Allen Blog- Hugh's Story- Part 14- The emigration of Mary and Franklin Allen to Jersey County

The Emigration of Mary and Franklin Allen to Jersey County

We know that both Mary Allen Burns and Franklin Allen were in Jersey County by 1861.



Franklin Allen had married Rachel Reece on January 15, 1859, and their child, Delia Ellen Allen, was born in Jersey County in 1861. The family history notes that Franklin and his family
 lived on the "Birkenmeyer Farm" one mile north of Jerseyville. On the map below, the Birkenmeyer farm is shown on the lower quarter of the map- #27. (Township 8 North, Range 10 West) (a)

The 1870 Census shows that Franklin's first child, Adelia E. Allen, was born in Illinois about 1861. (b) By 1870, Franklin's first wife, Rachel (Adelia's mother,) had died, as had his second wife, Margaret. His third wife was Mary Durney, and in 1870 he and Mary had a child named Margaret.

My Aunt Helen Allen, our first family genealogist wrote me this about Frank in a letter:

"Frank came to U.S. but I have not been able to find anything on any of them in the ship's logs....He, Frank, raised race horses northeast of Jerseyville. However, each wife died young and he remarried a year or two afterwards. The last one, Mary Durney, may have been a sister to Margaret Durney, the wife of my grandfather Hugh. He (Frank) had one daughter by Rachel Reese- who I knew well before she died at 90 or something. Then there  was a daughter of the third marriage, but she died at age 19 or thereabouts."

Mary Allen Byrnes/Burns and her husband Patrick Byrnes/Burns were likely in Jerseyville by 1861. The 1870 census for Jerseyville shows that Franklin Burns, age 11, was born in Illinois (about 1859.)  This census also shows Mary and Patrick Burns living in Township 8 North, Range 11. (c) We can see that their first two children were born in New Jersey- their first child born in abt.1855, and the second in abt.1857- so Mary and Patrick burns came to Jersey County between 1857 and 1859.

Sources
1- Family History Notebook

Illustrations
a-
b-Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 11, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 706A; Image: 629; Family History Library Film: 545732.Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
c- Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 11, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 702B; Image: 622; Family History Library Film: 545732

Allen Blog-Hugh's Story- Part 13-The American Dream

Land Ownership- The American Dream

 This was the American dream of our Irish forefathers, who had toiled for years as tenant farmers for British landlords, with no hope of land ownership. America was the land of opportunity- opportunity for at last becoming landowners and homeowners. Here they could become U.S. citizens with the rights and privileges afforded all citizens. Here with hard work they could prosper and raise families who would have a better life than they had any hope for in Ireland. Nearly the whole family had crossed the sea to pursue this dream. Only the eldest- John Allen- and the youngest- Catherine Allen Byrnes- remained in Ireland. All of the others came to America with dreams of farming, and of owning their own farms, a legacy which they could leave to their children, and their children’s children.

 The Farm

Family records show that Hugh bought his first piece of land on April 21, 1863. He paid $3400 (today at least $9000) for 120 acres in Jersey County- Township 8, Range 12 (TBNR12W). He bought the land from Hugh and Antoinette Cross. The land included a log cabin. This was the start of Hugh Allen’s family farm.  Hugh had achieved the American Dream. (1)




An 1872 map shows Hugh’s land on the upper right corner- in Township 8, range 12.
 

The note says that “This township was originally about one-fifth prairie, and the balance timber. The surface is moderately rolling, with a rich fertile soil, well adapted to the growing of grain and fruit. It contains many well improved farms, with an energetic and intelligent population.”

It was here that Hugh began his legacy.

Hugh Allen's Land- English Township- Township 8 Range 12 (a)

Information
1-Family History Notebook 

Illustrations


a-Jersey County ILGenWeb, copyright Judy Griffin 2004. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data and images may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or for other presentation without express permission by the contributor(s). http://jersey.illinoisgenweb.org/Map/Maps.htm