John and Margaret Moore Welch of Mercer County, Illinois
Advertisement


John and Margaret Moore Welch Family
----------------------------------------------------

Return to Woodward Home Page
Return to Harvey and Rachel Woodward Welch Page
Return to Moore Page on History portion of this site

John Welch was the second child and second son of Harvey & Rachel Woodward Welch of Indiana and Illinois. He was grandson of John & Rachel Williams Woodward of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Indiana, and great grandson of Abraham & Hannah Thornbrough Woodward, the subjects of this Web Site.

Margaret Moore was daughter of James and Mary Moore of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and Christian County, Illinois. It is a total mystery to us how John and Margaret met. She may have been someone John met during his service in the Civil War. We know that John was on at least one extended leave during the War but he was on leave from the hospital at Cairo, Illinois which is not in the pathway of Christian County to Mercer County where John lived.



  John Welch
born about 1837 Wayne Co, In
died 4/23/1867 Mercer Co, Il
Margaret Moore
born about 1845 Ohio
died 10/3/1885 Christian Co, Il


  Married: 4/7/1865 New Boston, Mercer County, Illinois, by J. W. Woods, Justice of the Peace (marriage certificate)

Children:
(1) Child Welch died before 1867 Mercer County, Illinois
<2>Lillian Hollis Welch born 8/17/1867 Mercer County, Illinois; married Benjamin Barnes

John Welch in the 1860's

In the 1860 Mercer County census John Welch is enumerated both on the Welch family farm and as a laborer for his future brother-in-law Stephen Carr.

We know a great deal about the life and death of John Welch from pension papers in connection with his Civil War service. Pertinent parts of the papers are included in Welch Family Papers on this Site.

John Welch enlisted with his brother, William Welch, in Company G of the Twenty-Seventh Infantry on August 20, 1861. We believe the attached photo is of William and John Welch when they enlisted. A newspaper account tells of an itinerant photographer setting up in the street in New Boston to take photos of any of the "New Boston Sharpshooters," as the 27th was known, who wanted a souvenir of the occasion. The photo was handed down in the family of John and William's brother, James Welch and was supplied to us by Betty Welch. The two men match descriptions of them given in their pension papers and the clothing fits the time period.

The New Boston Sharpshooters took part in a regimental battle at Belmont, Missouri, in November 1861. There is an interesting poem about the Battle of Belmont on the Mercer County Web Site. According to affidavits filed by comrades, John Welch had a terrible cough during the winter of 1861 and 1862, the result of a cold contracted from exposure. He was furloughed from the hospital in Cairo, Illinois, in March of 1862 and returned to his regiment in April 1862. His comrades said he had the look of consumption and were sure he would die. JohnWelch was discharged on July 15, 1862, at Camp Big Springs, Mississippi, for disability. His discharge certificate makes no mention of consumption. It states he had been unfit for duty for 60 days on account of caries of the right tibia, existing previous to entering the service. It also describes him as 5 ft 8 3/4 inches in height, dark complected, with blue eyes and black hair and occupation farmer. The photo above, probably taken at time of enlistment with his brother William shows a handsome dark haired lad with a black beard. His discharge in Mississippi also gives us no clue as to how and where he met his wife.

Background on Margaret Moore

Meanwhile Margaret Moore was growing up in Ohio. The family is found in 1850 at Port Washington, Tuscarawas County, Ohio: #39 James Moore, 35, farmer, born Ireland; Mary, 26, Ohio; Mary A., 10, Oh; Margaret, 6, Oh; Joseph, 2, Oh; James Carr, 67, farmer, born Md; Susannah Carr, 19, Oh. We have determined that these Carrs have no connection with the Carrs of Mercer County, Illinois. We have also determined that Mary Moore, wife of James Moore, is not daughter of James Carr; perhaps she was a niece or other relative. In 1860 the Moores are still in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, but in Goshen Township: James Moore, 47, laborer, Ireland; Mary, 37, Oh; Mary Ann, 20, Oh; Margaret, 15, Oh; Joseph, 11, Oh; Thomas, 9, Oh; Martha, 4, Oh; James, 1, Oh. It is our belief that somehow Margaret must have made the journey to Mercer County, Illinois, by 1865 with some relative or other. (Added 10/2/2007)Sister Mary Ann Moore may have accompanied her as we believe Mary Ann married Stephen Bear in April 1867 and we know that at least one Bear family member was sitting with John Welch as he died in April 1867.

John and Margaret Moore Welch's brief life together

John Welch married Margaret Moore at New Boston, Mercer County, Illinois, on April 7, 1865. John Welch died of consumption (tuberculosis) on April 23, 1867, at New Boston. A number of neighbors were present at John's death and helped lay him out. We feel John may have been buried in the Leech Cemetery, as they lived very near it, but no tombstone survived until the 1960's when the cemetery was censused by the DAR.

When John Welch died, Margaret Moore Welch was pregnant with their second child, the first having died earlier according to a neighbor's affidavit. In an affidavit, one of the neighbors present at John's death recalled that he heard John tell his wife to take good care of the baby after it was born.

Margaret Moore Welch's Return to Christian County, Illinois

Margaret Moore Welch apparently moved almost immediately after John's death to Christian County, Illinois. This tells us that she likely had no relatives in Mercer County. A daughter Lillian Hollis Welch, was born on August 17, 1867, four months after her father's death, in Christian County, Illinois. Margaret is found in 1870 in Christian County, Illinois, as housekeeper for her father and a brother and sister: #8 James Moore, 58, horse farmer, Ireland; Margaret Welsh, 25, keeping house, Oh; Lillian Welsh, 2, Il; Mattie Moore, 10, Oh; James Moore, 12, Oh.

Margaret and daughter Lillian Welch are found in the 1880 census in Pana, Christian County, living alone, indicating her father was probably deceased. The census verifies that Margaret's father was born in Ireland and her mother in Ohio. Her mother's maiden name might have been Hollis since Lillian's middle name was Hollis and the name did not come from the Welch family. Margaret Moore Welch died of consumption in 1885, when Lillian Hollis Welch was 18 years old.

Lillian Welch's brief life with Benjamin Barnes

Lillian Welch married Benjamin L. Barnes at Shelbyville, Illinois, on June 13, 1887 (marriage certificate). Lillian Welch Barnes died of consumption March 4, 1891, leaving a five month old child, Lillian Hollis Barnes, born September 22, 1890. A fellow genealogist was visiting her own father's grave in Oak Hill Cemetery in Taylorville, Christian County, Illinois, and took a photo of a near life sized angel topping the grave of Lillian Welch Barnes and looked us up on the internet. To see the photo (Click). The tombstone contained much information on the family of Benjamin Barnes and enabled us to find more information on John Welch's granddaughter, Lillian Hollis Barnes. We have more photos of the tombstone for anyone interested.

More on the Barnes Family

Benjamin Barnes' parents were Albert G. and Henrietta Branson Barnes. The 1870 census tells us Albert was a wealthy merchant and banker in Taylorville, Christian County, Illinois. The Barnes family originated in Pennsylvania where Albert's father, Daniel Barnes owned a bookstore in Lancaster County for several years before migrating to Springfield, Illinois in about 1840. The family took good care of Benjamin's wife, Lillian Hollis Welch Barnes and provided the beautiful tombstone. Mother-in-law Henrietta Branson Barnes was present when Lillian's daughter was born. They also sent Lillian to the mountains of North Carolina for her health as the consumption worsened. Lillian died at the home of Henrietta Barnes 3/4/1891.

Lillian Hollis Barnes

Little Lillian Hollis Barnes was then raised by her grandparents, Albert and Henrietta Branson Barnes. She is found in their home in Taylorville in 1900: #645 Albert G. Barnes, Sept 1837, 62, married 39 years; born Pa, parents born Pennsylvania, banker; Henrietta, Aug 1839, 60, 7 children born, 5 living, born Il, father born Ohio; mother born Kentucky; Lillian H. Barnes, granddaughter, Sept 1890, 9, born Il, parents born Il, at school 8 months this year. Her birthplace of Illinois has been overwritten by the words "North Carolina." Many more census records give her birthplace as North Carolina so evidently her mother was again in North Carolina for her health when Lillian was born.

Both Albert and Henrietta Barnes died before 1910 and Lillian is living with an aunt, Clara Barnes Adams, at 529 S. Washington Street in Taylorville, Christian County: Alexander Adams, 43, traveling salesman, born Il, father NC, mother In; Clara M 37, Il, father Pa, mother Il, 2 children born, 1 living; Bertie, 16, Il; Maud Taylor, servant, 28, Il; Lillian H. Barnes, niece, 19, N. Car, parents born Il.

We were able to find some information about Lillian's life in local newspapers. The Decatur Daily Review in nearby Macon County carried a regular Taylorville column and Lillian is mentioned. July 7, 1905: Ben Barnes and daughter Lillian left Thursday for Statesville NC for a several weeks stay. September 10, 1906: Taylorville College Goers: Other pupils from here will attend school in various places as follows: Misses Eleanor Scott and Lillian Barnes at Oxford (as yet unidentified school). Sept. 5, 1908 Miss Lillian Barnes will attend Oxford College. Sept 8, 1908 Mr. and Mrs. George Banks and Miss Lillian Barnes are visiting in St. Louis. These brief items tell us some things about Lillian: though she grew up with other relatives she did have a relationship with her father. And she started college at the young age of 16 and we know she attended for at least two years. We know she was living with her aunt above in 1910 and we find her as married in 1920.

In 1920 we find Lillian in District 127 Clayton, St. Louis, Missouri: #25 John Barringer, own, 36, Il, Il, Il, Secretary Dairymens Supplier; Lillian, 29, born North Carolina, parents born Il; Betty, 4, born Mo, father Il, mother NC; John 3, born Mo; Alby Hayes, servant, 37, Il, Il, Il, housekeeper. Thanks to Dorothy Burke we located Lillian's marriage record in Montgomery County, Illinois, just next to Christian County: John Carlisle Barringer; Spouse Lillian Barnes; Parents James B Barringer, Martha A Swann; Birth Place Montgomery, Hillsboro, IL; Birth Date 15 Aug 1883; Marriage Place Hillsboro, Montgomery, IL; Marriage Date 29 Oct 1913. We also found a WWI draft registration 1917-18 in St. Louis, Missouri: John Carlisle Barringer, born 15 August 1883. His parents are verified in the 1900 census in Hillsboro, Montgomery Co, Il: Jas Barringer, May 1857, 43, married 19 yr, cashier, bank, born Il, father NC, mother Il; Martha, October 1858, married 19 yrs, 2 children born, 1 living, born Il, parents born Missouri; John C., son, August 1883, at school, Il, Il, Il; Gertrude McGastin, servant, March 2878, 22, born Il, parents born Il.

In 1930 we find the John Barringer family in Glendale City, Glendale, Los Angeles Co, Ca at 1217 North Lowell St: John C. Barringer, own home, $8000, no radio, 46, married age 30, born Il, parents born Il, Cashier Investment Company; Lillian C., 39, married age 23, born NC, parents born Il; John B. 13, born Mo, father Il, Mo NC; Martha J.,9, Mo; J. Carlisle, 7, Mo. Young Betty apparently did not survive.

There was interesting information in a Van Nuys newspaper July 1, 1948. A Catherine Crump Morris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Buddington Morris, pioneer Van Nuys residents, was entertaining her bridal entourage where the guest list included Mrs. John C. Barringer (i. e. Lillian Hollis Barnes Barringer). The party was preparatory to the July 10 wedding of Catharine to James Carlisle Barringer, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Carlisle Barringer of Glendale. There was an engagement announcement in the January 1, 1948 Van Nuys News which tells us that Mr. Barringer was a Delta Kappa Epsilon at Stanford where he graduated last year and that Miss Morris was to graduate this year from Stanford with a major in journalism. Unfortunately an issue of the newspapers around the time of the wedding was not found on online - since wedding photos were typically included there would probably be one of Catharine and James Barringer.

Sources

This family is a prime example of how genealogy can be unraveled with the help of pension papers. Most of the information comes from the application of Benjamin Barnes for accrued pension benefits from his wife Lillian Hollis Welch Barnes on behalf of his daughter, Lillian Hollis Barnes. In applying for a pension it was necessary to obtain affidavits and certifications when actual birth, death and marriage records were not available. Many of the documents in this case have been put up on the Welch Family Papers page on this Site as examples of the kind of documents included in pension records. However, without the kindness of the lady who took the tombstone photo and looked us up on the Internet we would not have known the rest of the story. She also pointed us to an online source Early Settlers of Sangamon County - 1876 (John Carroll Powell) which filled in additional information on the Barnes family.

In June 2009 we heard from Dorothy Burke with another suggestion for the marriage and family of Lillian Hollis Barnes. We followed up on the information and included it above.


Updates:
6/20/2009 Removed the reference to Lloyd Moore as possible husband of Lillian Hollis Barnes as it is incorrect. We heard from Dorothy Burke who gave us some more clues and we were able to correctly identify the husband of Lillian Hollis Barnes and have added the information above.


Advertisement