Henry Ritter, 1875-1938

 Family history post:

A short one this time, as there isn’t much info available…

87 years ago next week, one of my Great Grand-Uncles passed away.  He was 63 years old.

Henry Ritter was born in Chebanse, Illinois, to George and Henrietta (Belk) Ritter in September 1875.  His older sister Wilhemine (Minnie) was my Great Grandmother. Both of Henry’s parents had been born in Germany, and had traveled to America right at the end of our Civil War. They were married in Kankakee County 1868, and started their family shortly after.

Henry’s father was a harness maker by trade, so I’m guessing they must have had a house in town. The census taker didn’t include street or house numbers, unfortunately.

1880 Census, Chebanse IL

When Henry was 10 years old, a big snowstorm swept across the region.  The roads had to be shoveled by hand.  I bet Henry helped!  The next year, when he was 11 years old, a bad hail storm and tornado caused total destruction in a 4-mile wide path through Chebanse.  I have no information on whether or not the Ritter home survived. The following year, when he was 12 years old, the first cement sidewalk was built in town.

In the 1900 census, Henry was boarding at a hotel (operated by George Milk) in Chebanse.  He was a painter by trade. I have not been able to find him in the 1910 or 1920 census.

1900 Census, Chebanse IL

Chebanse IL, unknown year... notice the Hotel sign on the left, and the Paint advertisement on the far right.  This could be the hotel Henry was boarding at in 1900, and he likely purchased paint from the store on the right.

In 1918, he filled out a WWI registration card.  He’s described as being of medium height and slender build, with brown eyes and brown hair.  He also writes that he would be physically disqualified from the War, because his left arm was off at the elbow.  Obviously, there is a story there…and I wish we knew it. Perhaps something that happened during the 1886 tornado?

WWI registration card, page 1

WWI registration card, page 2

In the 1930 census, Henry was boarding with the Amos Clausen family on Orchard Street in Chebanse.  He’s listed as a Painter/Paperhanger.

Sadly, Henry passed away on October 13, 1938.  His obituary states that a neighbor discovered the body, and it was believed to have been a heart attack.  He never married or had children. Henry is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Chebanse.

1938 obituary

Evergreen Cemetery, Chebanse IL

Rev George Washington Graham, 1879-1953

 Rev. George Washington Graham
20th Pastor of Herrin FBC
1928-1934

Born: February 20, 1879… Big Creek, Missouri

Died: October 15, 1953… Lebanon, Missouri

Licensed by the Hickory Grove Church (Missouri) at age 15, and ordained by the First Church in Farmington (Missouri) at age 36.

Rev Graham (age 39) married Miss Lillian Nina Renfroe (age 37) in St. Louis, 1918.  They had no known children.

St. Louis in 1918

During WWI, Graham served as a Chaplain at

Camp Funston in Kansas.  Camp Funston was a

training camp located on the grounds of

Fort Riley.  It was one of 16 camps that were

established at the outbreak of WWI for use as

infantry division training camps.  During WWII,

he was promoted all the way up to Major in

the Chaplain’s Reserve Corp.

Camp Funston during WWI

In the 1930 census (the only census taken while

Graham lived in Herrin), the family lived at

420 South 14th Street.

420 South 14th St, Herrin

The building that Rev Graham served in, 1928-1934

Rev Graham’s father John, was taken from his

home by a group of Confederate guerillas in late

1864.  In a statement later made by a neighbor

(who was also taken at the same time), the

Confederates took the men from their homes

and “compelled” them to leave.  The men were

taken south into Arkansas and kept to the

countryside.  The Missouri men were able to

escape about 50 miles from Memphis, on the

Arkansas side of the river. The men that escaped

became Union soldiers after their ordeal.

Rev. Graham’s grandfather Carter Graham,  was a

pioneer Baptist in Southeast Missouri.  In 1835,

with the help of William Settle, the Big Creek

Baptist Church was founded.  Both Graham and

Settle would serve as Pastor.  The Big Creek Baptist

Church is still around, and just celebrated their

190th anniversary in April 2025.  

Today's Big Creek Baptist Church

Rev K.W. Ingram, 1852-1935

 Kenan Wright (K.W.) Ingram

10th Pastor of Herrin FBC

1898-1899

Born: February 8, 1852… Macedonia, Franklin/Hamilton County, IL

Died: December 23, 1935… McLeansboro, Hamilton County, IL

K.W.’s parents arrived in Hamilton County, IL, to clear and farm the land, sometime between 1830 and 1840.  They had 11 known children. Of their 8 sons, 5 of them are known to have served (and survived!) in the Union Army during the Civil War.

In 1871, K.W. married Laura Josephine Upton. They had 6 known children, but only 3 of them survived to adulthood.

At the request of the Union Baptist Church in Hamilton County, IL, a council met and ordained Ingram on April 17, 1881.

He would go on to serve several churches over the years. Some of the ones we know about are...

• Peters Creek Baptist Church, Elizabethtown IL
• Union Baptist Church, Hamilton County IL
• Herrin's Prairie Baptist Church, Herrin IL
• Antioch Baptist Church, Macedonia IL
• Blooming Grove Baptist Church, McCleansboro IL

When Ingram wasn't preaching, he was farming. He lived in Hamilton and Franklin Counties in Illinois, all of his life.

His wife Laura passed away in 1916. He remarried Esther Hays in 1918. She would go on to live until 1941.

Rev. Ingram is buried in Antioch Cemetery, near McCleansboro, IL.

-----------------------------------------------

Rev. Hugh McAlpin, 1821-1895

 REV. HUGH MCALPIN

4TH PASTOR, 1876-1880

7TH PASTOR, 1883-1887

OF HERRIN FBC

David Hugh McAlpin was born March 9, 1821 in Matteawan, Dutchess County, New York. He was the first generation McAlpin born in America.

In 1840, he arrived in Salisbury, North Carolina and began work as a supervisor in a textile mill.

In March of 1843, he married Miss Charlotte Allen, in Lexington, North Carolina. They raised 10 known children.

In 1847, McAlpin was licensed by the Rockfish Church in Sampson County, NC.

In 1848, he was ordained by the Cape Fear Baptist Association.

In 1850, he began pastoring at Boykin's Chapel (Sampson Co, NC) and served there for about 20 years.

He led a "great revival" in 1853 at teh Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville, NC. Church membership increased to 115.

During the Civil War, he visited the Confederate Army camps as a Chaplain.

In 1871, he was elected moderator for the Baptist Eastern Association. Around the same time, he was elected as a Trustee to Wake Forest College.

In 1876, McAlpin moved his family to Southern Illinois and began pastoring at Herrin's Prairie, at what would become the Herrin First Baptist Church. He served for one year. In his spare time, he was a farmer. He returned to Herrin FBC in 1883 and served until 1887.

From the Marion Monitor, May 26, 1881:

“Rev. Hugh McAlpin, of the Baptist Church of this city, immersed four converts in the Aikman pond, near this city, last Sunday afternoon in the presence of a large congregation.”

In 1886, he helped start the Carterville FBC with 12-14 members of the Hurricane Missionary Baptist Church.

His wife Charlotte passed away in 1890. Rev. McAlpin passed away as a result of paralysis, on February 20, 1895. They are buried in the McAlpin Cemetery, located near the Williamson County Airport in Illinois.

“... Rev Hugh is remembered as a Baptist Circuit rider who lived with his family on McAlpin Hill, a short distance to the northwest of Bainbridge.  Among his characteristics were his ability as a pulpit orator, his influential sermons with their warmth and deep understanding, and moreover his life as a Christian influence wherever he went…”

Some of the churches Hugh McAlpin served in:

• Rockfish Church, Sampson County NC

• Boykin’s Chapel, Sampson County NC

• Cedar Creek Baptist Church, Fayetteville NC

• Clinton Baptist Church, Clinton NC

• Herrin’s Prairie Baptist Church, Herrin IL

• Marion FBC, Marion IL

• Williams Prairie Church, Johnston City IL

• Carterville FBC, Carterville IL

• Hurricane Church, Carterville IL

William R. Ussery, 1847-1863

William R. Ussery, my 3rd Great GrandUncle, was born 178 years ago on March 25, 1847.  And he died 162 years ago, about March 10, 1863.  William was the 10th of 11 known children of Sylvester and Mary (Barnett) Ussery.  He was born in rural Johnson County, Illinois.  His parents and older siblings had come to Illinois from Maury County, TN between 1840-1845.  William was the 2nd child in the family to be born in IL.  He grew up just north of Vienna, no doubt running and playing in the forests and fields.  I am sure he also did his share of chores on the farm.  His father, Sylvester, was 54 when William was born… and his mother was 42.  

1860 census, Johnson County IL

When William was 15 years old, he enlisted in the Union Army at Vienna on August 14, 1862.  According to a newspaper article at the time, you had to be at least 18 years old to enlist… and even then, needed permission from your parents.  William must have been convincing, as he would have had to lie about his age at the enlistment table.  He is recorded as being 5’6” tall, light complexion, with dark hair and blue eyes.  I wish we could know what he was thinking about that day, as he became a Private in Company C, 120th Illinois Infantry.

from the Jonesboro Gazette, 1862

After 2 months in training camp at Vienna, William and his comrades boarded a train at Dongola and went north to Camp Butler (near Springfield IL).  Two weeks later they were mustered into service on October 28, 1862, and sent to “Jimtown” (now known as Riverton IL) to guard the railroad bridge (the bridge doesn’t exist anymore).  About ten days later, the Regiment was sent to Alton, IL, where they boarded the steamer Stephen Decatur and went to St. Louis. Five days later they arrived at Memphis.  According to William’s records, he received his last payment from the army on October 31st.

from the Jonesboro Gazette, October 1862

Camp Butler, 1862

Once in Memphis, William and his fellow soldiers were given orders to help guard Fort Pickering (on the south side of the city).  That previous Summer, the Battle of Memphis had left the city to be occupied by the Union.  Their first order of business was to impose martial law.  History says that the Union army “hoped to be able to win over the city’s citizens, but found them to remain hostile and defiant.  The army were forced to adopt a harsher policy, including the seizure and destruction of private property, imprisonment or banishment of those who refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Union, and the forcible emancipation of slaves.” A new fort was built after the June battle, and I assume that is where William was stationed.  It became one of the greatest supply and staging areas in the West.

hand drawn map of Fort Pickering, Memphis TN

Unfortunately, at this same time, William’s regiment dealt with smallpox, measles, pneumonia and other diseases.  At this point, William became sick and remained in Memphis, even when his regiment was sent elsewhere.  On January 1, 1863, he was transferred to Company K.  On February 9, 1863, he was admitted to Jefferson Hospital in Memphis.  A month later, on March 7th, William was officially discharged from the Union Army.  His papers state that he had done “no duty whatever for the past four months”, and was diagnosed with having Stage 2 of “phthisis pulmonalis.”  Google says that’s an old medical term for tuberculosis.  He was sent home to Union County (his parents had moved there after 1860), IL.  

Jefferson Hospital in Memphis TN

William's discharge certificate, 1863

A friend and fellow soldier gave a statement in 1882, for the military pension William’s mother was applying for (William’s father had been disabled for several years and was unable to do any kind of work).  Jacob McCuan said that William had died after being discharged, but before arriving home.  He died somewhere between Memphis, TN and Anna, IL. He was still only 15 years old.  He is buried in the Anna City Cemetery, in the Civil War Veterans section, next to his brother John.

Jacob McCuan statement, 1882

William's grave stone in Anna City Cemetery, IL