and is buried in Deacon Cemetery along with her husband. Samuel and Susanna Clark were in Illinois as early as 1833 when Sam bought land in Tazewell County, T25N, R4W, 3rd PM - Section 25 of what is now Groveland Township. Their land was immediately east of and adjacent to Deacon Cemetery. Susanna’s son Joel (1818-1879) married Sarah Waters and they are buried in Springdale along with daughter Ellen F. “Ella” Clark (1851-1949). This granddaughter is mentioned as she was a member of the Peoria DAR and in 1914 she arranged for Elliot’s grave to be marked with a tablet and name plate plus a stake. Unfortunately, the tablet, marker and stake have all gone missing. Elliot Gray was proved to be a Revolutionary War Veteran as evidenced by the payment of his pension by the federal government. He is listed on the Rolls of the Massachusetts recipients.

The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all-volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for over 45 years. TCGHS operates an archive, library, and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin. Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us. If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.