JAMES WINTERS

James Winters, my great-grandfather, was born in Ohio in 1819. The names of his parents, his place of birth, when and why he came to Illinois are unknown. From an old tin-type I acquired a year ago, I learned his mother’s maiden name was Baird (Beard, Beird?). He was in Illinois by 1845, because the deed to the first piece of land he bought was signed by Thomas Ford, Governor of Illinois, on March 24, 1845. On November 9, 1845, he married his first wife, according to records in Schuyler County. His tombstone in the cemetery at Littleton, Illinois, a tall white obelisk-type stone, states he died April 8, 1868, at the age of 48 years, 3 months and 27 days. So he was born December 12, 1819.

To the first piece of land (40 plus acres), he added an adjoining 40 plus acres the following year, and on this original farm he established a home. The land is just about a mile west of Littleton on the Brooklyn Road, and a half mile north, the N. ½ of the S. W. ¼ of Section 16. For this land he paid $2.50 - $3.00 an acre. The house was made partly of logs. I saw it once before it was torn down. I think it was in the late 1920’s. This land later belonged to Harry Garrison and is still in his family.

James Winters was a farmer all his adult life, hard working, thrifty, and respected by his neighbors. He believed in the land and bought as much as he could afford. In June, 1845, he bought 100 acres in Section 29, mostly wooded, from Sam and Maria Thompson for $84.00. In 1860 and 1863 he bought about 160 acres in Section 10, and in 1866 another 80 acres adjoining it in Section 3, all in Littleton Township, and at a total cost of about $2500.00. All of this land, some 420 acres, he owned at the time of his death, and it was kept in his estate for some years. At the time of his death it was worth about $10,000.00. None of it is now owned by a Winters descendent. The original deeds for this land are in the Schuyler County Jail Museum. His picture is there also, and the pictures of his ten children will be there later.

The first wife of James Winters was Mary Ann Thompson, daughter of John and Sarah Tullis Walker Thompson. She was born September 30, 1828, in Schuyler County, Illinois, and died July 23, 1861, at the age of 32 years, 9 months, and 23 days. She is buried to the left of her husband in the Littleton Cemetery and has a stone similar to her husband’s. She bore six children: James Beard, Joseph Arthur, William Harrison, Sarah Ann (my grandmother), David Joel, and George Washington. A seventh child died at birth and is buried with her. Her family history will be told later.

On June 29, 1862, James Winters married Edmonia Frances Finch. She was the third child of Wellington and Ellen Anderson Finch and was born in Prince William County, Virginia, May 23, 1840, according to her obituary. She died July 14, 1915, and is buried on the right of her husband in the Littleton Cemetery. She bore him four children: Mary Ellen, Celeste Elizabeth, Amanda, and Hosea David. A few years after James Winters’ death, Edmonia married again. Her family story will be told later.

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

MARY ANN THOMPSON WINTERS

Until about five years ago I knew very little about Mary Ann or her family. My Grandmother Finch was about eight years old when her mother died, and she seldom spoke about her, my mother said. I am grateful to the people at the Schuyler County Jail Museum for putting me in touch with my main sources of information for this account. The fall and winter issues of the 1972 Schuylerite, compiled by the Museum staff, carried the story of the Tullis family, and I secured more information by contacting Mrs. James Blackburn and Mrs. Russell Chapman. I also studied the material about the family in the "History of Schuyler and Brown Counties", published in 1882 and reprinted in 1970 by the Schuyler-Brown Historical Society. There is some doubt about the historical accuracy of some of these materials and certainly they are not complete, but the major part of the story I shall relate must be accurate.

The story of Mary Ann’s parents and their backgrounds I shall relate as one. Almost nothing is known about the Thompson side. Mary Ann’s mother, however, was born Sarah Tullis, and the Tullis family was one of the early pioneer families in Schuyler County.

The original Tullis (Joel or John) came to America with his wife, (Mary?) from Scotland, possibly with some brothers. (Their children, it is said, were Joel, John, Elizabeth and Sarah.) Where they lived has not as yet been determined, but their son, Joel, is said to have been at Valley Forge with Washington during the Revolution. No proof of this has been found. After the war, Joel married Catherine Poppin, a girl from the Netherlands, and they are said to have gone to Kentucky with Daniel Boone on one of his trips. Their children were Joel, Sarah, Hosea, Catherine, Elizabeth, Peter and John.

Joel may have died in Kentucky or he may have gone to Ohio. There is a theory that there was another generation between the Joel of the Revolutionary War and the Joel of Illinois. According to one theory, the second Joel’s daughter, Elizabeth, married John Henry Walker in Hardin County, Kentucky (now called Breckenridge County). Their children were William, John Henry, Lucinda, Cassandra, and Felix Grundy. All of these children, except John Henry, later settled in Schuyler County, Illinois. Felix Grundy married Rachel Watts, and they are the great-grandparents of Mrs. James Blackburn (Sally Jo Irvin). The other theory is that Catherine Tullis married a Peter Peckenpaugh and their daughter, Catherine, married John Henry Walker and their daughter, Mary, married a Joel Tullis. The Tullis, Peckenpaugh, Walker and Snyder families all lived in Hardin County, Kentucky, and settled in Buena Vista, Littleton and Brooklyn Townships in Illinois.

The Joel Tullis who came to Illinois was born April 3, 1800, in Breckenridge County, Kentucky. He married Cassie McKee on June 17, 1824, in Crawford County, Indiana. In 1826, he and his wife’s father, William McKee, led a group of settlers from Indiana into Illinois. They had heard high praises of Schuyler County from William’s brother, Thomas, who had come earlier. A small group, mostly men, but including the families of Joel Tullis, his sister, Sarah, and a man named Hammond, crossed the Illinois at Beard’s Ferry and came on to the home of Thomas McKee. William selected the N. E. ¼ of Section 18 in Rushville Township as their home. They built cabins and put in crops.

Joel’s sister, Sarah Tullis, had been married earlier in Kentucky to John Henry Walker. They had two sons: Henderson and Anderson. After Walker died, she married John Thompson, around 1824. They were the parents of three children: James David (born August 11, 1825, in Kentucky); Mary Ann (born September 30, 1828, in Illinois); and Joel Tullis (born July 30, 1830, in Illinois). John Thompson had been named guardian of Anderson Walker, and he also came to Illinois later. John’s unmarried brother, James, was also a member of the first group which came to Schuyler.

After crops were planted, William McKee, Joel Tullis, and the two Thompsons returned to Indiana and brought the rest of the settlers to Schuyler by boat and wagon train. In the spring of 1827, Joel Tullis moved to the N. W. ¼ of Section 2 of Buena Vista Township and the Thompsons followed. John and James bought land in the N. E. ¼ of Section 1 on December 4, 1827, and built a cabin. In 1831, James sold his interest to John and moved to Littleton Township. John lived on this land until his death, February 15, 1831. I do not know where he is buried. James bought the S. W. ¼ of Section 21 of Littleton Township from a son of Thomas McKee and built a house. Then he returned to Kentucky and married Catherine Crawford on January 1, 1832. They made their home on the Littleton farm. James died October 3, 1843, and his wife died in 1863. They and their young daughter, Lucinda, are buried in the Thompson Cemetery west of Littleton. James’ son, William, lived on the Littleton farm many years.

After twenty years, Joel Tullis became restless again and sold his land on April 4, 1844, and started for Oregon with his wife and children. We do not know who else went with him, but his daughter Hannah’s husband, John McKee, and their daughter, Mary, were in the group and his nephew, Joel Thompson, Sarah’s younger son, and his wife. In Oregon, illness beset the group, and Joel’s granddaughter and five of his children died. Hannah may have died earlier. The news of gold in California soon reached Oregon, and Joel decided to go there. They probably found some gold, but they did not care to live in California so they returned to Illinois around 1850. Joel, Cassie, and six of the children are listed in the 1850 census for Schuyler County. Joel bought a farm in Buena Vista and lived out his life there as Squire Tullis. His sons were in the Civil War, and later all his children went on west to make their homes. His wife died March 30, 1870, and he died October 26, 1888, in Schuyler or Hutchinson, Kansas. Perhaps he lived with one of his children the last few years. Joel and Cassie are both buried in the Moore Cemetery northwest of Rushville.

After John Thompson’s death, Sarah Tullis Thompson married Randolph Rose on August 7, 1832. He was born November 8, 1786, in Kentucky. Randolph’s first wife was Rebecca Bozier, and they had eight children: Commodore A.S.D., William, Richard, Barbara, Sarah, Eda, Rebecca Jane, and John. Randolph and Sarah had three children. Sarah Josephine (June 29, 1833 - July 22, 1895) married William Lambert (January 21, 1832 - March 19, 1910). They had six children who lived: Maybel, William L., Edward, Josephine, Ella and Fannie. Thomas J. and Benjamin F. Rose both died young and are buried near Randolph and Sarah Rose, who are buried just north of James and Mary Ann Winters in the Littleton Cemetery. Randolph died September 19, 1861, and Sarah died May 30, 1872.

Sarah’s older son, James David, is listed in the 1850 census for Schuyler County. Mary Ann married James Winters November 9, 1845, and they lived on the farm near Littleton until they died. Her life was typical of the times: early marriage, many children, hard work and early death. I have no picture of Mary Ann and doubt if one exists, but I imagine she was small with fair skin and light brown hair. Many of her children were short and fair as was her Dutch grandmother. How I wish now I had learned more about her from my grandmother!

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

EDMONIA FRANCES FINCH WINTERS

The second wife of James Winters, Edmonia Finch, was born in Prince William County, Virginia, on May 23, 1840, according to her obituary. One of her younger brothers, James, married Sarah Ann Winters, daughter of James Winters, and they are my maternal grandparents. So I have an equal interest in the Winters and Finch families, and many of the people in this story are related to me two ways.

The parents of Edmonia and James were Wellington and Ellen Anderson Finch. On a trip to Virginia in May, 1976, in the Prince William County Library at Manassas, Virginia, I found this census record for June 1, 1850, which lists the children in proper order and gives their ages: Wellington Finch, age 34, a farmer; his wife, Ellen, age 34, both born in Virginia; Marshall B., 13, Amanda B., 10, Edmonia, 9, Georgeanne, 7, Wellington, 6, Richard A., 5, James W., 3, Phillip, 1, John Anderson, 48. I suppose John was a relative of Ellen. I had heard all these names of the children before except Wellington. Some time later in an 1860 census record for Camden Township, Schuyler County, Illinois, I found the same list, but there was added a John T., born in 1852. Wellington was called Wellington J. so perhaps he is the Jack Mother spoke about. Also, in this list was a Richard Anderson, 40, who was a brother of Ellen, I believe. My efforts to learn the names of Wellington’s parents when I was in Virginia met with no success. In the 1850 census records, I did find a Marshall B. Finch, his wife Kitty A., and three children. I think Marshall may be Wellington’s brother, but I have no proof.

At the court house at Manassas, Virginia, I found a record of the estate of Ann Anderson which was settled April 30, 1854. The estate included 826 acres of land, and among the heirs is listed Ellen Anderson Finch, who received 93 acres and a house in one plot and 25 acres in another. Also listed as heirs are David and Richard Anderson and men named Rowley, Robinson, and Gaines. This land is located between Kettle Run and the Brentsville-Greenwich Road, southwest of Manassas, close to the Fauquier County line.

In the summer of 1976, I received a letter from Mrs. William L. Finch (Leona) of Galesburg, Illinois, who had learned my name at the Schuyler Jail Museum. Since then we have exchanged much family information and are certain there is a relationship, but so far we have found no proof. From her I learned about the book, "Finch Families of Dixie", by Ruby Finch Thompson, and I ordered a copy. Mrs. Thompson believes the William Finch family and mine are part of the Westmoreland County Finch line which she traces back to before the Revolution. She has no proof, however, for some of the early generations. But it is certain that in 1775 a William Finch, Jr., (sixth generation) bought land in Fauquier County. He had seven children, one of whom was Griffin, who married Elizabeth White in 1796 in Richmond County. He had three children: Marshall, Amanda, and another son, name unknown. I feel Wellington must be this other son. He named his first children Marshall and Amanda. Leona Finch and I have written, with no success, to many court houses in Virginia counties in an effort to prove that Wellington was a son of Griffin. The Virginia State Library also offers no help. Griffin had a younger brother, John, who is the ancestor of the William Leland Finch family of Galesburg. Some of his descendents came to Schuyler County, Illinois, about the time the Wellington Finch family came, and both families lived in Buena Vista Township. The complete story of the John Finch family has been compiled by Mrs. William Finch and a copy can be found in the Schuyler Jail Museum as well as a copy of "Finch Families of Dixie" by Ruby Finch Thompson.

I believe Wellington and his family came to Illinois in late 1855. A record in the Manassas court house shows he sold his crops and possessions to a William Lipscomb in 1855. Perhaps after Ellen received her inheritance and they paid their debts, they sold their land and moved. A deed recorded February 21, 1856, in the Schuyler County, Illinois, court house says Wellington bought from George Wyant the S. ½ of Section 17 in Buena Vista Township (320 acres). However, he sold this land to Thomas Wilson in 1860, except for a small piece (40 acres) in the southwest corner. This piece in 1870 was owned by Joseph Snyder, who married Amanda Finch on February 6, 1856. Wellington’s family is listed in the census of 1860 as living in Camden Township.

According to Mother’s family, Wellington and Ellen Finch are buried in the old Hughes Cemetery, northwest of Rushville just north of the Camden road. For years it was impossible to get into it, but now it is well kept. Several years ago I found two pieces of white slab-type stone lying together which seem to be Ellen Finch’s tombstone. Together they read in part "Ellen A. Wife of W. Finch, Died October 9, 1865. Age 58." The age is puzzling when compared to the census figures for 1850 which I found in Virginia, and I have no reason to doubt their truth. To make the date of her death and her age more confusing, a record of deaths from the "Schuyler Citizen" lists "October 8, 1866, Wife of Wellington Finch." Another record reads "August 24, 1875. Died Mrs. Finch, Buena Vista Township, mother of Mr. James Finch." The mother of the James W. Finch in the Galesburg line did not come to Illinois, Mrs. Finch tells me. So I do not know for sure when Ellen Anderson Finch died and I have no information at all about Wellington Finch’s death date. I can find no marker in Hughes Cemetery for him or for their daughter, Amanda. Both Amanda and Joseph Snyder are supposed to be buried there.

Edmonia and James are the only members of the Wellington Finch family I ever saw. I know Mother said she never saw any of her grandparents, and I do not believe she ever saw any of her father’s brothers or sisters except Edmonia. I have managed to learn a few things about the other children. Marshall B., always called "Bush", served in the 119th Infantry, Company E., in the Civil War. He was mustered out at Camp Butler, Illinois, September 14, 1865. He married Ruth Ann Mintz on June 24, 1868, and I think they lived in Camden Township. They then moved to Rice, Kansas, where he farmed. They had three children: Laura, Phillip, and Lilly. Laura married Charles Murch, and they lived in Concordia, Kansas, and are buried there. The Murches had two daughters, Gertrude and Edna. Mother wrote to Laura, and I wrote to the daughters and have their pictures. The girls married and moved to California, I believe. Phillip married and lived at Belleville, near Rice. Lillie was a retarded child.

Amanda Finch, who was born in 1839, not ‘40 as her obituary says, married Joseph W. Snyder on February 6, 1856. He was, I think, the son of John W. (born in Virginia) and Cynthia Snider who lived in Buena Vista Township in 1850. They farmed first in Buena Vista Township, I believe, but settled in Section 28 in Littleton Township. They had twelve children, her obituary says. Joseph, who was born July 9, l833, died April 12, 1906. Amanda died February 12, 1914. They are buried in the Hughes Cemetery, Mother said, but I find no stones and no record. I can find seven of the children, who are by name: Jacob W., James W., George, David H., Celeste, Charles, and Dora Nay. Five of these were living when Joseph died in 1906. James W. had died when the census of 1880 was taken. When Amanda died in 1914, her living children were J. W. Snyder of Omaha, George M. of Keokuk, David H. of Huntsville, Celeste (wife of Ed Elliot) of Schuyler County, and Charles of Macomb. Charles married Lena Wheat and owned a store in Macomb. I remember them. Dora May married Frank Miller and must have died before 1914. I have her picture. Celeste and Ed Elliot rented Grandpa Finch’s farm for several years. I remember them.

Georgeanne, born in 1844, married David Sorrells, and they farmed in Morgan County near Woodson. I think she died in 1899. They had four children: Hiram, Oliver, Lillie B., and Claude C. When we lived in St. Louis, we often visited with Hiram and his family who lived there. He was a streetcar motorman. His wife was Lyda, and he had a son, Merle, and a daughter, Marie. Merle married Mae Wiegand, and he has now been dead about eight years. They had no children. Marie married William Gaterman. I know they once lived in Oklahoma City and later in St. Louis. I believe they are living. Oliver must have died young. Lillie married and lived in Birmingham, Alabama. Claude never married. He also lived in St. Louis, and he died while we were still living there in the 1920’s.

Wellington J. must be the son, Jack, who died of measles while a soldier in the Civil War. Richard never married. He lived with James and his wife for a time when they were first married. Phillip married Harriett McKee on October 2, 1872. They had a son, Otto, and lived near Joplin, Missouri, I believe. I know nothing at all about John T. Perhaps he died young. I have pictures of all Grandpa’s brothers and sisters except Wellington and John.

Edmonia was 22 when she married James Winters June 29, 1862, and went to live on the farm and care for the children. Grandmother said that she was a southern girl and not used to hard work. There were four more children added to the family: Mary (born 1863), Celeste (born 1865), Amanda (born l867), and Hosea (born 1868), a few months after James Winters died. Edmonia lived on the farm, I think, until after she married Harvey Wilson Cole in 1879. In 1882, Harvey and Mona moved to the farm just north of Rushville where she lived the rest of her life. Harvey Cole, the son of John Smith and Rebecca Fleming Cole, was born November 3, 1846, in Indiana. His first wife was Sarah Jane Snyder, who died May 3, 1878, at the age of 28. They had four children: Ella, Mary Elizabeth, Henry Walter, and Wesley. Ella married a man named West, and they lived in Montana. They had four daughters: Grace, Marie, Hazel and June. In the 1930’s, Ella, her husband, Hazel and June came to Illinois for a short time, and I knew them. Mother wrote to June many years after they returned to Montana. She married P.W. Davis, and they lived in Ronan. He was a mechanic. I know nothing about Mary Elizabeth Cole or Wesley Cole. Wesley lived in Montana. Henry Walter (January 22, 1876 - July 12, 1947) married Anna Dickason December 31, 1905. They had three boys: Harold, who died an infant, Merle, and Walter Laverne, who died in World War II. Merle is married and lives in Rushville.

Harvey and Edmonia Cole had two children: Homer Clyde (1879 - 1881 and buried at Littleton), and Mabel. Mabel had a daughter, Georgia, who was raised as Mabel’s sister. Georgia married first a man named Fountain and later a Furnace. She lived in Macomb. Mabel lived in Montana near her half-brother and sister for some years. She was a school teacher and later was a graduate of Western Illinois Teachers’ College at Macomb and taught there. She married Carl Wickline and they adopted a son, Eldon, who also graduated from Western and taught. Mabel died at Macomb at the age of 58, and is buried at Rushville. Harvey Cole died August 26, 1930, at Macomb and is buried in the Rushville City Cemetery.

I remember Edmonia Cole very vividly. In later years she was afflicted by severe palsy and paralysis and required much care. She always sat in a chair. I was in the home many times as a child with my mother and others of the family. In a way she united four groups of children into one family. Years later I saw her in the faces of my mother and some of her cousins as they grew older. She died July 14, 1915, and is buried in the Littleton Cemetery on the right side of James Winters.

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

JAMES BEARD WINTERS

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

JOSEPH ARTHUR WINTERS

The second child of James and Mary Ann Winters was a son, Joseph Arthur, born in November, 1848, on the Littleton Township farm. I know very little about him. Mother’s cousin, Anna Winters White, sent me what little she knew some years ago. More recently James Ault sent me census figures he found in Washington, D.C.

In November of 1883 Joseph married Addie A. Beckum. She was born in October of 1862. For some years they lived on a rented farm in Colchester Township, McDonough County, Illinois. Their children were born there. There were six children, five of whom were living in 1910: John (born in December, 1884), Jesse (born in November 1886), Birdie (born in October, 1888), George W. (born in January, 1891), and Bessie (born in April, 1899). Mother had a picture of Joe and his wife with three children.

The family later moved to Kansas. Anna White told me she and some of her family once went to Parsons, Kansas, to visit him. His wife was dead and he was living with his son, Jesse. His daughter, Bessie, also lived in Parsons. He was blind in his last years, as was my grandmother. I have not found the date of his death.

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

WILLIAM HARRISON WINTERS

William Harrison, the third child of James and Mary Ann Winters, was born in April of 1851 on the farm near Littleton. His first marriage was to Charlotte Hightower on January 26, 1871. She died September 26, 1873, and is buried in the Littleton Cemetery. I have a picture labeled "My brother Bill and his wife Lottie".

Later William moved to Kansas and farmed. He married Laura (last name unknown) who was born in 1861 in Texas. The 1900 census of Sheridan Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, lists the children: Fred (born November, 1880), Harry H. (born in November 1882), Mary G. (Nov. 1884), Maud (Jan. 1886), Lizzie (March, 1889), Eva (Aug., 1894), Robert and Ruth (Dec., 1896). I know there was also a Wilda, who must have been born after 1900. William was the only one of Grandmother’s three older brothers I ever saw. He, his wife, and Wilda were back in Illinois for a visit, and I saw them at Uncle George’s home. I also have a copy of a picture taken at that time. It includes Bill, Laura and Wilda, Dave and Retta, George and Belle and their daughters Ada and Cora, and an unknown small boy. I also have a picture of a young woman marked "Marie, Uncle Bill’s daughter". I suppose this is Mary. She and Mother corresponded for many years.

I do not know when or where William and Laura died or where they are buried.

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

SARAH ANN WINTERS FINCH

The fourth child of James and Mary Ann Winters was Sarah Ann, my grandmother. She was named for her mother and grandmother, but she was always called Ann or Annie. She was born on the farm near Littleton on December 11, 1853. Since she was the only girl, she helped her mother with the house and children and had very little schooling. Life was still rather primitive. I remember hearing her tell how frightened she was when she saw an Indian sitting on the bank of a creek. After her mother died when she was not quite eight, the whole care of the home rested on her until her father remarried the following year. Three girls were added to the family. I remember her telling that her father bought a sewing machine, one of the first in the area, and she was soon making clothes for the whole family and many others as well. In 1868 her father died, and a few months later the last Winters child, a son, was born. On December 14, 1870, at the age of seventeen, she married James Wellington Finch, a younger brother of her step-mother. She was the first of the children to marry. As I have mentioned before, this marriage makes me doubly related to the last four Winters children.

James Finch was born December 9, 1848, in Prince William County, Virginia, and came to Illinois in 1855. After his marriage he rented a farm a few miles north of Rushville. His brother, Richard, lived with them for a time. Around 1872 James and Ann acquired an 80 acre farm in Section 10, north of Littleton, a part of the land which James Winters had owned there. Here they lived for some years, and their two children were born. Just west of them was the farm of Ann’s brother, David, and across the road south was the home of her brother, George.

The first child was Walter Asa, born October 12, 1871, and the other was my mother, Grace Elnora, born March 25, 1873. They attended the country school near their home, but frequently Mother could not go for Grandmother’s health began to fail. In 188? Grandfather rented the farm and moved to Rushville. He purchased a feed barn and livery stable on North Liberty Street and a house across the street. This was their home as long as James lived.

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979

from The James Winters Family by Irene Foster Dintelman, 1979