A cousin's Research Report
1. We found the graves and grave markers of James Vance, his wife Margaret Reno (or Reneau), his son James, two of the daughters of James and Margaret and some other relatives which are buried in the Vance Cemetery located just south and about 1.5 miles east of the township of Industry (which itself is located just south of Macomb, the county seat of McDonough County which itself is located about 40 miles east of Nauvoo. We did not find any evidence that Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance had been buried there. Also, in the sextant's record or record of Rural Cemeteries which I have examined, her name does not show up there as being buried in this cemetery.2. We found the Webster Cemetery located north and west of the General Store (the old community of Ramus and Macedonia) and about 8 -12 miles north and east of Carthage. It contains Memorial tombstones to both Ute Perkins and to his wife Margaret Reno and newly installed monument stones with considerable information written on them about the family of Ute Perkins that settled that area starting in 1826, including the information that Sarah (Vance), the daughter of Ute and Margaret and the wife of John Vance, had been among the Perkins family that had made their way to this vicinity. However, nothing written on the stones there indicated that she was buried there. You can find considerable information on this Webster subject by going to the Google web site and putting in the name of Webster. You will find a couple of articles written by the Perkins family that describe the family's involvement in that area, one of which seems to come from the Church News. 3. We found the Court house in Macomb which contains Deeds of land purchased and sold by John Vance and his wife Elizabeth. I found the listing of these deeds in a film located at the Family History Library titled McDonough County, Illinois town lot abstracts, 1802 - 1938 (see FHL US/CAN Film 1787443, Item 8). However a record of these deeds was not found in the Family History Library. These deeds found at the Macomb Courthouse detail negotiations which were part of the Military Bounty Land system wherein land was originally given/purchased as a reward for military service. For that reason some of these do not show up as part of the Index to Land Patents for this area or as part of the BLM GLO (Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records) descriptions. However, these Macomb deeds show without a doubt that this land was located both in Industry Township as well as in the Scotland Township located immediately north of the Industry Township (in 5N and Range Two West and sections 32 in the SE Quarter and in Section 33 in both the SE and the SW Quarters). These deeds describe land which goes into the 3rd and 4th Sections of the Industry Township (located in 4N and Range Two West). In other words, if you were to line up the north boundary of the Industry lands owned by John Vance and the south boundary of the Scotland lands owned by John Vance you would discover that they are but one continuous possession belonging to John Vance and to his wife Elizabeth. Also, the lands in Section 32 were purchased and sold in 1832 and 1838 while most of the lands in Sections 33 in the Scotland Township and in Sections 3 and 4 of the Industry Township were sold between 1845 and 1846 which was exactly the time that the John Vance family was preparing to leave the area for Winter Quarters. The significance of this is that although John Vance and his brother James each owned some land in the Bethel Township located just to the west of the Industry Township (in Sections 23 and 13 respectively) there is no doubt that it was on the farm located in Sections 3 and 4 of the Industry township and on Section 33 in the Scotland township owned in 1839 until 1845 and 1846 by John and his wife that the prophet Joseph Smith visited. This conclusion is based on the following reasoning: This was the major land possession of both John and Elizabeth and was apparently the last to be sold here in McDonough County before they left for the west. John joined the Church in "the spring and fall of 1839" according to his St. George biographical sketch found in the Perkins book (p. 526). By that time the land in Section 32 had been sold, probably as a means of financing the development of his more extensive acreage in sections 3 & 4 in the Industry Township and Section 33 in the Scotland Township. Eugene H. Perkins, on pp. 143 - 144 of his book correctly intuits that the farm of John Vance where Joseph visited on "Thursday, 20 June 1839 (as detailed and described in the Documentary History of the Church, 3:377-378) was located in Industry Township." So, my work is a confirmation of Eugene's work, but with one additional modification.
Eugene was apparently not aware that this farm extended north into the Scotland Township. This same Perkins in an earlier visit with me at the Family History Library, had given me an old map of McDonough County (taken from Atlas Map of McDonough Co, Illinois compiled by Drawn and published from personal Examinations and Surveys by Andreas, Lyter & Co in Davenport, Iowa in 1871 and found in BYU Microfilm F, No. 171). In it he had written in the actual farms of the Vances located in Industry, Bethel, Tennessee and Blandinville Townships, including their Section, mathematical Township and Range designations. These included farms belonging to another John Vance (not related) in the Tennessee and Blandinville Townships along with one belonging to his brother James Vance in Section 13 of the Bethel Township and one belonging to John Wilson (who married his sister, Martha R. Vance, located in Section 23 of the Industry Township. He also had a note that indicated that John's father, James Vance, had a piece of land in Section 24 of the Industry Township (a fact found on p. 114 in his book). In the Section 3 and 4 of the 4N 2W Industry Township description, he did not extend the land possessed by John Vance and his wife Elizabeth into the Scotland Township (5N 2W). This would indicate to me that he was simply unaware of the existence of such an extension because he had not examined the records which I had examined.
4. There were two cemeteries close to this farm. The first was the "Camp Creek Cemetery." located in Sec 5 of the T4N R2W NW Of NE quadrant An examination of the Rural Cemetery Books of McDonough County which I had seen at the Family History Library as well as an additional examination of these same books in the Archive part of the Malpass Library on the campus of Western Illinois University located in Macomb, and an examination of the Cemeteries of McDonough County, Illinois web site sponsored by the McDonough County Genealogical Society, failed to reveal the presence of the grave of Sarah Lavinia Perkins Vance. This one is located in Industry Township. A second cemetery located in Section 34 of the Scotland Township is named the "Craig Cemetery." I did not examine that record. I did, however, examine the cemetery records of Industry City and of Vail Cemetery, both of which are located in Section 15 of the Industry Township and failed to find any record of Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance. There are other rural cemeteries in this general area, not too far from the Vance Cemetery, whose records need to be searched, but preliminary indications indicate that we won't find anything.
5. At the Malpass Library we found a copy of the will of James Vance (senior). Also a copy of his Probate Record. However, it did not list all of his property or its location. Only that the executors of his will were his sons James and John Vance and that his wife Margaret was to be protected in her Dower rights and that subsequently his estate was to go primarily to his son James and was to provide for his and Margaret's daughters--Nancy, Polly and Sally. His son John, apparently, had more than enough property to take care of his needs because he was not specifically provided for in this will.
6. We were shown at the Malpass Library the films of the deeds of McDonough County, but they were so faint that we decided to go to the Court House in Macomb which we did as related in number 3 above.
7. We visited the Carthage Court House where an inquiry was made as to the marriage of Isaac Y. Vance and Martha Yager. I had checked earlier at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in a source known as the Birth Certificates, death records, marriage records, applications for marriage licenses, 1829 - 1947 in Hancock County, filmed in 1987. I had also checked with the Marriage Index of Hancock County ILL, 1829 - 1849, Vol. 1 by the Members of the Tri-County Genealogical Society, 1983. What both sources showed is that Isaac Y. Vance and Martha Yager were married in Hancock County, Illinois on "Sept 2, 1840." This was found in FHL US/CAN Film 1532139, Item 4 which was the Index to this record. When I went looking for the Marriage Certificate itself, listed in FHL US/CAN in film 1532140, it was missing. That is, the entries from number 388 in August 28 to 421 in December 8 were missing. The actual marriage certificate for Isaac and Martha was supposed to be number "397." So, when I checked with the Recorder's Office at the Carthage Court House, I asked her to locate that certificate. She came back stating that it was "missing," thus confirming the conclusion reached in the earlier search in Salt Lake City. This marriage date is different from the one most commonly mentioned for this couple which is "November 23, 1840," an error which was repeated by Eugene in his book (see p. 179). But this is an error and is not supported in the documents!
8. At the Carthage Court House I made and inquiry concerning the death of Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance but they had nothing on her.
9. At the Carthage Court House I made an inquiry concerning any deeds for the purchase or sale of land by John Vance. What they showed me was from the Land Book 109 Hancock County. There, under the date of "1835 June 13" appeared the name of "John Vance, NW Quarter Section 19 6.87 acres." This identification indicates that this land was acquired in the "Sonora Township" of Hancock County. There was a "Title Transfer" which took place on "October 10 1840" according to the BLM - GLO Records site. This took place at the Quincy Land Office in Hancock County, Illinois with the legal description being "Parts NW Section 19 Township 6-N and Range 8-W" and the Accession /Serial # being IL3900_211."
10. At the Carthage Historical Center for Hancock County located across from the Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed, were people who I asked about concerning a grave site for Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance and for Ute Perkins. They had no record of Sarah's burial but they did have a listing for a burial place in both Webster and in Nauvoo for Ute Perkins on a "3x5" card which indicated that he was buried in "Nauvoo Cemetery # 1."
11. The Nauvoo Land and Records office was the place where their computer banks had information for Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance in connection with both Ute Perkins and John Vance but nothing on the burial place for Sarah. I recorded onto two CD's the information for Ute Perkins, John Vance and Isaac Y. Vance. One of the remarks on Ute Perkins indicated that the Perkins (or Webster) Cemetery was only a "Memorial Cemetery" and that he was really buried in a cemetery known as "Nauvoo # 1." A missionary there told us how to follow out Mulholland Avenue to that cemetery which we located. After running all over the place we finally located his tombstone on row 18, plot # 3 where I took a picture. His death, as recorded in the Perkins book (p. 204) occurred on "11 Mar 1844" but there is no mention there of where he was buried. The context makes it sound as though he died in "Macedonia." On pp. 228 - 229 Perkins mentioned that "On 6 June 1845 Ute's widow, Sarah Gant Perkins died . . .[and that] she was buried beside her husband and among others of our people in Macedonia in Macedonia's Wildwood Cemetery--Webster cemetery of today." After checking the index of the Perkin's book and examining several other places where their names are mentioned, it was not apparent that either of these two were ever buried anywhere else but in the Webster cemetery. The exact words concerning his burial as found on the computer bank found in the Land and Record's building and database located and available in Nauvoo was that Ute Perkins was "first buried in the Durphy Cemetery [on Martin Hill just off of Durphy Street] in Nauvoo then reintered in Cemetery #1 in Nauvoo. His tombstone is located there. There are also recent markers in the Webster Cemetery for Ute and his wife, Sarah. These are memorials." Perhaps Sarah Gant Perkins, his wife, was indeed buried in the Webster Cemetery, but this documentation and the presence of the physical tombstone in the Nauvoo Cemetery #1 indicates that Ute was buried there and not back in the Webster Cemetery. The cemetery tombstone itself said "UTE PERKINS North Carolina Pvt Capt D. McFalls Co. Revolutionary War [b] July 15, 1761 [d] March 11, 1844."
I hope that this gives you some idea of what we were doing during our trip back to the Western Illinois area.
Donald B. Gilchrist.
P.S. If any of you desire to use this material in any CD or written publication, make sure that you give me the credit for the research!
Eugene was apparently not aware that this farm extended north into the Scotland Township. This same Perkins in an earlier visit with me at the Family History Library, had given me an old map of McDonough County (taken from Atlas Map of McDonough Co, Illinois compiled by Drawn and published from personal Examinations and Surveys by Andreas, Lyter & Co in Davenport, Iowa in 1871 and found in BYU Microfilm F, No. 171). In it he had written in the actual farms of the Vances located in Industry, Bethel, Tennessee and Blandinville Townships, including their Section, mathematical Township and Range designations. These included farms belonging to another John Vance (not related) in the Tennessee and Blandinville Townships along with one belonging to his brother James Vance in Section 13 of the Bethel Township and one belonging to John Wilson (who married his sister, Martha R. Vance, located in Section 23 of the Industry Township. He also had a note that indicated that John's father, James Vance, had a piece of land in Section 24 of the Industry Township (a fact found on p. 114 in his book). In the Section 3 and 4 of the 4N 2W Industry Township description, he did not extend the land possessed by John Vance and his wife Elizabeth into the Scotland Township (5N 2W). This would indicate to me that he was simply unaware of the existence of such an extension because he had not examined the records which I had examined.
4. There were two cemeteries close to this farm. The first was the "Camp Creek Cemetery." located in Sec 5 of the T4N R2W NW Of NE quadrant An examination of the Rural Cemetery Books of McDonough County which I had seen at the Family History Library as well as an additional examination of these same books in the Archive part of the Malpass Library on the campus of Western Illinois University located in Macomb, and an examination of the Cemeteries of McDonough County, Illinois web site sponsored by the McDonough County Genealogical Society, failed to reveal the presence of the grave of Sarah Lavinia Perkins Vance. This one is located in Industry Township. A second cemetery located in Section 34 of the Scotland Township is named the "Craig Cemetery." I did not examine that record. I did, however, examine the cemetery records of Industry City and of Vail Cemetery, both of which are located in Section 15 of the Industry Township and failed to find any record of Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance. There are other rural cemeteries in this general area, not too far from the Vance Cemetery, whose records need to be searched, but preliminary indications indicate that we won't find anything.
5. At the Malpass Library we found a copy of the will of James Vance (senior). Also a copy of his Probate Record. However, it did not list all of his property or its location. Only that the executors of his will were his sons James and John Vance and that his wife Margaret was to be protected in her Dower rights and that subsequently his estate was to go primarily to his son James and was to provide for his and Margaret's daughters--Nancy, Polly and Sally. His son John, apparently, had more than enough property to take care of his needs because he was not specifically provided for in this will.
6. We were shown at the Malpass Library the films of the deeds of McDonough County, but they were so faint that we decided to go to the Court House in Macomb which we did as related in number 3 above.
7. We visited the Carthage Court House where an inquiry was made as to the marriage of Isaac Y. Vance and Martha Yager. I had checked earlier at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in a source known as the Birth Certificates, death records, marriage records, applications for marriage licenses, 1829 - 1947 in Hancock County, filmed in 1987. I had also checked with the Marriage Index of Hancock County ILL, 1829 - 1849, Vol. 1 by the Members of the Tri-County Genealogical Society, 1983. What both sources showed is that Isaac Y. Vance and Martha Yager were married in Hancock County, Illinois on "Sept 2, 1840." This was found in FHL US/CAN Film 1532139, Item 4 which was the Index to this record. When I went looking for the Marriage Certificate itself, listed in FHL US/CAN in film 1532140, it was missing. That is, the entries from number 388 in August 28 to 421 in December 8 were missing. The actual marriage certificate for Isaac and Martha was supposed to be number "397." So, when I checked with the Recorder's Office at the Carthage Court House, I asked her to locate that certificate. She came back stating that it was "missing," thus confirming the conclusion reached in the earlier search in Salt Lake City. This marriage date is different from the one most commonly mentioned for this couple which is "November 23, 1840," an error which was repeated by Eugene in his book (see p. 179). But this is an error and is not supported in the documents!
8. At the Carthage Court House I made and inquiry concerning the death of Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance but they had nothing on her.
9. At the Carthage Court House I made an inquiry concerning any deeds for the purchase or sale of land by John Vance. What they showed me was from the Land Book 109 Hancock County. There, under the date of "1835 June 13" appeared the name of "John Vance, NW Quarter Section 19 6.87 acres." This identification indicates that this land was acquired in the "Sonora Township" of Hancock County. There was a "Title Transfer" which took place on "October 10 1840" according to the BLM - GLO Records site. This took place at the Quincy Land Office in Hancock County, Illinois with the legal description being "Parts NW Section 19 Township 6-N and Range 8-W" and the Accession /Serial # being IL3900_211."
10. At the Carthage Historical Center for Hancock County located across from the Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed, were people who I asked about concerning a grave site for Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance and for Ute Perkins. They had no record of Sarah's burial but they did have a listing for a burial place in both Webster and in Nauvoo for Ute Perkins on a "3x5" card which indicated that he was buried in "Nauvoo Cemetery # 1."
11. The Nauvoo Land and Records office was the place where their computer banks had information for Sarah Lavinia Gant Perkins Vance in connection with both Ute Perkins and John Vance but nothing on the burial place for Sarah. I recorded onto two CD's the information for Ute Perkins, John Vance and Isaac Y. Vance. One of the remarks on Ute Perkins indicated that the Perkins (or Webster) Cemetery was only a "Memorial Cemetery" and that he was really buried in a cemetery known as "Nauvoo # 1." A missionary there told us how to follow out Mulholland Avenue to that cemetery which we located. After running all over the place we finally located his tombstone on row 18, plot # 3 where I took a picture. His death, as recorded in the Perkins book (p. 204) occurred on "11 Mar 1844" but there is no mention there of where he was buried. The context makes it sound as though he died in "Macedonia." On pp. 228 - 229 Perkins mentioned that "On 6 June 1845 Ute's widow, Sarah Gant Perkins died . . .[and that] she was buried beside her husband and among others of our people in Macedonia in Macedonia's Wildwood Cemetery--Webster cemetery of today." After checking the index of the Perkin's book and examining several other places where their names are mentioned, it was not apparent that either of these two were ever buried anywhere else but in the Webster cemetery. The exact words concerning his burial as found on the computer bank found in the Land and Record's building and database located and available in Nauvoo was that Ute Perkins was "first buried in the Durphy Cemetery [on Martin Hill just off of Durphy Street] in Nauvoo then reintered in Cemetery #1 in Nauvoo. His tombstone is located there. There are also recent markers in the Webster Cemetery for Ute and his wife, Sarah. These are memorials." Perhaps Sarah Gant Perkins, his wife, was indeed buried in the Webster Cemetery, but this documentation and the presence of the physical tombstone in the Nauvoo Cemetery #1 indicates that Ute was buried there and not back in the Webster Cemetery. The cemetery tombstone itself said "UTE PERKINS North Carolina Pvt Capt D. McFalls Co. Revolutionary War [b] July 15, 1761 [d] March 11, 1844."
I hope that this gives you some idea of what we were doing during our trip back to the Western Illinois area.
Donald B. Gilchrist.
P.S. If any of you desire to use this material in any CD or written publication, make sure that you give me the credit for the research!
