*The family Bible entry shows that Norman
was born in McDonough, Chenango, Co, NY;
his obituary lists Pharsalia, Chenango Co, NY.

Marriage license
Norman's obituary
 

Marinda's obituary, note to Eddie, poems
 
 

Marriage Documents

Spouse 2: Peter E. Weakley
Son of: William L. Weakley and Martha Ege
b: July 31, 1823 near Carlisle,
Cumberland Co, PA
m: Jan 13, 1894 Hancock Co, IL
d: Jan 18, 1894 Hancock Co, IL
burial: Majorville Cemetery, Hancock Co, IL

Biography and sketch from the 1880
Gregg History of Hancock County
Tombstones and obituaries,
Peter and first wife, Harriet M. Black
 

Lil's biography
Beckwith - Weakley marriage documents
Lil's obituary and tombstone
 

Spouse: Benjamin Franklin Barb
Son of: James Barb & Jemima Baker
b: Aug 13, 1850 Barbour Co, VA
m: Sep 2, 1872 Macomb, McDonough Co, IL
d: Mar 25, 1928 Keokuk, Lee Co, IA
burial: Majorville Cemetery, Hancock Co, IL
 

Called Brother Willie, when he was a small child
Willis suffered a hard fall on a wet floor.  The fall
broke his leg and likely did some injury to his
spine.  The broken leg healed, but the other
injury got worse as he grew up, until finally
he was crippled.  Rheumatism added to his
afflictions and, in his last years, he became
blind.  Willie may have also suffered from
arthritis, as did other Beckwith family members.

Although he regretted the burden that his care
placed on the family, Willie bore all his
infirmities patiently, even cheerfully.  One of
Rosa Junia's daughters recalled that when she
was a little girl, she loved to sit with her Uncle
Willie, for he spoke so kindly to the children and
told wonderful stories.

Willis' poem
Obituary and tombstone
 

Divergent paths of research and documentation
came up with the same story passed down
through the descendants of Lucena Beckwith
Long and Rosa Junia Beckwith Barb, Lucinda's
sisters.  It was whispered that Lucinda and
her twin, Lucena, who had always enjoyed a
close and loving relationship, had both
fallen in love with Will Long.

Some months after Will and Lucena married and
after the birth of their first child, Lucinda
wrote a poem comprised of a series of rhymed
couplets.  Then, on the day after a party in
celebration of the twins' 21st birthdays, Lucinda
died.  She had held one of her little nieces
(Lucena's new baby, Lutie Bell, perhaps?) and
had danced during the party, looking pretty and
light-hearted, her blonde hair shining - giving no
forewarning of tragedy.  She had, however,
entreated her twin, "Sleep with me, Cenie, it may
be the last time."

But it was Rosa Junia who had shared sleeping
accommodations with Lucinda that night, and it
was she who discovered Lucinda's limp and
nearly lifeless body the following morning.
Ben Barb, Rosa Junia's husband, said an empty
morphine bottle was found on her windowsill
and, my grandmother wrote, "he was ever a
truthful man".

Other reasons for Lucinda to have taken her life
were postured: the family's poverty or the
notoriety of her brother, Jesse, and elder sister,
Lillie.  Perhaps the whispers originated due to
a postscript she left in addition to the poem, or
perhaps not.  The content of the postscript is
lost to us and that may be just as well.

We are left to interpret the torment behind the
lines of Lucinda's poem (included in her
obituary) and with a mental image of a young
woman who, perhaps, could not endure the
anguish of her broken heart, or, considering other
possibilities, who would not risk causing pain
to her beloved twin.
 

Lucinda and her twin, Lucena, were named
after their maternal grandmother, Lucinda
Lawrence Hadley, and her twin, Lucena
Lawrence White.  Lucena and her husband,
Jary White, settled in Hancock County in 1835.
 

Spouse 1: Unknown
View possible photo
 

Spouse 2: Caroline "Carrie" Stoneking
Dau. of:
b:
m: June 24, 1895
d: 1903
burial:

Spouse 3: Ella Jane Brim (nee Tucker)
Dau. of: A. B. & Amelia Tucker
b: June 14, 1869 Brown Co, IL
m: 1937
d: Feb 3, 1949 Ft. Madison, Lee Co, IA
burial: LaHarpe Cemetery, LaHarpe,
Hancock Co, IL
 

Temporary Pages for Ed Beckwith
Obituary

 
Ella Jane's obituary
 

Spouse 1: Mary Frances Kimbrough
Dau. of: James W. Kimbrough & Sarah F. Ervin
b: Apr 02, 1873 Hancock Co, IL
m: May 10, 1894 Joetta, Hancock Co, IL
divorced: between 1900 and Mar 29, 1905
d: Sep 6, 1955 Carthage, Hancock Co, IL
burial: Moss Ridge Cemetery, Carthage,
Hancock Co, IL

Spouse 2: Effie Mae Parsons
Dau. of: Abraham L. Parsons & Ida E. Dorothy
b: 1882
m: Mar 29, 1905 Carthage, IL
d: 1962
burial: LaHarpe Cemetery, LaHarpe,
Hancock Co, IL