John Alexander Summers

Source, Coty Herring.

 Back in 1933 Sara John English, an avid Illinois historian with an affinity for military graves, wrote a newspaper article about Col. John Summers (middle name probably "Alexander" since he had a son John Alexander Summers Jr.). Though containing an error or two, the article, which included an interview with John Summers's son Thomas Jefferson Summers, provided quite a bit of reliable information. And it was at the same time a rather beautiful elegy for a soldier (with borrowings from the poet James Buckham). But the article was later transcribed by a Summers historian, now deceased, who made changes throughout in grammar, punctuation, word order, syntax and a large mistake in John's birth year. John's gravestone was reported by Sara to be marked "June 5, 1794," not "June 5, 1789." The poor transcription has been used over and over by Summers family historians and has spread throughout the internet. I ran across a photo of the original article and here is a word for word and, I believe, absolutely correct transcription. And why have I not included the newspaper and exact date? Because I have yet to find them. But I will.

DISCOVERS [GRAVE]
       OF COLONEL
             WHO SERVED IN 1812

 Jacksonville Woman Relates Trip to Scott County Finding Burial Place of Early American Patriot.

 BY SARA JOHN ENGLISH

The way of the research worker is over rough and rugged paths, past logs, over barbed wire fences, through swarms of grasshoppers, hornets, and bumblebees’ nests, and cockle-burr patches, and down into the holes of foxes, waist deep. But oh! the joy of finding the grave of a long lost patriot or pioneer erases all the memories.

In the most out of the way spots we find, “beneath the roots of tangled weeds, afar in country graveyards, lie the ones whose uncrowned deeds have stamped the nation's destiny, beneath the tottering slabs of stone whose tribute moss and mould efface, sleep the calm dust that made us great, the true substratum of our race.

Only recently in a weed patch in Philadelphia was found a stone bearing this inscription, “In memory of Capt. John Gwinn, U. S. Navy. Died in Palermo, Sicily, Sept. 4, 1849, while in command of the U.S. frigate Constitution. He served his country faithfully for forty years.” Near him, covered with weeds, was his wife who had died 35 years after her gallant husband. His body was recently buried in Arlington National cemetery with great honors; his wife will rest at his side.

This find seems to spur one on, wondering what brave and sturdy patriots rest in our weed covered graveyards. John W. Lazenby called me Saturday to tell me that a “colonel” was buried in a graveyard on the farm of Jeff Wilson about three miles south of Winchester, on the Glasgow Road. Claude Workman had recently lived on the farm, and had turned over the fallen grave stone and noticed that it was to a “colonel.”  

We visited farms, hailed men on the road but no one could solve the mystery. After we found the spot, the inscription read.. "Col. John Summers, born June 5, 1794—died Nov. 6, 1869," but no one seemed to know the colonel. We visited Scott county’s tablet to all the war dead and found his name was missing.

Curiosity spurred us on, until we found Homer B. Summers, who sent us into Winchester where we found a real son of 1812, Thomas Jefferson Summers, a son of the Colonel. He and his charming wife gave us the following authentic record of the colonel:

“Col John Summers was born in Tennessee, fought in the war of 1812 from LaGrange County, Tenn. For his gallantry in resisting British and Indian attacks, he was made colonel of a regiment when almost a youth. For his service in the war he was given 160 acres in Illinois and came to this state and settled, He reserved one acre of land for burial purposes, but now the gravestones are broken by cattle, for the plot is a pasture. Summers’s grave stone is broken in three pieces but retains the crossed staves of Britain and the U. S. to indicate the war of 1812.

“Col Summers was married three times, first to Sarah Jackson of Tennessee, second to Miss Todd, third to Louisa Lankford. By his last wife he had six daughters and four sons. He married his last wife in Scott County in 1843. He also served as a private in the Black Hawk War.”

Thomas Jefferson Summers married Miss Artilisa Dyer, a daughter of the pioneer, Dennis Gibson. They will have been married 69 years in December of this year. In their home old Col. Summers died of a fever in 1869 after a few days’ illness.

Real sons of 1812 are rare and we hold their links with the past as precious.

John William Summers "Obit"

I have never seen such a difficult family to trace - a widespread common name and few records. But what makes it particularly difficult is to determine what to accept and what to mistrust. Unsourced trees, conflicting data, impossible dates, and now questionable obits. The following obit has been posted on the internet, but is it reliable or was it just invented based on "accepted information"? No source (newspaper) is given, the obituary is written the way modern obits are written and seems far too detailed, particularly for the time.  Was it published in 1889 or was it created recently by a family historian. I vote for the latter, particularly since my request for its origin has gone unanswered. I have no complaints about an obituary being written well past the death of an individual, as long as it is presented as such.

 

OBITUARY - John William Summers

WINCHESTER - JOHN WILLIAM SUMMERS, 63 years 11 months 21 days, passed away on July 26, 1889 at his home from complications of a stroke suffered two years earlier. He was born August 5, 1825 in Logan County Kentucky to William and Jane Ross Summers. He was brother to Joseph, Elvira, Polly and Jane. On September 21, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Ann Peek his loving wife of 41 years. She survives. He was preceded in death by his parents and sons Joseph L and Samuel P. He is survived by ten children. They are, Jane Lawson, Flora Ellen Howard, Charles H (Elizabeth), Thomas (Laura), George L (Ida), William (Lillie), Alice Headrick, Lottie Todd , Frank (Nicholina) and Ludella Seymour.

Mr. Summers was a member of Pioneer Lodge, No. 70, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and abided always in the principles of friendship, love and truth. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was honest, correct and fair in his dealings with his fellow man. He taught two terms of school at Harts (Sandy precinct). During one of these terms the Mexican war broke out. He left his school and went forth at his country's call, a volunteer, and served faithfully through the struggle. He received an honorable discharge (which is still preserved as a memento by the family) came back and finished teaching his term of school. In 1875 Mr. Summers was elected a member of the board of county commissioners. He served two terms. Mr. Summers was considered one of the best financiers ever in charge of the county's affairs. He also served as magistrate at Winchester for twelve years. Mr. Summers was a business man and farmer in and around the Winchester area.

John will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather.

Services were held at the Methodist Episcopal Church with burial in the family plot at the Winchester cemetery

And now I have finally stumbled across the truth. An internet copy of this has been found ending with the statement "This is a composite obituary created from several different documents located in the Scott County Illinois archives." In other words, it has all the reliability of a researcher's tree. None. I would like to thank the author for revealing the source, yet people continue to cite this "Obituary" as if it were contemporary to the time. It is not. In the absence of verbatim copies of all the documents used in its composition, it cannot be trusted. But who is listening?