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Landon, Dabbs, Hancock, Hills

Landon Family


It appears that we are related to the Landon family through the Dabbs and Hancock families. As noted below, Nellie Dabbs married Elmer Landon. In addition, Linley Wesley Hills, son of Emma Hancock, was a son of Linley Otto Hills and a grandson of Rosetta Landon who married Stephen V. Hills.


Proposed Landon Lineage

Compiled by Judy Griffin, 2007 - email address



Landon Family

Interest in compiling this family history originated with an email from Richard Bloss, providing a correction for a Linley Landon on the Jersey County ILGenWeb website, which I maintain. I recalled Hilda Hutchinson Laird’s mention of Ray Landon and the family research that gave a connection with the Landon families on the Dabbs and Hancock (Hills) lines. Richard Bloss provided a Gedcom of his research on the Landon family that provides the core of this family history. Some of Richard Bloss’ information was checked with online sources and the 1991 History of Jersey County. Additional information and possible corrections were made to Richard’s information, including information from Jean Landon Wallace. This information and sources are noted in the text, for the most part. Some of Richard’s information is available online.

Thomas Landon was born before 1760, and died in Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont. Thomas married Experience Johnson circa 1778. Experience was born circa 1770, and died in Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont. Thomas settled in Addison County Vermont in 1789. A Thomas Landon was listed in the 1790 census for Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont. (1)   Researcher note: Thomas Landon's birth date is 14 January 1745/46. He died 2 May 1803. Thomas Landon was the son of David Landon (1718-1804) and David's first wife, Mary Osborn (1719-1754). Thomas' wife, Experience Johnson, daughter of Edward Johnson (1697-1774) and Elizabeth Barnes (1708-1800), was born 1743, Branford, Connecticut, died 1805, Cornwall, Addison County, Vermont. Reference: Landon Genealogy by James O. Landon (New York: Clark Boardman Co., Ltd., 1928) pp. 137 and 247. The death dates of Thomas and Mary Osborn Landon are from their death certificates. - Jean Landon Wallace.

The children of Thomas Landon and Experience Johnson were:



Horace Landon

Horace Landon (Thomas1) was born on November 16, 1783, and died on July 29, 1857 in Jersey County, Illinois. He married Drucilla Hamm about 1805. According to the Jersey County Burial Index, Drucella was born in 1780, and died on March 6, 1854. She and Horace were buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Jerseyville. Horace attended the Congregational Church in Cornwall, Addison County Vermont. In the 1850 Census for Jersey County, Horace listed his birthplace as Connecticut. (2) He was circa seven years younger than Drucilla. The children of Horace and Drucilla were:




Norton Landon

Norton Landon (Ethan2, Thomas1) was born on June 4, 1811 in New York (21), and died on October 22, 1884 in Jersey County, Illinois. (22) Norton married Sarah Ann Falkner circa 1842 in Illinois. Sarah was born on March 03, 1818(?) (23) in Indiana. Some researchers have her as Sarah Ann Fortner, but her son Milo stated her surname was Falkner. Illinois Statewide Marriage Index marriage record for Norton Landon and Sally Ann Fortner lists their marriage on November 22, 1835 in Green County, Illinois (before Jersey became a county). The family bible states November 27, 1835. In the 1840 census for Jersey County, Norton is listed with one male under age five (probably Milo, David may have died), one male 20-30 (Norton), one female 30-40 (Sarah Ann?). In 1850 Norton and Sarah are still in Jersey County, Norton was age 40, Sarah age 31, Milo age 13, Caroline age 10, Laura A. age 8, Lindley age 6, and Emeline age 2. Note that Sarah’s age in the 1850 census does not agree with the age of the female listed in Norton’s household in 1840. Norton and Sarah were listed in Buffalo Township, Newton County, Missouri in the 1880 census. Norton, age 69, was a laborer, Sarah, age 62, had cancer. Norton’s parents were listed as born in Vermont, Sarah’s father was born in England and her mother in Rhode Island. The entry for Norton indicated he was crippled or disabled in some way. (24) Sarah is said to have died in August 1882.

The children of Norton and Sarah Ann were:




Milo Landon

Milo Landon (Norton3, Ethan2, Thomas1) was born on March 10 or 16, 1838 in Otterville, Jersey County, Illinois, and died on January 03, 1907 in Jersey County, buried in Grimes Cemetery, Jersey County. He married Hulda Hinson on May 20, 1860 in Otterville. Hulda was born in 1843 in Illinois, and died on September 06, 1896 in Jersey County. Biographical information was published in History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, 1885:

Milo Landon, a prominent resident of English Township, was born in what is now Jersey County , March 16, 1838, his parents being Norton and Sarah E. (Falkner) Landon, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. His Father is now living in Kansas. His Mother died August, 1882. Milo was brought up on a farm and was employed in the various duties incident to an agricultural life on the old homestead until he was 22 years old. He then located on what is now known as the Samuel Hinson farm. Subsequently he sought a location in Kansas and Missouri, but finding nothing better than Jersey County, he returned and resumed farming and has since been thus employed. He was married May 20, 1860, to Huldah Hinson, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Cope) Hinson. They are the parents of ten children, eight of whom are now living - Charles, who is married to Lizzie Reed and living at home; Sarah E; Clara; Edward; Frederick; Stella; Elsah; and Frank. Those deceased were Orson who died Jan. 3, 1862, and David who died Jan. 6, 1862. Mr. Landon owns 121 acres of land. He belongs to the A.F.& A.M. of Jerseyville. With his wife he is a member of the Presbyterian church at Otterville.

The children of Milo and Hulda were:




Charles F. Landon

Charles F. Landon (Milo4, Norton3, Ethan2, Thomas1) (possibly Charles Fletcher) was born on December 10, 1863 in Jersey County, Illinois, and died on July 16 or 14, 1936 in Jersey County. Charles married Sarah Elizabeth “Libby” Reed on April 8, 1885 in Jersey County. (39) Sarah was born on March 05, 1867 in Jersey County, and died on December 23, 1937 in Jersey County. Sarah was the daughter of William and Mary Dowdell Reed. Sarah Elizabeth had eight brothers and sisters, and nine half-brothers and sisters. (40) Charles F. and Sarah Elizabeth were buried in the Grimes-Neely Cemetery, English Township, according to the Jersey County Burial Index (online).The children of Charles and Sarah were:




Linley Landon

Linley Landon (Norton3, Ethan2, Thomas1) was born on September 21, 1844 in Otterville, and died on May 16, 1932 in Jerseyville. He was buried in Grimes Cemetery, Jersey County. Linley married (1) Harriet Medford on December 20, 1868 near Otterville, Jersey County. Harriet was born in 1849 in Illinois, and died on July 16, 1879 in Jersey County. She was buried at Black Oak Mound Cemetery in Otter Creek. Linley then married (2) Sarah Sweeney on December 30, 1879 in Jersey County. Sarah was born in 1861 in Illinois, and died in 1883 in Jersey County. Linley enlisted in Co. B 154th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers on February 16, 1865. He was discharged on September 18, 1865 at Nashville and obtained a pension in later life. In the 1900 census, Linley was listed as a servant at the Jersey County poor farm. The children of Linley and Harriet were:

The children of Linley and Sarah Sweeney were:




Harmon Landon

Harmon Orson Landon (Norton3, Ethan2, Thomas1) was born on October 22, 1853 in Otterville, Jersey County, and died on May 28, 1927 in McDonald County, Missouri. Harmon married Nancy Catherine Elliott on March 28, 1872 in Pineville, McDonald County, Missouri. Nancy was born on May 10, 1855, and died on March 28, 1926 in McDonald County. Harmon and Nancy were buried in Cummings Cemetery, Tiff City, McDonald County. Nancy Elliott’s family has an interesting history, particularly her sister Serena: (50)

John Elliott, born circa 1817 1817 in North Carolina, died after 1860 in Missouri. His father was Robert Elliott. John married (1) Lucinda Bradley Mannes (born August 6, 1817 in Tennessee) on July 26, 1836 in Greene County, Tennessee. They divorced and John married Susan _?_ after 1856. The children of John and Lucinda Elliott were: Mary (born 1838, TN), Hannah (born 1839, TN), Serena Appiline (born 1842, TN), Margaret (born 1843, TN), Robert (born 1847, MO), James (born 1849, MO), Nancy (born 1856, MO). Note the gap between Margaret and Robert and between James and Nancy. In the 1880 census for Newton County, Missouri, Lucinda Elliott was listed in Harmon and Nancy’s household, listed as mother.

Serena Appiline Elliott Crain Davis Townzen, a True Pioneer Woman
July 3, 1842 to June 12, 1883

Serena was born in Tennessee, on July 3, 1842. Her parents were Lucinda (Bradley) of Tennessee and John Elliott of North Carolina. They were married in Greene County, Tennessee about July 26, 1836. John Elliott signed a $1250 Marriage Bond on that date. The license was returned in September, 1836. New research has revealed that Lucinda was the daughter of John and Mary (Myers) Maness of Green County, TN and later Newton County, MO. Both families appear on the 1850 Newton County, Missouri Census. By 1860, Serena is married to Leroy McCraven Crain, a widower with four children; William (age 12), Francis (age 11), a boy J (age 7) and a girl, M (age 5). The family is living in Parker County, Texas and has been joined by a baby girl named Mary Isabelle.

Leroy returned to Newton County, Missouri some time before January 1863. It is believed that the troubled conditions existing due to Newton County’s involvement in the Civil War were the reason for his return. There is a document in the National Archives that indicates Leroy’s involvement in an incident in Newton County on January 9, 1863. This is the last documented evidence that Leroy is alive. Family tradition carried down by two separate branches of the family state that an escaped prisoner of war told Serena that Leroy was dying of hunger and starvation in a Northern Prison. No records of his Military Service have been found and, in fact, no one now living knows where his loyalties lay. What is known is that he paid for those loyalties with his life.

No records exist to indicate where Serena and the children were at this time. A son, Leroy McCraven Crain Jr. was born on April 13th, in either 1863 or 1864. Conflicting records give Texas or Missouri as his birthplace. A memoir and a letter written by descendants almost 100 years later tell of Serena’s subsequent marriage to James Davis, a former Union soldier, from Virginia. James Davis was a salesman and unable to sell his goods in Post Civil War Texas conditions. He determined to go to his family and seek help for his new family. Upon his return, he was "bushwacked" in his own front yard. Presumably for the money he was carrying. Serena and the children lived in fear during the following months.

Serena devised a plan to return to Missouri to her mother, Lucinda, whose help would be needed to care for Serena and the small children during the coming confinement and delivery of her expected child. She sold everything she owned in order to finance the purchase of a team and wagon, with the neccessary provisions for the cross country trip. At last they were on their way.

Coming to place where a fording of either Big Muddy or Little Muddy must be made, Serena chose what sounded less threatening; Little Muddy. It was not a good choice. The horses lost their footing and the wagon was swept downstream a considerable distance. Her small children screamed in terror and only by her quick thinking was she able to regain control of the horses, and bring them to safety on the opposite bank. All their food was lost or soaked and ruined. Even the fodder intended for the animals was lost.

Alone in the wilderness with two small chidren [sic], with the arrival of another imminent, Serena must have despaired, but she did not give up. She spread their clothes out to dry and then resumed their journey. She and the children survived on handouts from hard pressed settlers they came upon. Parched corn and dried peas constituted their meager diet, and at night the horses ate their fill of grass when they made camp. At last the weary little party reached the home of Lucinda Elliott, their mother and grandmother. William Isaac Davis was born there on August, 1866.

Serena supported herself and the children by her occupation as a tailoress, making men’s coats and other items of clothing.

Serena was soon remarried. Her new husband, John Townzen, a widower with a small son, Francis Marion, had been living in Newton County in 1850 with his parents; Simeon and - Townzen. It is highly possible that they knew each other growing up. Serena and John travelled to several states in the next few years. From Missouri, they moved to Arkansas and they are found there on the 1870 Census. During this time they Homesteaded extensively. They would buy unimproved land, clear it to sell for a profit and move on. Even Nebraska was mentioned by Mary Isabelle in later years. The children who were old enough to work carried bundles of brush to be burned. John, a kind man, made their bundles as small as possible, while the weight of his own caused him to walk stooped over. The children born to Serena and John were James S. on May 12, 1868, John in 1870, Mary A. in 1872, Thomas A. on November 9, 1874, George W. in 1876, Lula A. in 1878, and Alice Belle in 1882.

On June 12, 1883 Serena departed this life. She was not quite 42 years of age. She is buried on a quiet, secluded hilltop in Eastland County, Texas amid cedars, birdsong, wild grasses and flowers in the Tudor Cemetery. It is less than 2 miles from Interstate 20, but seems a century removed. This inspiring pioneer woman who made a home for her children in the most inhospitable circumstances, in so many different locales has, at last, truly "Gone Home".

The children of Harmon and Nancy were:



Endnotes

2 1850; Census Place: Township 8 Range 11, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M432_111; Page: 81.

3 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900, online, accessed January 2007.

4 Jersey County Index of Burials, online, accessed January 2007.

5 Jersey County Index of Burials, online, accessed January 2007.

6 Landon Family Research Quarterly, Volume II, Issue 4 - October 1993, online at homepages.rootsweb.com/~landon/1993_4/1993_4b.html, accessed January 2007.

7 freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~janwest/f694.htm#f9924, accessed January 2007.

8 Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois, Vol. II, 1904 by Joseph Wallace, M. A., published by the S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., page 1300.

9 Everts Family, History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 406.

10 Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois, Vol. II, 1904 by Joseph Wallace, M. A., published by the S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., page 1300:

12 History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Continental Historical Co., 1885.

13 History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 674.

14 History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Continental Historical Co., 1885.

15 Jersey County Index of Burials, online, accessed January 2007.

16 History Of Macoupin County, Illinois, 1911, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, p. 181.

17 Snell Family, History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 674.

18 History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Continental Historical Co., 1885.

19 1879 History of Macoupin County Illinois by Brink, McDonough & Co., Philadelphia, p. 206

20 This incorrect source has been removed.

21 Lila Melcher entry, family bible transcription. Landon Family Research Quarterly, Volume II Issue 3 - July 1993, online at homepages.rootsweb.com/~landon/1993_3/1993_3a.html, accessed January 2007. Hereafter cited as Lila Melcher 1993.

22 Landon Family Research Group, co-founded by: Betty Brassington and David L. Skinner. Norton #4681 (Virgina Murray info - born 4 JUNE 1811 NY, died 22 Oct 1885). Online at homepages.rootsweb.com/~landon/census/censusil.html, accessed January 2007.

23 Lila Melcher 1993.

24 1880; Census Place: Buffalo, Newton, Missouri; Roll: T9_705; Family History Film: 1254705; Page: 458.2000; Enumeration District: 101.

25 Lila Melcher 1993.

26 Lila Melcher 1993; History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Continental Historical Co., 1885, pp. 357 - 358.

27 Lila Melcher 1993.

28 Lila Melcher 1993.

29 Jersey County Obituaries & Deaths, online, accessed January 2007.

30 Lila Melcher 1993.

31 Lila Melcher 1993.

32 Lila Melcher 1993.

33 Lila Melcher 1993.

34 Lila Melcher 1993. The complete year was unreadable – 187(?).

35 1910; Census Place: Carthage Ward 2, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: T624_791; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 71. Leak, John; age 55; M1; 35 yrs; b. KY; working RR. Leak, Rhoda; age 54; M1; 35 yrs; b. IL; f. b. NY, m. b. IL; 11 children, 8 living. Leak, John; son; age 19; b. MO. Leak, Henry; son; age 11; b. MO.

36 Falkner, Glenn, History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, pp. 406-407.

37 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, online, accessed January 2007.

38 Worthey, George A., History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 746.

39 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index.

40 Reed, William H., History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 598.

41 Emails from Juanetta Powers, <mollie@gtec.com>, to ILROOTS-L@rootsweb.com, [ILROOTS] Landon Family, 20 Jul 2003; <merje94@woh.rr.com>, 19 Jul 2003.

42 Jersey County Marriage Book, online, accessed January 2007.

43 Index to Register of Births 1857 -1900+, IL Regional Archives Depository, Univ. of IL, Springfield, online, accessed January 2007.

44 Jersey County Burial Index, online, accessed January 2007.

45 Kirchner Family, History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 508.

46 Kirchner Family, History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 508.

47 Obituary, incomplete, from Marty Crull’s obituary database

48 History of Jersey County, Illinois, Sesquicentennial Edition, Ruby Postlewait, Project Director, Curtis Media Corporation, 1991, p. 518.

49 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, online, accessed 2007.

50 WorldConnect. Crain/Lewis Genealogy, Updated: 2006-08-29, Contact: Janet Lewis Crain; freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~craingen/serena.html, . online, accessed January 2007.

51 Lila Melcher 1993.

52 Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 – 1956, online, accessed January 2007.


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