ELI HOBBS, son of the elder Solomon, was one of the emigrant pack train that came from Kentucky to the Illinois
country in 1829. He was a great grandson of the elder Hinson Hobbs, who was a compatriot of Captain John Vertrees,
the elder Jacob Van Meter and the elder Samuel Haycraft, in Haycraft's fort in the Severns Valley of Kentucky in
1779-80, during the war of the Revolution. Eli Hobbs, in Pike county in 1849, married a daughter of pioneer Josias
Wade, the old Indian Fighter who once from behind a log in the Ohio wilderness fought shoulder to shoulder with
Daniel Boone in desperate encounter with Shawnee Indians.
Josias Wade, who is buried in Bethel cemetery, was also a participant in November, 1811, in the great slaughter
of Chief Tecumseh's people when the Indiana Territory town of the chief's brother, Elskwatawa the Prophet, was
annihilated in the bloody encounter at Tippecanoe, which sent old "Tippecanoe and Tyler too, and with them
we'll beat little Van," was sung throughout the land.
Josias Wade's daughter Lucinda had first married Joel Elledge, descendant of the Boones, who died soon after the
birth of a daughter, Rebecca Frances Elledge, who married Adam Hofsess, and who was a half-sister of the children
of Lucinda by her second husband, Eli Hobbs; the children of this second marriage numbering ten, namely, Mary Catherine,
Solomon Josiah, Delia Ann, Emma Landis, Melissa Jane, Finis Lowery, John Wesley, Charity D., Loretta Dovey and
Lila May Hobbs.
Mary Catherine Hobbs, born near Perry November 14, 1849, died January 2, 1872. She was unmarried.
Solomon J. Hobbs, born at Perry March 6, 1851, on April 6, 1873 married Mary Alice Cooley, with Justice Thomas
Hull of Fish Hook officiating. They had five children, Wells Carlisle (Jake) Hobbs of Pittsfield, Mayme, wife of
Ed E. Pool of Chambersburg, Franklin L. and Ira Hobbs, both of Chambersburg, and Anna Ethel, a daughter who died
in infancy.
Wells C. Hobbs, at the age of 24, married Mabel Smith of Chambersburg, a daughter of Arthur H. Smith and Clella
Hawes. The Reverend J. M. Duff married them at Chambersburg December 12, 1907. They had one daughter, Helen, who
resides at Chambersburg. On February 7, 1929, Mr. Hobbs was again married, his second wife being Mrs. Lena (Denison)
Peecher, a native of Glasgow, Kentucky, and a daughter of William Denison and Irene Brown. They were married in
Pittsfield by Mark Bradburn, then county judge. They reside at 214 East Perry Street, Pittsfield.
Mary L. (Mayme) Hobbs married Edward E. Pool of Chambersburg, a son of Civil War veteran Henry Pool (now deceased)
and his wife, Susan Desier. They reside on the old Henry Pool farm in Section 7 Chambersburg township, a mile from
Chambersburg village. They have two sons, Walter Collins, born October 2, 1906, and Robert, born December 4, 1910.
Walter Collins Pool at the age of 20 married Marjorie Darlene Dugan, 19, a daughter of Fritz Keener Dugan and Myrtle
Hume. They were married at Chambersburg February 10, 1927 by Reverend L. C. Million, Christian minister, with Mervin
Dugan and Grace Leahr witnessing. Robert Pool, younger brother of Walter, is at the parental home.
Frank L. Hobbs at the age of 21 married Emma Lillian Ham, a daughter of George Ham and Mary Todd of Chambersburg.
They were married at Pittsfield on April 11, 1895 by the Reverend W. H. Gannaway. They have six children, Carl,
Mary, Glenn, Dean, Joe and Wava. Carl, married, has descendants and is with the Brown County Motor Company at Versailles;
Mary is married to Otto Knight, a druggist, and resides in Chicago where she is head nurse for the Pullman Company;
Glenn is at Chambersburg, employed on bridge contracts; Dean is farming with his father; Joe married Violette Reeves
of Chambersburg, daughter of James A. and Clara A. Reeves, the Reverend Russell E. Booker of the Pittsfield Christian
church performing the ceremony October 17, 1935 in the presence of Walter Brown and Nina Heine. They live in Chicago
where he is associated with the Pullman Company. Wava Hobbs married Donald Savage of New Salem, a son of Howard
Savage and Georgia Shrigley, on January 5, 1936. The Reverend Homer R. Brown of Pittsfield married them, with Mrs.
Tilden Smith and Reed Bagent witnessing. They reside at Beardstown.
Ira Wilson Hobbs married Alice Leahr of Chambersburg and they have two sons: Wilbur Carlisle Hobbs, born September
16, 1916, who is an enrollee in a CCC camp at Havana, Illinois; and Donavan Hobbs, born October 5, 1919, who is
at the parental home in Chambersburg.
Solomon J. (Sol) Hobbs was for 47 years a resident of the Chambersburg community. He was at one time associated
with the operation of the old Elledge Mills at Chambersburg, and it was he who installed a circular saw in the
early Elledge saw mill, taking the place of the "up and down" saw of the earlier days.
Sol Hobbs in 1887 united with the Methodist church at Chambersburg, under the Reverend Mr. Coats; he was a charter
member of the M. W. A. and a member of the A. F. & A. Masons. He also represented Chambersburg township on
the Pike county board of supervisors.
Stricken with paralysis on July 26, 1919, Mr. Hobbs remained in an almost helpless condition for many years, his
death occurring at Chambersburg July 19, 1926, at the age of 75 years, six months and 13 days; he is buried in
Brown cemetery near Chambersburg.
Delia Ann Hobbs, third child and second daughter of Eli Hobbs and Lucinda Wade, born September 8, 1852, died December
9, 1867, aged 15 years, three months and one day; she is buried in Old Baptist cemetery at Perry.
Emma Landis Hobbs, fourth child of Eli and Lucinda, born February 3, 1854, married Maro Johnson December 11, 1873,
with Justice Thomas Hull of Fish Hook officiating. The groom, descended in direct line from John Johnson, who brought
his family from England to New England in 1630 and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, was a son of Roderick Johnson
and Mary Jane Vail, the former a native of New Hampshire, the latter the daughter of Solomon Vail (a native of
Pennsylvania) and his wife, Jane Vail, of the early Pike county settlement.
Maro Johnson and Emma Landis Hobbs had eight children, all born in Fairmount township, on Section 13, namely: Loretta
Jane, Bertha Edna, James R., Carrie Glenn, Alta June, John Cresten, Edward Vivian and Charles Roscoe.
Loretta Jane Johnson, born November 25, 1874, married James Ira Six, a son of James Six and Rhoda Waverly of Morrillville,
on March 28, 1894. Mr. Six was born June 20, 1870. They were married by Justice J. W. Linville at Pittsfield, with
Edward F. Binns and Jason A. Rider witnessing. They had seven children, namely: Alice Six, born January 4, 1896,
who married Rollie Johnson of Buckhorn (Brown county) and they have two children, Doris, born October 26, 1918,
and Harold; Marshall Six (deceased), born March 3, 1899, married Blanche Griewe, daughter of Ernest Griewe and
Ina Read, and they had four children, Richard, born May 9, 1922, Donald, born July 23, 1923, Grace born September
29, 1925, and Wayne born May 22, 1928, died 1937; Hazel Six, born November 5, 1900, married Charles Reese, son
of Herman C. Reese and Mayme Thiele, and they have one son, Robert, born September 3, 1928; Laura Six, born October
30, 1903, married Leslie Howell and they have one daughter, Jo Ann, born February 22, 1928; Maude six, born January
15, 1906; Leslie Six, born February 15, 1910; and Glen Six, born September 24, 1913.
Bertha Edna Johnson, born January 16, 1880, married Charles Hofsess of Fairmount township, a son of Frederick Hofsess
and Delina Morrell. They were married at Perry March 5, 1902, by the Reverend Warren W. Drake with Gertrude Walker
and George M. Doane witnessing. Mr. and Mrs. Hofsess have one daughter, Lozelle, born September 23, 1910.
James R. Johnson, born November 25, 1882, died January 2, 1888, aged five years, one month and eight days. He is
buried at Perry.
Carrie Glenn Johnson, born February 20, 1885, died July 26, 1901.
Alta June Johnson, born June 20, 1887, married Leslie Hoover, son of David and Bell Hoover, and they have one daughter,
Wilma, born in May, 1911.
John Cresten Johnson, bearing the name of the first Johnson of record in America, the pioneer of 1630, was born
April 18, 1889 and on October 5, 1910 married Florence Ellen Bradbury, daughter of Charles Madison Bradbury and
Lulu Browning. They were married at Perry by the Reverend Thomas W. Gossard, with Mary Bradbury and Russell White
witnessing. They have four children, all at home, namely: Lorraine Cletus, born March 27, 1912; Dean Roderick,
born July 19, 1913; Maro, born December 19, 1917; and John Charles born June 19, 1920. John Johnson is the present
Pike county supervisor from Perry township.
Edward Vivian Johnson, born February 1, 1892, married Mary E. Butler; they have no children.
Charles Roscoe Johnson, eight and last of the children of Maro Johnson and Emma Landis Hobbs, born May 19, 1896,
married Blanche Meservey, daughter of Elwood Meservey and Emma Stewart, and they had two children: Maxine Carrie,
born February 20, 1918; and Lyle Rex, born February 5, 1922. The mother, Blanche (Meservey) Johnson, died in February,
1934 and on August 29, 1936 Mr. Johnson again married, his second wife being Mrs. Ruby (Henthorn) Moore of Pittsfield.
They were married in Bowling Green, Missouri, and lived in Pittsfield until their removal to the Maro Johnson farm,
between Perry and Fish Hook, where they now reside.
John Johnson, founder of the Johnson family in America, was born in England about 1590 and came with his family
to the new world in 1630, settling at Roxbury, Massachusetts. In England he had married Margaret (probably Scudder);
she died in America in 1655 and John then married Grace Negus Fawer, a widow. Pioneer John died in 1659. His son
Isaac, by his first wife Margaret, married Elizabeth Porter and was killed by Indians in 1675. He had been born
in England. Other children of pioneer John by his first wife were Elizabeth, born in England, married Robert Pepper,
died in 1684; Humphrey, born in England about 1620 (ancestor of the Pike county Johnsons); Mary and Ann, both born
in England, the first becoming the wife of Roger Mowry, the second the wife of William Makepeace.
Humphrey Johnson, coming with his parents to America in 1630, married Ellen Cheney at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in
1642. She was born in England about 1626. Humphrey and his wife moved to Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1651 and about
1674 to Hingham, Massachusetts, and later (possibly) to Roxbury. The wife, Ellen, died in 1678 and Humphrey later
married Abigail (Stansful) May, a widow. Humphrey died in 1693. He was the father of ten children by his first
wife and two by his second, among those by the first wife being a son, Nathaniel Johnson, born at Scituate, Massachusetts,
in 1665 or 1666.
Nathaniel Johnson was baptized at Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1666, according to the baptismal records, and about
1695 he removed to Sherborn, Massachusetts (afterward in part called Holliston). He married Abigail (family name
missing) and by her had eight children, among them a son, Joseph Johnson, born at Hingham in 1685.
Joseph Johnson, born at Hingham September 9, 1685, removed with his parents to Sherborn, Massachusetts, in 1695
and there married Ledya (Lydia) Twitchell. He died in 1745, she in 1777. He was called Lieutenant Joseph Johnson.
He was the father of nine children, among them Moses Johnson, born at Sherborn (later Holliston) November 18, 1711.
Moses Johnson married Sabilla Plimton May 18, 1732 and they became the parents of seven children, the eldest of
whom was Simon Johnson, born at Holliston, Massachusetts, June 22, 1733.
Simeon Johnson married Elizabeth Gardner August 19, 1756. She died about 1768 and Simeon later married Elizabeth
Stone. Simeon served in the French and Indian War and in the Revolution. On the "Record of Service in the
Colonial Wars," in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, appears the following:
"Simeon Johnson - Appears on Muster Roll dated Boston, March 5, 1756, of a company in His Majesty's service
under the command of Capt. Benjamin Wood, Quality Corporal. Entered service August 26, 1755. Service to December
13, 1755, 15 weeks 5 days, on expedition against Crown Point. Travel (12 days) allowed from Albany to Boston. (Capt.
Wood was a resident of Hopkinton.)" - Volume 94, Page 117.
John Johnson of Perry, a great great grandson of Simeon Johnson, also has a document signed by Simeon and presented
to "His Excellency William Shirly, Esqr., Captain General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Province
of the Massachusetts Bay in New England and to the Honourable His Majesty's Counsell and the Honourable House of
Representatives," then convened in Boston, this document being in the nature of a petition for relief for
disabilities suffered from a fever as the petitioner was returning home from service with 800 recruits sent to
Lake George in the old French and Indian War, the petition bearing the date of March, 1756.
Simeon Johnson moved about 1771 to Dublin, New Hampshire, and about 1793 to Lansingburg (Troy), New York, where
he is believed to have died. By his first wife, Elizabeth Gardner, he had four children, and by his second wife,
Elizabeth Stone, he had two sons, Adam and Silas Johnson.
Adam Johnson, first of the family to come to Pike county, Illinois, was born at Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1772.
He was a school teacher and surveyor, well educated for his time. He is said to have worn his hair in a queue after
removing to Ohio, which he did in 1819. In Ohio he assisted in settling the village of Keene and taught the first
school there. After 1840 he removed to Pike county, Illinois, where he died September 9, 1852. He is buried in
Old Baptist cemetery at Perry. An engraved stone marks his burial.
On August 25, 1803, Adam Johnson married Martha Breed, a daughter of Nathaniel Breed and Thankful Day of Nelson,
New Hampshire. Martha Breed was born at Nelson March 5, 1780; she died at Coshocton, Ohio, in 1861. Her father,
Nathaniel Breed, born at Eastham, Massachusetts, June 5, 1753, was a soldier in the Revolution. He died at Henderson,
New York, October 30, 1831.
Adam Johnson and Martha Breed had four children, Daphne, Maro, Adelphia and Roderick.
Roderick Johnson, born June 22, 1817, married Mary Jane Vail June 2, 1840. They had five children, namely: Horace,
born February 21, 1841, died December 15, 1907; Malcolm, born February 13, 1842; Alma, born April 7, 1844, died
September 7, 1845; Loretta, born February 21, 1846, died February 20, 1891; Maro, born September 9, 1854, died
May 5, 1931, the latter being the husband of Emma Landis Hobbs.
Melissa Jane Hobbs, born November 23, 1856, the fifth child of Eli Hobbs and Lucinda Wade, died young.
Finis Lowry Hobbs, born February 26, 1858, at the age of 25 married Louisa Wetzel, a native of Germany and a daughter
of Louis Wetzel. They were married at Perry January 1, 1885, by the Reverend W. S. Calhoun. They had two children,
both of whom died in infancy. The wife died at Perry July 7, 1889, aged 26; her infant daughter, following whose
birth she died, lived but two months and five days, dying September 9, 1889. Mother and child are buried at Perry.
Finis Hobbs again married, his second wife being a Yockey. He died in May, 1918.
John Wesley Hobbs, born December 24, 1860, married Mittie Powell, a daughter of Eli and Elizabeth Powell. He died
in 1916, at New Raymer, Colorado, leaving three children, Celia Markel, now deceased, who left three children,
Clifford, Wayne and Wilson Markel, whose father now resides in Missouri; Clarence and Leon Hobbs, both married
and residing at New Raymer, Colorado.
Charity D. Hobbs, named for Charity Boone, the ancestress of her half-sister, Rebecca Frances Hofsess, was born
in Fairmount township October 30, 1862. At the age of 21 she married Alexander Wilkinson, Jr., a son of Alexander
and Susan Wilkinson, the marriage being at Pittsfield November 20, 1882, with Squire C. W. Patterson officiating.
Charity later resumed her maiden name and did not again marry. She died October 17, 1926, aged 68 years, eleven
months and 17 days. She is buried in Old Baptist cemetery at Perry.
Loretta Dovey Hobbs, born August 18, 1863, and Lila May Hobbs, born May 9, 1865, the latest born of the children
of Eli Hobbs and Lucinda Wade, both died young.
Lucinda (Wade) Hobbs, wife of Eli, died September 22, 1868, aged 43. She was the mother of eleven children, one
by her first husband, Joel Elledge, and ten by her second husband, Eli Hobbs. She is buried in Old Baptist cemetery
in Perry.
Eli Hobbs, on December 30, 1869, again married, his second wife being Mrs. Serilda (Tony) Flinn, by whom he had
three children, Eva, Maro and Fred Hobbs.
Eva Hobbs, born July 4, 1871, died young.
Maro Hobbs, born November 22, 1875, when 21 married Edith Ayers of Pittsfield who was 17, a daughter of John Ayers
and Lucy J. Manton. They were married in Pittsfield, September 28, 1897, by the Reverend George L. Snively, then
pastor of the Pittsfield Christian church. They had one daughter, Charlotte Hobbs, who married Ray Campbell and
resides in Pittsfield.
Maro Hobbs died July 21, 1913 and is buried in the West cemetery at Pittsfield. His widow, Edith (Ayers) Hobbs,
on April 6, 1927 married William Ellis Smith of Pittsfield, a native of Claremont county, Ohio, and a son of John
Wesley Smith. They were married in Pittsfield by the Reverend John W. Starr, then pastor of the Pittsfield First
Methodist church. They reside at 603 North Madison Street, Pittsfield.
Fred Hobbs, born December 17, 1878, married Lula Belle Ator of Pittsfield, June 1, 1905, she a native of La Plata,
Missouri, and a daughter of James Ator and Marie Fletcher. They were married in Pittsfield by the Reverend W. E.
Spicer, then pastor of the Pittsfield Christian church, with Edith and Maro Hobbs as witnesses. They had four children,
namely, Henry Maro, Glenn, Fred, Jr., and Hugh E. Hobbs.
Henry Maro, first born and only one living, married Mildred L. Miller of Barry, June 30, 1928. The ceremony, said
by the Reverend Charles W. Hammond, was witnessed by Thomas Foster and Josephine Saint. They reside at Barry.
Glenn Hobbs, born May 30, 1912, and Fred Hobbs, Jr., born October 2, 1913, both died at an early age. Hugh E. Hobbs,
born May 27, 1920, died February 18, 1921, aged two months and 21 days.
The mother, Lula Belle Hobbs, died August 15, 1924 and is buried in the West cemetery at Pittsfield. On September
1, 1925, Mr. Hobbs again married, his second wife being Mrs. Mary Ann (Houston) Van Pelt. They reside at 510 North
Jackson Street, Pittsfield, where they conduct a neighborhood store.
Eli Hobbs' second wife, whose maiden name was Serilda Tony, died at Pittsfield February 16, 1890, aged 51 years
and eleven months. She is buried in the Catholic cemetery at Pittsfield. Her husband preceded her in death and
is buried in Old Baptist cemetery at Perry. He died in Brown county.
Finis Lowry Hobbs, brother of Eli and third of the sons of Pioneer Solomon, married Mary Margaret Elledge in Pike
county, February 24, 1856, she a daughter of Uriah Elledge (eldest son of Boone Elledge) and Catharine Scott, daughter
of John Scott for whom Scott county, Illinois, was named; Uriah Elledge and John Scott being among the earliest
comers to the Mauvaisterre region in what is now Scott county. Mary Margaret Elledge was a great granddaughter
of Charity Boone and a great great granddaughter of Neddie Boone, a younger brother of Daniel.
Finis Lowry Hobbs, whose name has been perpetuated through succeeding generations of the Hobbs and Elledge families,
had one daughter, Josephine, who on February 24, 1876, married Edward G. Allen, with Justice William Corey officiating.
Finis Lowry Hobbs died early in 1870. His widow, Mary Margaret Hobbs, on May 7, 1872, married William H. White.
She died at the home of her daughter, Josephine Hobbs Allen, in the state of Kansas.