Emerson Families of Mercer County, Illinois

Emerson Families
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James Monroe Emerson
from History of Mercer County 1882

Alternate Spellings - Emmerson

Links - Swafford, Thirtyacre, Finch, Pryne, Calhoun, Hurst (see info at bottom of the page)

Contacts - Alan Fiala is a descendant of William Swafford Emerson. He has furnished valuable information on the Emerson family, including records from Wayne County, Indiana.

Warning - some of the information on this page is from County Histories which are notoriously inaccurate! When dates are given for marriages they are from actual records (usually the license date, which may or may not correspond with actual marriage date). Census and land records are from actual records that have been transcribed and errors may have been made in transcription. Also be aware of possible errors in the cemetery records at the end of the page. The cemetery walkdowns were done by the DAR in the 1960's and many of the tombstones were unreadable.

Edward and Sarah Swafford Emerson

The progenitors of the Mercer County Emersons were Edward and Sarah Swafford Emerson of Wayne County, Indiana. The History of Mercer County, Illinois, 1882 says Edward came from Massachusetts. The Wayne County Indiana History, 1872 (page 317 about early settlers in Washington Township) "On the east side of the [Whitewater] river,...Edward Emerson, from Vermont, about 1812, settled where his son Thomas now lives. He served in the war of 1812. His sons, James N. (sic), William, and Oliver P., reside in New Boston, Ill."

Alan Fiala tells us that census records indicate Edward was actually from Vermont. He sent the 1860 census record, Washington Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Milton Post Office: Edward Emerson, farmer, age 74, born Vermont; Margaret, 26, born In, Enoch Warman, 20, born Indiana. We found the 1850 census record in Wayne County, Washington Township, #272, Edward Emerson, farmer, $8800, born Vermont; Jane, 54, born Pa; Margaret, 14, In; Julian [Julia Ann] Warman, 30, Indiana; Amanda Warman, 9, Ind. Jane is the second wife of Edward. Edward Emmerson and Jane McCoy married 12/25/1823, Wayne County, Ind., indicating that Sarah Swafford Emerson may have died in childbirth with their last son William, or at least shortly thereafter. Probably someone in the family of James Emerson is responsible for the Massachusetts information, as in the 1880 census James Emerson's father is given as born Massachusetts, while Oliver and William Emerson give their father as born Vermont.

We do not yet know if Sarah Swafford was connected to the Mercer County Swaffords (we will be putting up a Swafford Page). Sarah's people came from Wayne County, Indiana, while the Mercer Swaffords came from Henry County, Indiana. However, many of the family names are identical, so there is no doubt some relationship. She is probably the daughter of William Swafford who is listed in the Cemetery Directory of Wayne County, Indiana: "William Swafford gave an acre of ground for a church and burying ground...the first person buried there was a child of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Emmerson. When they first moved to Indiana, the child got whooping cough from some children where they stayed over night and she died soon after they reached the neighborhood." This is in reference to the Franklin Cemetery, 2.5 miles east of Milton and seems to imply that Edward and Sarah were already married when they came to Indiana. Alan Fiala furnished the information that the marriage of Edward Emerson and Sally Swafford is recorded in Preble County, Ohio. It was performed by a justice of the peace on May 13, 1812. It was quite common for Wayne County, Indiana, couples to marry across the line in Preble County, but the wording of the cemetery history seems to imply that they lived elsewhere and "came" to Wayne County, sometime after the birth of their first child.

Edward and Sarah Emerson had a daughter, Julia Ann Emerson, who married Joshua Warman on 2/2/1837 in Wayne County, according to the Indiana Marriage Index. Apparently Joshua died at a young age as Julia Ann and a daughter, Amanda, were living with Edward and wife Jane in the 1850 census in Wayne County. We suspect that the Enoch Warman found with Edward Emerson in the 1860 census, above, was also a child of Joshua and Julia Ann as he would have been born about 1840, shortly after their marriage. Enoch Warman went to Mercer County and is found working for James Emerson in his lumber yard in Mercer County in 1870 (see James Emerson census records below). Julia Ann Warman married second to Thomas Hunt on 8/31/1854 in Wayne County.

Three of Edward Emerson's sons: Oliver Perry Emerson (born 6/17/1817), James Monroe Emerson (born 1/22/1815), and William Swafford Emerson(born 1/15/1822)came to Mercer County. The Emerson brothers went back and forth between Wayne County, Indiana, and New Boston several times before finally settling in Mercer County. (Birth dates are as given in the History of Mercer County 1882 but they seem to correlate fairly well with census records).

James Monroe Emerson Family

According to Illinois Public Domain Land Sales Records, James Monroe Emerson purchased three parcels of land in Mercer County on 10/23/1839: E2NW Sec 4 T13NR2W (future Suez Township); E2SW Sec 34 and W2SE Sec 33 T14NR5W (future New Boston Township - see plat map for location - land owned by William Drury in 1875). We have a number of delinquent tax lists from different years for the County. Many, many names are on these lists because people simply lacked ready cash to pay taxes. James Emerson never appears on these lists so was apparently quite astute in handling his finances.

James Emerson married (1)Eliza Warman on 9/10/1837 in Wayne County according to the Indiana Marriage Index. This is confirmed by Warman Cemetery information in Wayne County, Indiana, sent to us by Alan Fiala: Eliza Emmerson, dt. of W. M. Warman and wife of James Emmerson, d. 2/17/1839, age 18y, 6m, 7d. We suspect she died in childbirth and James remained single until his marriage in Illinois in 1845 (below).

There is a lengthy biography of James M. Emerson on page 822 of the 1882 Mercer County History which is our principal source of information on him. He was occupied with woodcutting in New Boston in 1839; there was a good market for wood furnished to the steamboats plying the Mississippi River. He made several trips back to Indiana and is not found in the 1840 census in Mercer County. He brought the first traveling threshing machine to Mercer County. When one has read about the difficulties of travel across Indiana by team and wagon, one wonders how in the world he accomplished hauling a threshing machine across the boggy swamplands. He worked on "a ferry" for a while and as a riverboat pilot (he is not mentioned in the history of the New Boston Ferry so it may not have been the New Boston Ferry, or his work was of short duration and not noted.) In October 1845, he rented a house and lot in the town of New Boston, from the estate of Isaac Willits for six months, for a rental of three dollars per month, payable quarterly. Notation of this rental is found in the inventory of Isaac's estate.

James Monroe established the first lumber yard in New Boston Town in 1848. In 1876 he left the lumber yard in charge of a foreman and moved to a farm about two miles northeast of New Boston (this would have been land he owned in addition to the public land listed above). Here he spent his remaining years improving his farm, while suffering from a stroke of paralysis. He died 4/20/1881. The drawing of him at the top of the page is from the History.

James Monroe Emerson married (2) Helen Maxfield 11/20/1845 in Mercer County, shortly after renting the house in New Boston. Evidently there were no children of this marriage as she is not mentioned in the Mercer County History. We suspect she too died in childbirth, as he married next to Harriet Bridger on 9/30/1847. Harriett was daughter of Thomas and Mary Woodhams Bridger, and was born 10/10/1824 in Northiam Parish, Sussex County, England. The Bridgers had immigrated from England in 1837 to Troy, New York, and then in 1838 to Pope Creek in future Suez Township, Mercer County. Bridger sons bought land in Suez Township very near to that owned by James Emerson. The parents both died in Mercer County in 1839. The information on the Bridgers is included in the biography of James Monroe Emerson in the 1882 Mercer County History.

James Monroe and Harriet Bridger Emerson had children: Myra V. Emerson, born 8/5/1848, married Clark Crippin 12/29/1870, Mercer County; Dora A. Emerson, born 6/5/1850; Iva Emerson, born 7/8/1855, married Frank Schwertfeger 9/21/1875, Mercer County; Charles O. Emerson, born 9/11/1858, died 7/12/1865; Alma T. Emerson, born 1/18/1861, married Warren S. Finch 8/23/1880, Muscatine, Ia (we will be adding a Finch page); Effie Emerson, born 1/11/1863, died 1/27/1863; Warren D. Emerson, born 7/13/1865, married Zoe S. McCoy 5/28/1889, Mercer County; Ralph Waldo Emerson, born 1/20/1869, died 2/5/1880. The children's birth and death dates are from the Mercer County History and the marriages are from Illinois and Iowa Archives (they are license dates and do not necessarily coincide with actual marriage dates). Daughter Myra is found in the 1880 census in New Boston living next door to her parents: Clark Crippen, 35, born Ohio, parents born Ohio; Mira, 31, born Il (parent's birthplaces not given), Bessie Crippen, 8, Il; Paul, 6, Il; Cora, 4, Il.

James Monroe Emerson and family are found in the 1850 census in New Boston: James M., age 35, lumber merchant, property $1000, born In; Henrietta (sic), 23, born England; Myra V., age 2, born Ill. In 1860: James Emerson, 45, lumber merchant, In; Harriet, 35, England; Myra, 11, Il; Dora, 10; Iva, 5; James 2. He has two Bloomer brothers working for him as laborers, James, age 24, born Ireland, and Robert age 26, born Ireland. In 1870: James M. Emerson, 55, lumber merchant, In; Harriet, 45, En; Myra, 21; Dora, 19; Iva, 14; Alma, 9; Warren 4; Ralph, 1. Enoch F. Warman, age 30, born In, is working as a laborer in the lumber yard. He may be son of Joshua Warman, who married James's sister Julia Ann in Wayne County on 3/2/1837. James Monroe Emerson did indeed move to a farm as he is found in the New Boston Township 1880 census: James Emerson, farmer, age 65, In, father born Ma, mother born NC; Harriet Emerson, 56, Eng, parents born Eng; Dora Emerson, 30, Il; Alma Emerson, 19, Il; Warren Emerson, 14, Il. We do not find a land ownership for him northeast of New Boston on the 1875 plat map so land must have been purchased after that date.

Oliver Perry Emerson Family

Oliver P. Emerson came to Mercer County in 1839 but immediately went back. There were no public land purchases listed for him in 1839. He did eventually purchase land as he is found on the delinquent tax list published in the Aledo Weekly Record on Wednesday, April 17. 1867 for the following parcels in Township 13 North Range 5 West (Keithsburg Township): SSE Hf SE Sec 4, 54, acres, $11.77; portion NE Sec 9, 23-90 acres, $4.93; SWNE Sec 9, 40 acres, $8.84; SENW Sec 9, 40 acres, $8.84; Shf NE Sec 10, 80 acres, $24.52; NWNW Sec 10, 40 acres, $14.70; W1/8 e of slough in Sec 10, 26 acres $4.93; Whf SW Sec 11, 80 acres, $29.41. Since our interest on this page is the history of New Boston and Eliza Townships we only accidentally had the records for Keithsburg in that one year. There may have been other parcels noted in other years.

According to a biography of Oliver P. Emerson on page 175 of the Mercer County 1882 History, Oliver returned to Mercer in 1840 but we do not find him in the 1840 census. In 1842 he returned to Indiana where he married Sarah Kelley on 2/15/1842 in Wayne County as verified in the Indiana Marriage Index. According to the Mercer County History, about 1847 the family came back to Mercer County and permanently located and engaged in farming and stock raising. He accumulated a large farm of over 600 acres (the above tax list totals about 450 acres so there was more). The history states he "recently" divided most of his land among his children. Mrs. Emerson died August 29, 1881 and is buried in New Boston Cemetery. The cemetery record indicates she did die on this date, age 60 yr 1mo 19 dy. Oliver died 1/15/1884 age 66 yr 6 mo 29 dy. At the time the History was written Oliver had five living children: Hester, wife of Charles Dryden; Monroe; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Alexander Calhoun; George L.; and Orind(sic) V., wife of Mr. William Pryne.

Oliver and Sarah Emerson are found in Township 13N, Range 5W in 1850: Oliver Emerson, 33, farmer, farm valued $1200, born Indiana; Sarah, 28, born Ohio; Hester, 7, born In; Monroe, 4, In; Elizabeth, 2, born Indiana. They are living very near brother William Emerson.

Oliver and Sarah Emerson are found in Keithsburg Township in the 1860 Census: Oliver, age 44, farmer, born In; Sarah, 39, born Ky; Hester, 17, born In; Monroe, 15, born In; Elizabeth, 13, born In; George, 10, Il; and Orinda, 6, born Il. The birthplaces of the children tells us they settled permanently in Mercer County sometime between 1847 and 1850. Daughter Hester Emerson married Charles Dryden 12/6/1866 in Mercer County and they lived in Abingdon Township. Daughter Elizabeth Emerson married Alexander Calhoun, son of James and Elizabeth Carnahan Calhoun on 9/17/1868. Charles and Hester are found in Abington Township in Mercer County in 1880: Charles Dryden, 43, farmer, born Ohio; parents born Virginia; Hester, 36, born In; father born In, mother born Oh; Elmer Dryden, 12, Il; Arthur Dryden, 10, Il; Lois Dryden, 5, Il; William Dryden, son, 2, Il; James Dryden, father, 73, born Va, birthplaces of parents not given.

Oliver and Sarah are found in Keithsburg Township in 1870: Oliver, 52, farmer, born In; Sarah, 47, born Oh; George, 19, assisting on farm; Orinda, 16. In 1880: Oliver P. Emerson, 63, farmer, born In; father born Vermont, mother born North Carolina; Sarah, 58, Ohio, father born Ohio, mother born Kentucky; George Emerson, 29, Il; Arinda (sic) Emerson, 27, Il; Charles Searle, laborer, 15, born Oh. Son George Emerson married May Collier 3/23/1881 in Mercer County. Daughter Orinda Emerson married William S. Pryne 9/15/1881 in Mercer County (we will be putting up a Pryne page).

Son James Monroe Emerson (named for his uncle) was born 7/19/1845 in Wayne County. He married Amelia Dreisigzacker (Thirtyacre) on 11/24/1865 in Mercer County. They lived in Keithsburg and are both buried in Greenmound Cemetery, although Amelia died in Sacramento, California. They apparently lived across the River in Jefferson Township, Louisa County, Iowa, where they are found in the 1880 census: Monroe Emerson, 34, farmer, born In, parents born Indiana; Amelia, 34, born Germany, parents born Germany; Gertrude, 8, born Iowa; Hetty, 5, Ia; Myron, 3, Ia. The obituary of Amelia's father, John Thirtyacre, lists Mrs. J. M. Emmerson in Keithsburg in 1907. They had children: Myron; Gertrude; Hester Nettie; Olive; Mary; and John (died in infancy). Jan Dunlap, a Dreisigzacker researcher, sent us information from the obituaries of Amelia and Monroe: "Amelia Dreiszigacher born 1845 died 20 February 1934 in Sacramento Ca about 90 years old. Married 24 November 1869 to J. Monroe Emerson, son of Oliver P. Emerson and Sarah Kelly - born 19 July 1845 in Wayne County, Indiana, died 1 September 1916 in Keithsburg, Illinois. [Location of children in 1934] Myron of Grayville, Il; Mrs. Gertrude Muller of Chicago; Mrs. Hester (Nettie) (Mrs. T. S. Jayne of Ione Wa, Mrs. Olive Temple of Eugene, Oregon; Mrs. Mary Skidmore of Sacramento Ca, John Emerson died in infancy." Since daughter Mary Skidmore lived in Sacramento, Amelia was either living with her or visiting her at the time of her death. Jan also tells us that Monroe Emerson had a sister Mrs. O. V. Schwertferger in Muscatine, Iowa in 1916. Alan Fiala has a family tree of unknown origin which shows that Orinda Vi Emerson Prynn married (2) F. L. Schwertfeger on 9 April 1912. His relationship to the Frank Schwertfeger who married Iva, cousin of Orinda is not known - it could be the same person.

William Swafford Emerson Family

There is a biography of William S. Emerson in the 1882 History of Mercer County on pages 179 and 180. It states he was the fourth child of Edward and Sarah Swaford Emerson, living with his parents until twenty-two years of age, when he commenced farming for himself on a small scale, in which business he has been engaged ever since having accumulated considerable property, 160 acres in Section 11 [Kiethsburg Township], ninety acres in section 10 and 48 acres in Section 10 of the new survey (not sure what that means!). There is a public land record in Section 4 (SWSW) 13N5W for 40 acres on 5/1/1852 which was apparently additional land. The 48 acres in section 10 mentioned above is shown on 10/8/1851 but the entry has been voided. We consider the mention in the Wayne County History that father Edward Swafford served in the War of 1812 to be suspect as the public land records indicate that both James and William Emerson paid full price for their land. If Edward had served in the War of 1812 they would have been entitled to land warrants at no cost as descendants of a veteran. When time permits we will follow up on this.

William Swafford Emerson came to Mercer County in about 1842-1844 (per Mercer History) and married Delilah Hurst on 11/13/1845 in Mercer County. She too was born in Wayne County, Indiana, 2/15/1828. (At the bottom of the page we have included some comments on the Hurst family.) William and Delilah had children: Edward L. Emerson, born 8/18/1846, married (1)Laura Markee 9/3/1867 and (2) Ella Gailey 3/23/1881; William Alonzo Emerson, born 2/10/1850; Francis M. Emerson, born 5/8/1852, died 7/22/1855; Albert Lynden Emerson, born 8/19/1857, married Emma V. Wirt, 12/24/1879; Thomas H. Emerson, born 4/16/1861; Nettie F. Emerson, born 10/22/1865, died 10/28/1867; Ida May Emerson, born 6/25/1870.

The family is found in 1850 in Township 13North Range 5West (future Keithsburg Township) not far from brother Oliver Emerson. William Emerson, 28, farmer, farm valued 1000, born Indiana; Delilah Emerson, 22, born Indiana; Edward L. Emerson, 3, born Illinois; William A. Emerson, 3/12, Il.

The family is found in Keithsburg Township in 1860: William Emerson, 38, farmer, In; Delilah, 32, In; Edward L., 13, Il; Alonzo, 10, Il; Albert, 2, Il. In 1870: William Emerson, farmer, 48, born In; Delilah, 42, In; William Alonzo, 20, Il; Albert S., 13, Il; Thomas H. Emerson, 9, Il; Lizzie Harris, 20, domestic, born Il. In 1880: William Emerson, 58, farmer, born In, father born Vermont, mother born North Carolina; Delilah, 52, born In, father born Va, mother born North Carolina; Thomas, 19, born Il; Ida M., 9, Il; Jeff Hayes, laborer, 36, born Ohio(?); Ophelia Marshall, 14, born Il.

Son Albert L. Emerson is found in Millersburg Township in 1880: Albert L. Emmerson, farmer, 22, born Il, parents born Indiana; Ema Vie Emmerson, 22, born Il, father born Ohio, mother born England. Emma is the daughter of Martin and Esther Groves Wurtz found in Keithsburg Township in 1870: Martin Wurtz/Wirt, 51, farmer, born Oh; Esther, 39, born En; Emma, 13, born Il, plus other children. There is a fascinating web site with some Wirt letters that also mentions Emma Viola Wirt Emerson.

Son Edward L. Emerson is found in Millersburg Township in 1870: Edward Emerson, 23, farmer, Il; Laura Emerson, 22, Ohio; William Jesse Emerson, 1, Il. There is an extensive biography in the Mercer County History (page 781) of son Dr. Edward L. Emerson. His biography says his father came to Mercer County in 1844 and gives us some information on his brothers "The family is composed of: Edward L., William A. (married and farming in Nebraska), Albert L. (married and farming near his father's), Thomas H., and Ida May."

According to his biography, when Edward L. Emerson was sixteen years old he enlisted in Co C, 102nd Il Volunteer Infantry. In the Adjutant General's Report for the State of Illinois Edward L. Emerson is listed as a recruit from Keithsburg, enlisted August 18, 1862, mustered in on September 23, 1862 and mustered out on June 6, 1865, verifying he did enlist when age 16. There is no mention of his having been taken prisoner, but the Mercer County History contains the following, "In 1863, while the regiment was stationed at Gallatin, Tennessee, he was sent with a squad as guard to a forage train. While on this duty, the squad was attacked by a large partisan force of confederates, and he and William Merritt, of company I of the same regiment, were captured at Epperson Springs, Tennessee, and sent to Libby prison, Richmond, Virginia. They were both exchanged the latter part of the summer, and Edward L. rejoined his regiment at La Vergne, Tennessee, in September 1863." Some of this can be cooroborated from the History of the 102nd Infantry in the Adjutant General's Report which tells us that on the 1st of May 1863, the commander of the post at Gallatin received information that a band of guerrillas was moving in the direction of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad with the evident purpose of capturing a train with its rich store of mail and express matter. There is more about the engagement as quoted in this history on the IlGenWeb Mercer County Web Site in the Civil War pages. Four of the Union forces were killed and several were wounded, of whom two afterwards died. There is no mention of prisoners taken. The regiment did go into quarters at Lavergne, Tennessee in June of 1863 and remained there until February of 1864 so the event may well have happened as the dates fit the account given in the Mercer History. We understand that Alan Fiala's brother has Edward's pension papers and they do confirm the imprisonment and prisoner exchange.

The biography continues that after Edward's return from the army he attended school one year at Keithsburg, and then took a special course of nine months at a select school taught in Ohio Grove Township, giving three months to grammar, the same time to rhetoric and elocution, and the same to mathematics. The biography gives his marriage date to Laura Markee, daughter of Jesse Markee, as September 1868 while the Illinois Marriage records give 9/15/1867. There were two children of the marriage by 1882: Jesse W., and May F (according to the Mercer County History). After marriage, Edward located on a farm near Millersburg. August 10, 1877 his wife died and is buried in Aledo cemetery. After her death he resolved to fit himself for the practice of medicine. While carrying on his farm, he began a course of reading under Dr. W. B. Artz, of Joy, which he continued for two years, reciting twice each week. During the fall and winter terms of 1879-80, and the spring term of 1880 he attended Rush Medical College in Chicago. The summer of 1880 he spent in the office with Dr. Craig, of Aledo, finishing his course at Rush Medical College during the fall and winter terms of 1880-81, graduating February 22, 1881. He also took a special course under Prof. E. Fletcher Ingalls, on diseases of the throat and chest, and another under Prof. E. L. Holmes, on diseases of the eye and ear. On March 31, 1881, he married Miss Ella M. Gailey, daughter of S. W. Gailey, of Aledo, and on March 26 located and began the practice of his profession in New Windsor. We have entered more here than we usually do for parts of the families that lived outside New Boston and Eliza Townships, the subject of this web site. We wanted to use this description of medical training in the 1880's on our Medicine page.

We did not find Edward L. Emerson in the 1880 census but we did find his children with their Markee grandparents in Eliza Township, Mercer County, in 1880: Jesse Markee, merchant, age 60, born Ohio, parents born Ohio; Sarah Markee, 54, born Ohio, parents born Maryland; John P. Markee, son, 22, born Il, clerk in drug store; Cephas N. Markee, son, clerk in store, 17, born Il; Jesse E. Markee, grandson, 10, born Il; father born Il, mother born Ohio; Mary F. Markee, granddaughter, 7, born Il. We do not know if the grandchildren had taken the Markee name or if it was merely a census error. We suspect it was simply a census error as Alan Fiala has a copy of Jesse's marriage licence "Full Name of Groom, W. J. Emerson." He was married Nov 19, 1889 and was to be 22 next birthday. Parents were Edward L. and L. Markee Emerson. The bride was Mable Smith of Swedona, and the marriage took place there.

Alan Fiala tells us that the History of Mercer County 1882-1976 (page 514) mentions that Edward had a drug store in New Windsor from 1881-1927. We know from other histories that it was common practice for physicians to make their own "potions." It would be interesting to find out when the separate profession of pharmacy came into being and whether any physicians continued to make their own medicines.

Alan Fiala tells us that Edward L. Emerson was married a third time (Mary or Mae Davis in 1918) and is buried in an unmarked grave in Greenmound Cemetery. Alan is a descendant of Edward's sister, Ida May Emerson, who also went to Nebraska, and married there.

Thomas Emerson Family of Wayne County, Indiana

Edward and Jane McCoy Emerson had a son Thomas Emerson who married Amanda Beeson 12/14/1847 and remained in Wayne County, Indiana (see quotation above from the 1872 Wayne County History indicating Thomas was living in Wayne County when the history was written). In a biography on page 327 of the Wayne County History, again in Washington Township: "Benjamin Beeson was born in Guilford County, N. C.. He was married to Dorcas Starbuck; and in 1814 he settled in Washington township, 3 miles south of Milton, on the farm on which he resided until his death in 1852...The following are the names of his children, the first two of whom were born in Carolina:...8. Amanda M., who married Thomas Emerson, and is dead. ..." The Beeson family were Quakers in North Carolina and a great deal of information is available about them in Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol 1. Alan Fiala sent us Thomas's 1860 census record in Washington Township, Wayne County: Thomas Emerson, 36, farmer, born In; [Amanda] Melvina, 32, born In; Henrietta Palmer, 8, born Ohio. Thomas and Amanda are buried in the Franklin Cemetery in Wayne County.

Emerson Family Cemetery Records in Mercer County, Illinois

(Ref. Mercer County Cemetery Records - for complete reference, record index, and location of cemeteries see IlGenWeb Site . Also see Cemeteries page on this Site for Cemetery location maps. The records below are from a DAR walkdown of the cemeteries done in the 1960's and may contain errors as tombstones were old and worn and errors were made in the transcription.)

Volume II - New Boston Cemetery
Page 33
James M. Emerson, died April 20, 1881 age 66 yrs 3 mo 18 dy
Harriett Emerson 1824-1902
Helen Emerson, wife of James, died October 1845 in her 19th year
James M. Emerson 1815-1881 Harriet Emerson 1824-1902
Children of J. M. and H. Emerson
Ralph W. Emerson died 2/15/1880 age 11 yr 15 dy
Infant daughter died 1/27/1863 age 16 days
Charles O. Emerson died July 12, 1865 age 6 yr 10 mo 1 dy
J.M.E.-E.-Ralph-R.W.E.-Charles-Infant (note - these may be foot stones)
Dora A. Emerson 1850-1910
Page 48
A. Linden Emerson 1857-1915
Page 69
Oliver P. Emerson died 1/15/1884 age 66 yr 6 mo 29 dy
Sarah Emerson, wife of Oliver P. Emerson, died August 29, 1881 age 60 yr 1 mo 19 dy

Volume IV - Greenmound Cemetery
Page 36
Elizabeth Emerson, wife of W. A. Emerson 1850-1918
W. A. Emerson 1850-_______
Page 73
Della H. Emerson, wife of William Feb 15, 1828-Feb 27, 1891
William Emerson January 15, 1822-January 28, 1892
Nettie F. Emerson, daughter of Wm. And D. H. Oct 12, 1865-Oct 28, 1867
Francis M. Emerson, son of Wm & D. H. March 15, 1852-July 22, 1855
Page 81
Amelia Emerson 1845-1934
Monroe Emerson 1845-1916
Gertrude Emerson Muller 1873-1949
Page 105
Charles Dryden June 23, 1836-April 11, 1911
Hester [Emerson], wife of Charles Dryden Dec 12, 1842-Nov 5, 1895
Dryden
Son Elmer C. 1867-1915
Daughter Lois C. 1875-1924
James M. Dryden Father born Apr 7, 1808-Feb 8, 1888
Elizabeth Dryden Mother May 27, 1807-Sept 10, 1872

Volume V - Aledo Cemetery
Page 40
Laura Markee Sep 27 1848-Aug 10 1878 [wife of Edward L. Emerson]
Jesse Markee May 13 1820-Jan 20 1889
Sarah Markee Sep 1 1825-11/7/1905
Page 92
Meda S. Emerson 1886-1942
Warren D. Emerson 1865-1949 Zoe S. Emerson 1864-1954
Page 137
May & Guy Emerson 1950 [no other dates]
Page 138 Ella M. Gailey, wife of Dr. E. L. Emerson [no date]

Some Comments on the Hurst Family of Wayne County, Indiana, and Mercer County, Illinois

Caleb Hurst is found in New Boston Township in 1860: #1809 Caleb Hurst, 35, laborer, born Indiana, working for the Edwin Crapnell family. Also working for the family is Enos Reed, 22, laborer, born In, brother of Emily Reed whom Caleb married on 12/12/1850 in Mercer County, but who was apparently deceased by 1860. This is the only New Boston connection we have found for the Hurst family.

Caleb may have been related to Bennet Hurst of Keithsburg Township and father of Delilah Hurst Emerson, wife of William Swafford Emerson above. Bennet Hirst(sic) is found in T13N R5W in 1840: 1 male under 5, 2 males 5-10, 1 male 15-20, 1 male 30-40; 1 female 10-15, and one female 20-30. The female is Delilah and we believe the male 15-20 is Caleb though he likely is not a son of Bennet because of his age and the age of the mother, but he may be some other relative (we do not find him anywhere in 1850.)

The tie of Bennet to Delilah is made in the 1850 census in T13N R5W: #55 Bennett Hurst, farmer, 48, born Va; Barbary, 40, NC; Delila, 22, In; George W., 18, In; Albert, 16, In; Marion, 13, In; and Henry, 10, In (actually Il). Delilah is also censused as the wife of William Emerson as given above.

Since we know from the Mercer County History that Delila was born in Wayne County, Indiana, it is possible that Bennett was son of John Hurst, found in 1850 in Abington Township, Wayne County, Indiana: John Hurst, 74, farmer, born NC; Mary, 62, NC; Lavina, 27, In; John H., 20, In. Next to him is son Nelson Hurst and family and two doors away is son Charles Hurst and family. There are Hurst children scattered about in 1860 and 1870 in Mercer County that may belong to other Hursts of Wayne County.

Emerson Families-----------------------------