Joel Pace and Mary East

      Joel Pace and Mary East, who settled in Jefferson Co Illinois in the early 1820s, came from Virginia via Kentucky. The biographies should be in alphabetical order after the following first biography. But, you may know someone’s whole name where I only know the first name and the family name. Therefore when I place Lizzie Smith in alphabetical order, and you look for this person as Elizabeth Ann Smith, you won’t find her where you expect. So use some imagination, and also check for her using a nickname, or using her middle name only, or not using her middle name at all.

      In the pre-1900 years, over 90 percent of the people worked on family farms. When farming or housekeeping is a person’s occupation, it won’t be shown. But when a person’s occupation is something other than farming or housekeeping, I tried to show that.

      At the end of the biographies are codes in (parenthesis). These letters / numbers are codes for the sources of information. To get these, go to the Source Code File.

      Sometimes a word such as Buried or Cemetery is in Red Text. This is an indication that there is a picture of the gravestone. That can be seen at the Jefferson Co Illinois Cemeteries web page.

      Biographies generally begin by giving the person's name, followed by "son (or daughter) of" ..., then the birth date and birth place. Where the parents are given, the parent who was the descendant of Joel Pace and Mary East is shown first.

      Tip: The intention is to eventually sort all descendants in alphabetical order. This does not mean all persons will be listed in alphabetical order. To find someone not in order, such as a mother-in-law, most computers will allow you to hold down the Ctrl key and tap the F key. This will cause a small window to open. In that window, type the name of the person you wish to find, then hit the Enter key. Once a search is made, you can press the Esc key and the <CtrlF> search will then remember that person's name for the next search.

      Caveat: If a family lived at or near a certain town during a census year, all children born around that census year will be assumed to have been born at that town, unless known otherwise. If you know of more accurate information, please contact John E Young to get the information corrected.

      Notes: Just as “the 1820s” means the years 1820 thru 1829, “the 1800s” means the years 1800 thru 1809. To indicate the range of years 1801 thru 1900 that would be written as “the 19th Century,” not the 1800s. Also, if a census page is referred to in these biographies, that will be whenever possible the printed page numbers which usually have a letter which goes with them (page 60A, 60B, etc), not the hand written page numbers.

      Joel Pace was born 28 July 1762 in Pittsylvania Co VA. He was a son William Pace (born 1724 Middlesex Co VA) and Susanna West (born 1726 in VA). Joel was a Private in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. He married Mary East in Henry Co on 14 November 1780. She was born in 1764 in Pittsylvania Co (Henry Co was formed from Pittsylvania Co in 1776, so she wasn’t born in Henry Co as is often reported). By 1810 they were living in Woodford Co KY; their son John was also in Woodford Co in 1810. The distance from Woodford Co KY to Henry Co VA was about 400 miles overland, so in the 1810s years, with roads then nothing more that trails through the forest, it would have taken Joel and a few companions at least three weeks to go back to Henry Co to take care of his father-in-law’s estate. But they would have likely made trips back to Henry Co in order to bring back provisions to their new homes in KY, or would have gone back to spend the winter in Henry Co. In the 1810s, KY was not much more than a wild wilderness with hostile Indians living nearby; a harsh winter would have been much more survivable back in the civilized communities of VA. Joel did appear in the Henry Co court concerning the division of the estate of Mary's father in October 1814. Joel applied for a soldier’s pension from Jefferson Co IL on 23 March 1829; the Revolutionary War records gave his death date and his marriage date. After Joel died, Mary applied for a widower’s pension on 12 April 1842, and she was age 77 then.

      In Woodford Co KY in 1810 (census page 393) in Joel Pace’s home there were two boys under age 10 (sons Thomas East and William West), two young men ages 16 to 25 (any two of sons Joseph, Joel Jr, and Spencer), a girl under age 10 (daughter Milly), two girls age 10 to 15 (daughters Martha and Letitia), and one young woman age 16 to 25 (daughter Jane or Mary), in addition to Joel and his wife Mary (both in the 45 or older age group). The children not in Joel’s home in 1810 were John Montague, who had married in late 1803 and who was living in his own home in Woodford Co (census page 395), plus Frances who had married John Wright Watson in 1800. There is no Federal census record for Joel Pace in IL in 1820, but there was a State Census taken on 1 August 1820, and it shows Joel in Jefferson Co. There are Land purchases on 18 October 1818 in Pope Co IL (240 acres at $2 per acre), in the southern end of IL next to KY, but these land records could be for Joel Pace, son of Spencer Pace who was a brother of Joel Pace who settled in Jefferson Co IL in the summer of 1820. The nephew Joel Pace also lived in Marshall Co KY, just two counties south of Pope Co, and was born in the early 1790s. It wasn’t until 1 June 1819 that Joel, husband of Mary East, purchased Jefferson Co land (200 acres at $2 per acre). Many of the children of Mary and Joel moved to Jefferson Co IL with their father, Joel Pace Sr, via the Woodford Co KY area. Joel died at Mt Vernon, Jefferson Co IL on 31 August 1831 and was buried in the Pace Cemetery in Jefferson Co, as was Mary. She died in 1850, before the June census. All the known children were-

1.    John Montague Pace, b 14 Aug 1783

2.    Frances Pace, b 14 May 1785

3.    Jane Pace, b 5 Aug 1787

4.    Mary Pace, b 5 Aug 1789

5.    Joseph Pace, b 1 Dec 1791

6.    Joel Pace Jr, b 1 Dec 1791

7.    Spencer Pace, b 8 May 1794

8.    Letitia Pace, b 4 Jul 1796

9.    Martha Patsy Pace, b 3 Nov 1798

10.  Thomas East Pace, b 26 Feb 1801

11.  William West Pace, b 26 Dec 1803

12.  Milly Pace, b 14 Aug 1806 (M,M94,JA,RC,M32,M33,W,536z,543h,203izc)

NOTE: In KY in 1810 there were no Pace families in Bourbon Co, but in neighboring Clark Co there were: William Pace, age 16-25; Joseph Pace, age 26-44; John Pace, age 26-44; another Joseph Pace, age 16-25; Murray Pace, age 45+. The only other KY county with a John Pace in 1820 was Woodford Co, two counties west of Bourbon and Clark Counties. In Woodford Co were: John Pace, age 26-44, and Joel Pace, age 45+. In the same area of KY in 1810 were Jesse Pace, age 45+, in Rockcastle Co, two counties south of Clark Co. Other KY counties with Pace names in 1810 were Barren Co, in the south center of the state; that was William Pace, age 26-44. In nearby Cumberland Co was Langston Pace, age 26-44. In western KY, in Christian Co, was Spencer Pace, age 26-44. And the remaining KY county, Shelby Co, was James Pace, age 26-44; Shelby Co is four counties west of Clark Co where most Pace families were found in 1810. See the 1810 Map of KY.

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Their Descendants, in Alphabetical order

Joel Pace and Mary East are found in the main East files. To begin with Joel Pace and Mary East, go to the main East files for Mary East and search for "Mary East [E1a]". To search for all of their descendants, do a search for "[E1a" (you do not need to include the quotes in these searches). But remember, most of their descendants will be in alphabetical order, and may not be in the same file (of 15) that Mary and Joel are in.