Hugh's Story-Jerseyville-1863 Mortgage for Hugh Allen Farm

Hugh's Story- Jerseyville- Family timeline for Margaret Durney 1840-1884 and Hugh Allen 1834-1891 with documents

Timeline for family of Margaret Durney 1840-1884 and Hugh Allen 1834-1891

1834- March 3- birth of Hugh Allen, Great Umberstown, Summerhill Parish, County Meath Ireland

1840- January 1- birth of Margaret Durney, Garryduff, Templeorum Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland

1863- April 20- Hugh Allen gets a mortgage for his 120 acre farm in Jerseyville for $1000 due in five years with 10% interest

Source: in possession of cousin Hugh Allen, Jerseyville

1863- July 1- draft registration for Hugh Allen 25 and his brother Francis 30

Source: p 22, Illinois 10th, vol 1-National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau

1864- April 25- Marriage, Jerseyville

Source: Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Sacramental Records, St. Francis Xavier, p 343

1865- birth February 28/baptism April 2- son Richard Allen, sponsors Michael Durney ad Anna Byrns at St. Francis Xavier

Source: Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

1865- July 3 Illinois State Census- Jerseyville

Source: p. 72 Illinois State Archives; Springfield, Illinois; Illinois State Census, 1865; Archive Collection Number: 103.010; Roll Number: 2177; Line: 1

1867- October 17 birth/Nov 4 baptism- dtr Margaret Allen, sponsors Patrick Allen and Mary Durney at St. Francis Xavier

Note: this record refers to Jos/Jas Allen and Margaret Durney- was Hugh's Christian name Joseph or James?

Source: p. 218, Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

1868- August 14 birth/baptism of dtr Rose Anna, sponsors Richard Allen and Bridget Power

Source: Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

1870- December 21/Jan 5- birth/baptism of son Thomas Allen

Source: Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

1870 census-

Note: Hugh is now listed as 40 (despite being listed as 29 five years earlier) and Margaret as 29 (listed as 25 five years earlier.) The farm is valued at $4000, and their personal property at $880. Hugh's younger brother, Patrick Allen, age 29, is living with them as a farm hand. Patrick cannot read or write.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 12, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 796A; Image: 811; Family History Library Film: 545732 p. 30

1873- March 5- birth of son Hugh Allen
Source: Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947

1874- November 3/December 8- birth/baptism of dtr Mary Anna Allen

Note: This is the first record we have of this child; she did not show on any family records so likely died very early, although no burial record was found- she is not on the 1880 census 

Source: p. 266 baptisms St Francis Xavier-Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975

1880 Federal Census- 

Note: Hugh now shown as 45, Margaret as 40. Hugh's younger brother Edward Allen, age 30, is now living with them as a farm hand.

Source p.1 Year: 1880; Census Place: English, Jersey, Illinois


1880 US non-population Census source Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880

Note: Hugh is the owner of 115 acres of tilled land, 42 acres of pasture, 43 acres of woodlands, valued at $10,000. His farming machinery is valued at $300 and his livestock is valued at $790. Cost of fencing and repairs $450, labor $560. He has 14 acres of mown, 26 acres of not mown grass, and 7 acres of hay. He has 54 acres in corn, some oats, and 55 acres of wheat. He has a 2 acre orchard with 40 trees that produce 80 bushels of fruit. He does NOT grow any potatoes! (see 1880 non population census- very hard to read!

1884 November 11/ November 13 death and burial of Margaret Durney, age 45

Note: Margaret died of consumption. Richie was 19, Margaret 17, Rose 15, Thomas 14, and Hugh Jr. 11. Hugh never remarried.

Buried St. Francis Xavier Cemetery

1891- April 27- burial of Hugh Allen

Source p589- Illinois, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Sacramental Records, 1853-1975

Burial St. Francis Xavier

1891 May 4-Probate of Will of Hugh Allen- source probate records Vol B-D. Illinois, Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999, Probate Records; Author: Illinois. County Court (Jersey County); Probate Place: Jersey, Illinois

Children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney of County Meath- Chain Migration of the Allen's from Ireland to America

Keeping in touch with family and writing letters was traditionally the role of women. In our family, the eldest daughter, Aunt Mary (Marlin,) wrote the letters back to Ireland for her great Uncle Tom, who lived with her family, to his brother, Uncle John, in Dangan, Summerhill Parish, County Meath. The women in the generation before her surely did the same, writing to their parents and siblings who remained in Ireland.

Pauline Allen and  great uncle Tom

Often letters from America contained money - it was common for small bits of cash to be sent around the Christmas and Easter holidays. During the height of the famine, these gifts sustained the family back in the old country- helping not just with food, but with rent and taxes- a necessity to avoid eviction. Millions of letters flowed from Irish Americans back to their families in Ireland, easing the pain of separation, and encouraging the possibility of emigration.

Their letters home told about family news; marriages, the births of children, and details of their lives in America. This provided hope for the future and connections for their siblings to make the journey themselves. Sometimes they even contained a prepaid ticket for a sibling to emigrate and join them. Three quarters of Irish emigration were paid for by money or tickets sent from America.

Chain Migration to Jerseyville, Illinois

Few Irish immigrants during the famine could afford to bring the whole family to America all at once. Instead, they practiced "chain migration" in which one member of the family would come to America, and save money to help the next person, often giving them a place to stay and a start in the new country. This was the pattern for the Allen's from County Meath. (Some of our Kilkenny ancestral families did come all together- which was often a sign, during the worst of the famine, that their landlords had evicted them and paid their passage so the small plots of land that they farmed could be converted to more profitable pasture.)

The Chain Migration for the Allen family siblings took nearly 20 years. The order appears to be:

Mary- 1850's
Frank- before 1860
Hugh- before 1860
Patrick- before 1870
Thomas-before 1872
Richard- before 1872
Edward- before 1880
Peter- about 1881

John and Catharine (the youngest child) were the only two Allen siblings to stay on the farm in Great Umberstown, Ireland, along with their aging parents, Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney Allen.

Mary Allen (Burns)- It is likely that Mary was the first of the Allen siblings to come to America.

Mary, the eldest Allen sibling, was married to Patrick Burns in Summerhill Parish in February, 1851. A biographical article on Patrick B. Burns, of County Meath, shows him born Aug. 15, 1825, the son of Patrick and Anna Murray Burns, who came to America and settled in New Brunswick N.J., where they remained until their deaths. According to the family history, Patrick and Mary settled for a time in New Jersey, likely with his parents in New Brunswick. The census records show that their first two children were born in New Jersey; Anna in April 1855, and Patrick in 1856.

The family notebook says that Patrick Burns worked for three years until he could purchase his land. (article in notebook of Helen and Margie Allen)

According to the census, they had moved to Illinois before the birth of their next child; Francis "Frank" in 1858. By the 1870 census, they are shown on a farm in Township 8, Range 11, Jersey County, not far from the farms of Franklin and Hugh.


Hugh and Frank Allen

Our family history says that Hugh first arrived in New York, and worked there for several years before coming to Jersey County, Illinois. He likely arrived in the late 1850's. I wonder if he might have lived right outside NY with his eldest sister, Mary Allen (Burns) who had settled in New Jersey.

1860- A census with the right names but the wrong ages and place of birth!
(I have found that census inconsistencies happen and we have to remember that many of our ancestors could not read and write.) This census entry is for Macoupin County, right next to Jersey County. This shows that Hugh Allen was living with older brother Franklin Allen and his wife Rachel Allen and their child. Franklin's personal property was valued at $520, Hugh at $75. If this is our Hugh and Franklin, it hints that either they came together, or Franklin came first, with Hugh then joining him.

Source: Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 12 Range 7, Macoupin, Illinois; Page: 188; Family History Library Film: 803206
  1863-By June 1863, the U.S. civil war draft records show both Franklin, age 30, and Hugh, age 25, in Jerseyville.

Source: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau



Our ancestor, Hugh Allen, helped many of his siblings get a start when they came to America.

Patrick Allen


By 1870, Hugh's younger brother Patrick had immigrated to America. He was 29 years old and was living with Hugh's family in Jerseyville, helping on the farm.

Source: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 8 Range 12, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: M593_233; Page: 796A; Image: 811; Family History Library Film: 545732

In April 1874, Hugh was the witness for Patrick's marriage to Catherine Burns, at St. Francis Xavier in Jerseyville. 

Source: Catholic Diocese of Springfield; Springfield, IL; Illinois, Church Records, 1853-1975



Thomas and Richard Allen

By 1872, both Thomas and Richard Allen (Hugh's younger brothers) were also living in Jerseyville.

According to census records, Thomas Allen (great uncle Tom who later wrote letters home to Ireland) had come to America by 1861. In 1872, he was married in Jerseyville, with his brother Richard Allen as his witness. (Later Tom's wife died, and by 1910 he was living with his nephew, Thomas Allen (my grandfather) Hugh's son.)

On September 21, 1876, Richard Allen died at the age of 32.

Chances are that Richard, too, had been living with Hugh, as Hugh was the executor of his estate.

Edward Allen

By 1880- Hugh's youngest brother, Edward, was living with Hugh's family in Jerseyville.

In 1885, Edward Allen married Mary Bryan at St. Francis in Jerseyville.




The move west to Nebraska- Patrick, Edward, and Peter Allen

Patrick:

Patrick Allen moved to Nebraska between 1875 and 1876. Homesteads were readily available at this time.

By the 1880 census- Patrick Allen had moved  to Mud Creek, Gage County, Nebraska 

The census shows that Patrick's first son, Richard, had been born in Illinois in 1875, but by the birth of his daughter, a year later, he was in Nebraska. By 1885 they were in Filley, Gage Nebraska. Patrick continued to farm there, until his death in 1910, at the age of 74.


Edward: 

Edward Allen and his wife Mary Bryan soon moved to Nebraska as well. Their son Richard was born in Filley, Gage, Nebraska in June 1886. The family then moved about 18 miles to Plum Creek, Pawnee, Nebraska.

Edward died in 1897, at age 53, leaving his wife Mary a widow with 6 young children. The 1900 census for Plum Creek, Pawnee County Nebraska, shows Mary, a widow, Richard 14, James 12, Maggy 10, John 8, Peter 6, and Edward 3.

Peter

The 1900 census also shows Peter Allen, who emigrated in 1881, living in Plum Creek, Pawnee, Nebraska, next to the farm of Mary Allen, the widow of his brother Edward. He was 63 years old. Peter died 5 years later in 1905.

Although the youngest Allen child, Catherine, never came to America to join her siblings, her daughter, Maggie was another story! (See separate Post)


Sources:
https://www.theirishstory.com/2018/11/17/the-irish-girl-and-the-american-letter-irish-immigrants-in-19th-century-america/#.Xnn2at_Yosk

http://www.mayolibrary.ie/en/LocalStudies/Emigration/LettersinIreland/

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Ireland&co=stereo (explore this)

Children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney County Meath- John Allen 1833 Summerhill- 1918 Summerhill

"When distributing the estate of Richard Allen (1843-1872) in Illinois, John, Catherine, and Edward were listed as living at Summer Hill, County Meath, Ireland. Edward later came to U.S. in 1880." from genealogy notebook of Helen and Marjorie Allen

John Allen

John Allen was baptized in the Dangan Church in Summerhill Parish on May 20, 1833. He was a year older than his brother Hugh, our ancestor.

John remained single and stayed on the family farm with his parents, Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney Allen.

In the 1901 census John, age 62, was still farming and living in Great Umberstown, with a 19 year old cousin, Jane Moran. The census notes that John can read, but cannot write, while Jane can both read and write. This would fit with Aunt Helen's memories of her sister Mary Allen writing letters for their Uncle Tom Allen (who lived with their family until his death in 1920) to his brother back in Ireland. John would then have a female relative in Ireland write letters back.

In 1911, John, now listed as 76 (there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to ages, although the church baptismal records don't lie!) is farming in Great Umberstown, but his nephew, Thomas Byrne, 37 and single, is helping him with the farming.This notation of Thomas Byrne as his nephew was the key to unlock the mystery of Catherine Allen- the other sibling who remained in Ireland.

John died of old age on January 8, 1918 at the family farm in Umberstown. Margaret Byrne was with him at his death.

Hugh's Story- Jerseyville- Married to an Irish Girl

                                   Marriage

Almost a year to the day after buying his farm, Hugh, now 30 years old, was married. On April 25, 1864, he married Margaret Durney. Margaret had come from Kilkenny Ireland and her family had also emigrated to Jersey County. She had brothers and sisters in the area. At the time of their marriage, she was 24 years old. 

Nine months later, on January 24, 1865, their first child, Richard, was born. Soon more babies arrived; Margaret on October 17, 1867, Rosa on August 13, 1869, Thomas on December 22, 1870, and Hugh on March 5, 1873.

They started out on an 80 acre farm with an existing log cabin. But in time, Hugh built a new house. As his family was growing, so was his farm. Hugh saved and put his profits into buying more land. Eventually the boy who had grown up on a 17 acre rented farm in Ireland owned a 360 acre farm in America.

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