| HANCOCK COUNTY, ILLINOIS FAMILIES NEWS MEMORABILIA |
GEORGE DUNHAM ca. 1839-1912
SARAH ELLEN CARNES ca. 1846-19__
  George Dunham was born about 1839 in Harrison County, Ohio, to Nathaniel Dunham and Nancy Nelson. After Nathaniel's death in 1846 or '47, Nancy married Owen Carnes. Soon after the family moved to Pike County, Illinois. At that time they were in a township identified by the coordinates 4 South of the Beardstown Baseline, 3 West of the 4th Principal Meridian. It would be named Griggsville Township. They were still in Griggsville Township in 1860. Soon after George Dunham wooed and wed Miss Sarah Ellen Carnes of Hire Township, McDonough County. She was the daughter of Rachel Green and Henry Carnes, the latter reportedly the brother of Owen Carnes, George's stepfather. On December 29, 1862, George took to the McDonough County Clerk's office a note of permission written by Sarah's mother. Still on file is a note worded as if it were written by George, himself, although he signed two affidavits with only a mark. The content of the note is unusual, in that in addition to Sarah's parents, her sister, Martha, was said to be "willen for" Sarah to be married. McDonough County marriage license #1923 was issued and they were married on the same day. On February 16, 1864, George enlisted in the Union Army for a 3 year hitch. A bounty of $60 was to be paid. He was described as being from Blandinsville, "Schuyler" County, Illinois, 5' 7" tall, with a fair complexion, gray eyes and auburn hair. He was initially assigned to Company H of the 2nd Illinois Cavalry, later transferred to Company E. Between May and October 1865 George spent time in hospitals in Montgomery, Alabama, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was charged for lost ordinance and upon discharge, he owned $62.88 for clothing. Several resources suggest that Sarah lived with her parents while George was in the service, moving with them to Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas. George and Sarah returned to Illinois between September of 1868 and June 1, 1870, with a baby son. They farmed in Blandinsville Township until sometime after June 1, 1880, when they moved to LaHarpe Township in Hancock County. In 1884 George filed for and was subsequently granted a disability pension. Sarah apparently died not long after the turn of the century, but we have found nothing proving a firm date or place of burial. In 1910 George was residing with his eldest daughter and her husband in Terre Haute Township, Henderson County. He died on December 13, 1912, and was buried at LaHarpe Township Cemetery. The number of children born to George and Sarah is in question. The 1900 census reported 6 children, 5 living, but 7 children are known (plus there were two serious errors in the 1900 listing). The obituary of Benjamin Franklin Dunham mentioned 11 children, 4 dying in infancy. If those figures are accurate, birth dates of the children who survived suggest that those who died young were born between 1862 and 1877. Although a couple of obituaries state that younger Dunham children were born at LaHarpe (implying the town), we can only substantiate the family's residence in LaHarpe Township. It was a common practice in this primarily rural area to name a nearby town as a person's birthplace. The Dunham children:
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enumerated September 27, 1850 Dwelling #553
Dwelling #554
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enumerated September 11, 1850, dwelling #379 Henry Carnes, 25, male, farmer, value of real estate 150, born OH
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enumerated September 18, 1860, dwelling #52 Owen Carnes, 36, male, farmer, value of real estate 800, value of personal estate 300, born OH
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enumerated June 27, 1860, dwelling #1953 Henry Carnes, 35, male, farm laborer, born OH, could not read or write
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enumerated June 20, 1870, dwelling #298 Dunham, Geo, 37, male, white, laborer, born IL, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
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enumerated June 11, 1880, dwelling #6 Dunham, George, white, male, 40, married, farmer, born OH, both parents born OH
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enumerated June 14, 1900, dwelling #418 Dunham, Geo, head, white, male, Apr 1861, 39, married for 14 years, born OH, both parents born OH, farmer, months not employed - 3, could read, write and speak English, rented his farm home, farm schedule 70 [Most likely a transcription error was made when the original page was copied: George's age and the last two digits of his birth year were flip-flopped. Also, he and Sarah had been married for 38 years.] S, wife, white, female, Dec 1848, 51, married for 14 years; mother of 6 children, 5 living; born IL, both parents born OH, could read, write and speak English May, daughter, white, female, Sept 1879, 20, single, born IL, father born OH, mother born IL, could read, write and speak English Myrtle, daughter, white, female, July 1882, 17, single, born IL, father born OH, mother born IL, could read, write and speak English Ben, son, white, male, Jun 1884, 15, single, born IL, father born OH, mother born IL, farm laborer, months not employed - 2, could read, write and speak English Sadie, daughter, white, female, Oct 1886, 13, single, born IL, father born OH, mother born IL, at school for 8 months, could read, write and speak English |
enumerated April 28, 1910, dwelling #121 Thrush, Elza, head, male, white, 31, married (1st) for 11 years, born IL, father born IA, mother born IL, spoke English, farmer, general farm, employer, could read and write, rented his farm home, farm schedule 80 Lena, wife, female, white, 30, married (1st) for 11 years, mother of 0 children, born IL, father born OH, mother born IL, spoke English, could read and write Dunham, George, father-in-law, male, white, 70, widower, born OH, both parents born OH, spoke Engish, own income, could read and write, whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy - UA |
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