Francis Marion ABNEY

     Francis Marion ABNEY, son of Joshua ABNEY and Sarah Ann Stone, was born on 1 December 1839 in Galatin, Saline County, Illinois.²

Francis Marion ABNEY appeared on a census, enumerated 3 October 1850, in the household of his parents Joshua ABNEY and Sarah Ann ABNEY in Saline, Saline County, Illinois. He was 12-years-old.

During the War Between the States, Francis Marion ABNEY enlisted in Company E, 101st Illinois Infantry (Union).

Francis married Sarah Ann Summers on 29 March 1863 in Saline County, Illinois. Their children were: William Anderson Abney; John Wesley Abney; Mary Ann Abney; Sarah Isabell Abney; Jessie M. Abney; Mildred Elvinia Abney; Jane Abney; Willie May Abney; Emily Abney; Thomas Abney; Eunice S. Abney; Marion Homer Abney; and Mattie Ethal Abney.¹

Francis Marion ABNEY moved from Saline County, Illinois to Kaufman County, Texas, 1873. In the fall of 1873, their wagon train arrived in Kaufman County. This train consisted of 13 wagons and was made up of Francis Marion Abney and Sarah Ann "Sally" (Summers) Abney family, Melinda Jane Abney Gordon family (She is a first cousin to Francis. Their mothers were sisters.), Frank Summers(a brother of Sarah Ann Summers) family, and William M. and Elizabeth Jane (sister to Francis M. Abney) Glenn families. These families were all related by blood or marriage. The Glenn family wanted to move to Texas and their loved ones decided to move with them. My grandmother, Sarah Isabell Abney, was 3 years old when she traveled on this wagon to Texas.

The children were taught during the long trip. One of the children learned to count on the trip, as her mother had her count the wagons every day as they were circled at camp time. The wagons were put into a circle every night with the livestock inside an inner circle so the Indians couldn't take them. Although there was a constant watch for Indians, there was no trouble.

Francis Marion ABNEY died on 25 December 1892 in Kaufman, Kaufman County, Texas, at age 53.² He was buried in College Mound Cemetery.¹