Biographies

    William M. Greenwell     WILLIAM M. GREENWELL, an intelligent and progressive citizen of Cooperstown, Brown county, lllinois, and a prosperous farmer, was born in Meade county, Kentucky, June 27, 1842. His parents were George and Amanda (Rentfro) Greenwell, both natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1816, the latter in 1813. The father’s grandparents came from Germany. His paternal grandfather was a well-to-do farmer in Kentucky, who died in middle life, leaving a widow and seven children, four sons and three daughters. George, the father of the subject of this sketch, had charge of the homestead farm … Read more

  Descendantsof Absolam WilleyPartII  Contributed by Cindy [email protected] Generation No. 4 18.  SYDNEY A.4 WILLEY(ABSOLAM3, JAMES2, ABSOLAM1)154 was born January 1844 in Tyler Co., VA,and died March 1911 in Calhoun Co., WV155.  She married WILLIAM PRITCHARDKING156 22 July 1867 in Wetzel Co., VA156, son of J. KING and MATILDA ?. He was born May 1846 in Marion Co., VA156. Notes for SYDNEY A. WILLEY:According to William’s Pensionrecords, Sydney suffered from epileptic seizures.  Hattie Ledsome(their granddaughter) believes that her grandmother died from small poxwhich she contracted from the grandchildren. Notes for WILLIAM PRITCHARDKING:William enlisted into theUnion Army for the second time on … Read more

    WilliamOetgen     WILLIAM OETGEN, one of the old settlers andsuccessful farmers living in Cass county, was born in Hanover,Germany, May 31, 1817. He came of pure Germanancestry. His father, G. Henry, was a native of the same place in Germany,born in 1787 and died December 26, 1820. He was a blacksmith, as were allhis brothers, and his father before. They were all members of the LutheranChurch. The name of his mother was Helen L. Veslage, a native of Hanover,who survived her first husband, and in 1823 married Dr. J. C. A. Seeger,who came to the United States … Read more

    William T. Adams   WILLIAM T. ADAMS was born in Logan county, Kentucky, March 7, 1831. His father, Benjamin Adams, was born in Maryland, and his father was also from Maryland. He was also a farmer, who left Maryland for Kentucky about 1815, settled in Logan county and resided on his farm until his death. His wife’s name was Sarah Bell, and she also died in Logan county. Benjamin Adams was about ten years old when his parents moved to Kentucky, and there he was reared, married and lived until 1830, when he came to Illinois and settled … Read more

    ZebulonAllphin    ZEBULON ALLPHIN resides on section twenty-two,Huntsville Township, and is not only a prosperous farmer, but a specimenof 1835, born in Boone county, Kentucky, in July, 1832. His father ReubenAllphin, was a native of Kentucky in 1801, and was the son of Zebulon Allphin,born in Virginia, but emigrated to Kentucky, where he died at the age ofninety-six years. He had nine children, of whom two are still living: William,Dollie, Jackson, Luke, Shelton, Ransom, Rebecca, Nancy and Reuben. Allcame to Schuyler county except Dollie and Ransom, who removed to Kentucky.Father of subject was a small boy when the … Read more