Mary Helene Offerman, 1890-1953

136 years ago this month, one of my Great Grand-Aunt’s was born… and 73 years ago this month, she passed away.

Mary (sometimes listed as Maria) Helene Offerman was born on August 19, 1890, in Otto Township, IL.  She was the 11th child (and one of only 3 girls) of Heinrich and Maria Sophia (Doscher) Offerman.  She grew up on a big farm in rural Kankakee County.  Otto Township is just north of Chebanse.  There was not a downtown area, it was simply a rural community.  Life centered around grain production, livestock and family farms supplying regional markets thanks to the Illinois Central Railroad.

1898 Offerman family portrait... Mary is the young girl in the middle

1900 census

In the 1900 census, Mary is noted as attending 1st grade.  In a later census, we find that her highest level of education was 8th grade.  At age 18, in 1908, Mary married Fred W. Meyer.  He was just a few years older than her.  Fred was noted as a farmer in every census except for 1930.  That year, they were living in the small community of Compton, in Lee County, IL.  The census states that Frank was a peddler of “spices and medicines.”  After that, he went back to farming and the family moved back to the Chebanse/Otto area.  In 1950, they were living on Van Siding Road in Limestone (still in Kankakee County).

Mary with siblings

Offerman children with mother Maria Sophia

Frank and Mary had 3 known children… two boys and one girl.  I was able to find a biographical sketch written by a nephew of Mary.  The memories about Mary are from her son Alfred…  “She did or helped with all the things there are to do on the farm, never complaining. She could make a house into a home with very little to work with.  She used to like to curl her hair with an iron that she hung in the chimney, then swing around to show us how nice she looked. She would curl her hair before the dances that she and dad would attend.  Mom used to tell how she, Aunt Dora and Aunt Minnie used to drink some vinegar before going to dances to make their faces pale, as they had no face powder.”  The writer adds at the end that he remembered his Aunt Mary as always happy, jovial and laughing.

Mary passed away in Kankakee County (actual location isn’t known at this time) on August 10, 1953.  She was 62 years old.  She’s buried at Kankakee Memorial Gardens.

William Hines Hicks, 1804-1868

158 years ago this month, one of my 3rd Great Grandfathers passed away.

William Hines Hicks was born about 1804 in either Wake County, North Carolina or Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He was one of at least six children born to Isaac and Elizabeth (Hines) Hicks.  His father had been a Patriot in the Revolutionary War.  In fact, William (sometimes referred to as Billy) grew up on land that his father had been given by the U.S. Government for his service in the War. His father and family appear in the 1800 census in NC.  I have not been able to find them in the 1810 census at all.  In Isaac’s military pension application, he states that he had been residing in Georgia since April of 1815.  So I am more inclined to believe that our William was born in NC.

Georgia map showing Oglethorpe County highlighted

As a young man, William felt the pull to head toward the prime woodland country of Southern Illinois, and headed West on his own.  He stopped in Livingston County, Kentucky for a while and met and married Miss Elizabeth Lavender, in 1827.  Their first child Henry, was born there in 1828, before they set out for Illinois.

Kentucky map with Livingston County highlighted

1827 from the Livingston County marriage record books (middle line)

1827 marriage certificate for William Hines Hicks and Elizabeth Lavender

They were settled in Pope County (before Hardin County broke off of Pope County) by 1830, when their second child was born.  In the 1830 census, the family was living next to Elizabeth’s parents.  The area they all had settled in, became known as “Hicks” or “Hickstown”.  There’s also a creek that runs through the area today, known as “Hicks Branch”.  Fun fact… “Hicks Dome” is there, which is a cryptovolcanic feature, thought to have formed about 270 million years ago.  Instead of lava, immense gas and magma pressure pushed the rock layers up roughly 4000 feet, creating a 10 mile wide dome structure.

When William’s widowed mother died in 1835, she left him three town lots in Raleigh, North Carolina.  No chance we can claim those now (ha ha), as he sold them almost immediately.

William was a farmer. Thanks to the 1850 Ag census, we know that he owned 160 acres, 5 horses, 1 mule, 5 milk cows, 20 other cattle, 9 sheep, 25 pigs. His produce for 1850 was 800 bushels of Indian corn, 21 pounds of wool, 3 bushels of peas/beans, 10 bushels of sweet potatoes, and 50 pounds of butter.  The 1860 Ag census tells us he owned 240 acres, 3 horses, 2 milk cows, 4 oxen, 6 other cattle, 10 sheep, and 25 pigs.  His produce for 1860 was 100 bushels of wheat, 800 bushels of Indian corn, 10 pounds of wool, 35 bushels of Irish potatoes, 15 bushels of sweet potatoes and 50 pounds of butter.

1850 Federal Census, Hardin County IL

He and Elizabeth had 12 known children.  We know that one died in infancy (we do not know a name, or whether it was a boy or girl).  The other 11 children consisted of 7 boys and 4 girls. Of the 7 boys, 5 of them enlisted in the Civil War.  One of them was sent home on furlough for illness in 1862… he died just a few days after arriving home.  Another son died in a Memphis hospital in 1862 and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Memphis National Cemetery.  A third son died in a hospital in Louisiana in 1863, and was later re-buried in an unmarked grave in the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

Family stories tell us that William began to suffer from “sore eyes” around 1862. This caused him to be unable to work.   After seeing several doctors, to no avail, he passed away on August 22, 1868.  Cause of death is listed as “carcinoma of sore eyes.”  He is buried in Lavender Cemetery, not very far from the old community of Hicks.  His stone is a piece of sandstone, with a simple “W.H.” hand carved on it.  At some point in the past, someone planted some greenery behind the stone.  I believe it’s the only grave in the cemetery with a real plant.

William Hines Hicks ("W.H." grave marker at Lavender Cemetery in Hardin County, IL