Thoughts by Trill: The Hicks of Hardin County

My great-great Grandmother, Elvira Jane Hicks Carlisle, had six brothers. Of those six brothers, five of them joined the Union to fight in the Civil War. Of those five who went off to war, only one returned home alive. I am not naive enough to think this was a rare thing...in fact, sadly, I'm sure there were a lot of families who shared the same statistics. But this is the only branch of my ancestors (that I'm aware of) that had this tragedy happen.

William Hines Hicks (my 3rd great grandfather) was born about 1804 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Elizabeth Lavender (my 3rd great grandmother) was born in 1807 in Botetourte County, Virginia. They were married March 29, 1827, in Livingston County, Kentucky. They had 11 children (some of which were mentioned above), spanning from 1828 to 1847. At some point in 1828 or 1829, the family moved north into Hardin County, Illinois. The following are their children...

Henry George Hicks was born in 1828 in Livingston County, Kentucky. He married America Kendrick in 1849, in Hardin County, Illinois. He enlisted as a Private on August 14, 1861, in New Haven, Illinois. He was assigned to Company D 29th IL Infantry and mustered into service on August 20, 1861 at Camp Butler in Illinois. According to his records, he was 5'9 1/2", with dark hair, dark eyes and a dark complexion. He was a farmer in Saline County. On March 16, 1862, he received a disability discharge at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee (Battle of Shiloh). The out of print book, "The Hicks Still Live" states that Henry died while on a 60 day furough from the war. His stone only has that he died in 1862, not a specific death date. It's my personal conclusion, that he was discharged after the Battle of Shiloh for whatever his disability was...possibly made it home to Hardin County, IL, and then died at home from his wounds. He is buried in Lavender Cemetery in Hardin County, IL. Henry and America had four known children (but one census record states that she was the mother of seven, with four living at that time)... William (1852- ), Lucinda (1854- ), Millard (1860- ), and Henry Jr. (1862- ).

Lavender Cemetery, Hardin County IL

Anna Hicks was born Nov. 30, 1830 in Hardin County, Illinois. She married Daniel Ginger around 1847. Together they had ten known children (according to the census records)... Malinda (1847-), William (1850-), Elizabeth (1852-), Missouri (1858-), Daniel (1860-), Mary (1863-), John (1864-), Martha (1865-), Joseph (1866-), India (1870-). Anna died on April 7, 1885 and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Hardin County.

photo by Barry Vinyard, Find-A-Grave website
Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Hardin County IL

Melinda Hicks was born in 1831 in Hardin County, Illinois. She married John Franklin Ginger about 1852. Together they had ten known children (according to census records)... Martha (1852-), Elizabeth (1854-), Harriett (1855-), Josephine (1856-), Mahala (1858-), Nancy (1860-), Eliza (1862-), Rose (1863-), Mary (1864-), John (1866-). Melinda died on February 23, 1873 and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Hardin County.

Louis Hicks was born December 16, 1832 in Hardin County, IL. He married Margaret Melvina Patton on March 27, 1856. I have only found one child from this marriage in census records, Sarah (1857-). Margaret died in 1863 and Louis remarried in 1869, to Mary S. Johnson. Together they had nine known children (according to census records)... Charlie (1870-), Ben (1871-), Sidney (1873-1940), John (1876-), Alex (1879-), Henry (1883-1944), Milo (1887-), Nancy (1890-), Lloyd (1894-). Louis died on May 1, 1907 and is buried in Lavender Cemetery in Hardin County.

Lavender Cemetery, Hardin County IL
"Weep not dear friends. My body lies beneath the sod, and my soul is with it's God."

Joshua Hicks was born about 1836 in Hardin County, Illinois. The Hicks book says that he married Lucy Stanley, but I can't find anything to confirm that. He also enlisted in the Civil War, but again, I cannot find a record of that. The Hicks book states that he died in the War, in 1862. Burial unknown.

Hiram Hicks was born in 1838 in Hardin County, Illinois. He married Sarah A. McGill on March 25, 1859. They had one child, Caroline (1861-1876). On August 22, 1862, Hiram went to Shawneetown and enlisted in Company I, 118th IL Infantry. He was mustered into service at Camp Butler in Illinois, on November 7, 1862. His enlistment records state that he was 5'4", auburn hair, blue eyes and had a fair complexion. The next military record for Hiram is from December 21, 1862. On that day, he was placed in General Hospital No. 2 in Memphis, TN. He died on January 8, 1863, while still in the hospital. The cause of death in the record book is "inflammation of lungs". I have read that was another way of saying pneumonia during that time period. Hiram was originally buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. Later, Union bodies in Elmwood were to be moved to what is now Memphis National Cemetery. The soldiers' names were written on their wooden caskets in chalk. The day the caskets were to be re-buried, a rain storm went through and all of the names were washed off the caskets. Those soldiers (including Hiram) are now in unmarked graves at Memphis National. In 1912, Hiram's wife Sarah re-applied for his pension after her third husband had died. After a year of letters and documents back and forth to Washington, she was finally granted the $12 a month pension. In 1916, she was granted an increase to $20 a month. In 1920, she requested and was granted an increase to $30 a month. Sarah died in 1924.

Miles Hicks was born November 5, 1839 in Hardin County, Illinois. He married Rebecca Jane McGill in 1859. Together they had nine known children (according to census records)... Martha (1860-), William (1866-), Harrison (1870-), Albert (1874-), Laura (1877-), Milas (1879-), James (1883-), Walter (1886-). On August 12, 1862, Miles enlisted in Hardin County to Company F, 131st IL Infantry. He was later transferred to Company D and Company C of the 29th IL Infantry. His enlistment records state that he was 5'9", light hair, blue eyes and had a light complexion. He was mustered in on November 13, 1862. And on July 19, 1865, he was mustered out of service in Springfield, IL. In 1881 he applied for pension. After his wife Rebecca died, he married her younger sister Mariah McGill on April 30, 1915. Miles died on June 12, 1928 and is buried in Lavender Cemetery in Hardin County.

Miles, Rebecca and daughter Martha Hicks

Lavender Cemetery, Hardin County IL

Elvira Jane Hicks (my great-great grandmother) was born May 13, 1844 in Hardin County, Illinois. She married James W. Carlisle on January 16, 1866. Together they had nine known children (according to census records)... Mary (1867-), Sarah (1869-1925...died in 1925 Tri-State Tornado), Luellen (1872-), John (1873-1912), George (1876-1911), Charles (1880-1958...my great-grandfather), Benjamin (1882-1963), Walter (1884-1981), Milas (1888-1921). Elvira died on January 22, 1930, in West Frankfort, Franklin County, IL. Her name is on the side of James' stone in Pell Cemetery in Hardin County, but I am waiting on a copy of her death certificate to see what it says as the place of burial.

Pell Cemetery, Hardin County IL

George W. Hicks was born around 1845 in Hardin County, Illinois. He enlisted in Hardin County, IL, on August 13, 1862 (at the age of 17) and became a member of Company F, 131st IL Infantry. He was mustered in with his brother Miles, on November 13, 1862. His enlistment records state that he was 5'6", light hair, blue eyes and had a light complexion. The Hicks' book says that George died on July 10, 1863, near Young's Point, Louisiana. The Young's Point battle was in mid-June of that year, and there was a hospital there as well. He could have died from injuries or disease after the battle. In 1871, his mother applied for his pension. Burial unknown.

Elizabeth Hicks was born February 22, 1846 in Hardin County, Illinois. She married Richard Bynum on September 14, 1869. After she married, I cannot locate her in a census record until 1900. At that time, she was widowed and living with a nephew, William Tucker Bynum. Elizabeth died on September 14, 1927 and is buried in Vinyard Cemetery in Hardin County.

John Wesley Hicks was born around 1847 in Hardin County, Illinois. I have not been able to personally find record on him, but other family trees on Ancestry.com say that he married Nancy Evaline Gibbs. According to census records, their first child was born in early 1865, so I suppose they probably were married in 1864. From the census records, I found that they had five known children... George (1865-), Martha (1869-), Ellen (1871-), Dora (1876-), Simon (1879-). His last known residence was Jackson County, IL, in the 1880 Census. All family trees online show that John died in December 1896. Some say he died in Golconda, Pope County, IL, but I don't know for sure. I do not have a burial location. However, I did find this picture of him...

John Wesley Hicks
photo submitted on Ancestry.com, by username "huber_mallory"

All of these people at some point of their life (for some, probably their entire life) lived or were born in Hicks or Hickstown in Hardin County. Last fall I went for a drive looking for pretty fall colors to take pictures of. I mapped out part of my route to include the old Hickstown area. There's nothing there now, just mostly open fields. I did find on the map an area called Hicks Dome, and wound up circling it. It would be neat to see what it looked like when it was more inhabited...but until that time machine shows up at my front door, I'll settle for being honored and able to see what it looks like now...