Gone for Soldiers: Eli Matthews (1804 - 1864), Mounted Rifleman

When I first saw the Ancestry hint for this maternal third great grandfather, I didn't think it was likely because the event was in 1827 which seemed very early. I had forgotten that my Matthews ancestors moved from Tennessee to Sangamon County, Illinois, in 1818 (when Eli would have been about 14).

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Army Indian Campaign Service Records Index, 1815-1858 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2017. Original data: Index to Compiled Service to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M629, 42 rolls)]

Here's how the National Archives summarizes the events of the Winnebago Disturbances or War:

Resentment against lead mining operations on Winnebago lands east of the Mississippi River lead to hostilities. On June 26, 1827, four Winnebago Indians attacked a farm house at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, killing two men and scalping a child. To protect the miners and other settlers, four companies of volunteers were formed; the settlers requested additional support from Illinois and the regular U.S. Army. By September 1, 1827, most of the troops had reached the center of hostilities and although prepared for battle, only a few small skirmishes took place. Seven days later, surrounded by troops, the Winnebago chiefs surrendered and agreed to hand over the six Indians responsible for the attacks.

Eli married Susan Hanon in 1823 so he would have been a young householder when the call came to Illinois militia groups to form up in response to the "Winnebago Disturbances."

I found Eli's name in the Illinois State Archives, giving his term of service as a little over a month:

[Database of Illinois Winnebago War Veterans]

It doesn't look as if he saw very much, if any, active hostilities before being discharged.

You can learn more about Eli's life in this earlier post.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday:Susan Hanon Matthews (1805 - 1884) Farm Wife & Mother

To date almost all my Wednesday posts have been about men in my family tree because it's easier to categorize the work men did while the women's contributions to the household have been taken for granted. Here's an example from the 1850 U.S. Census for the family of a pair of my maternal third great grandparents Susan (Hanon) and her husband Eli Matthews, who were then living in Christian County, Illinois.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: District 22, Christian, Illinois; Roll: M432_100; Page: 132B; Image: 27. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Read the instructions sent to the marshalls and their assistants for this census:

[census.gov]

At the time it simply wasn't contemplated that women could have an occupation or profession.

Susan and Eli were the first couple married in Sangamon County in 1823.* This quote taken from 2011 article in the Illinois Times titled Pioneer life here was hard on women and animals gives us a glimpse into aspects of a woman's life in Illinois.

Christiana Tillson and her husband moved to central Illinois from the east coast in 1822 and settled in Hillsboro; she wrote about her experiences and impressions of 19th century pioneers here. She said husbands often mistreated their wives. “If (the farmers) had slaves,” wrote Tillson, “the authority was exercised over them; if not, the wife was the willing slave.…” 

Men hunted for food, built cabins and farmed, while women helped farm, planted and harvested vegetables, picked, carded, and spun cotton, made the family’s clothes from cotton or wool they’d weaved, cooked, kept the house clean, took care of the children and animals, made candles, soap and butter, tapped maple trees for sap and made sugar, and birthed many children. 

While pioneer men visited friends or took off on long hunts with them, the women didn’t have time to visit friends, who usually lived several miles away. One such pioneer wife recorded that she only left her neighborhood three times in four and a half years. Men were able to play because their wives were taking care of things at home.**

I don't know any personal details about Susan's life but I'm sure it wasn't greatly different from this description. Susan had eight children, her youngest one William was born when she was 40. Eli died in 1864 and Susan survived him by 20 years.

*Christian County was formed from Sangamon County in 1839 along with parts of Montgomery and Shelby Counties.

**All of this reminded me of this humorous folk song:

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.