Thomas’s Children

As many as twenty-nine children have been claimed for Thomas (born c1784) and Priscilla (born c1780) Summers, of Franklin Co, Illinois, in some of the numerous trees appearing on the internet (almost 1700 trees total on Ancestry alone). The problem is that not a single reliable record is provided for any of the named children, only other trees. Based on birthplace, birth year, association with other people, and residence, I have come up with thirteen reasonable candidates. All of these are commonly designated by others as Thomas’s children. And descendants of all of these show autosomal DNA matches with a known descendant of Thomas and Priscilla. Of course, since most or all of the 19^th-century Franklin Co Summerses were related, autosomal DNA provides rather poor evidence.

Reliable records (i.e., records other than trees) showing the names of children of Thomas and Priscilla are unknown except for a single item that has been ignored or overlooked—the Affidavit of Decease form in Thomas’s Franklin County probate file. That record names only William, Harper, Alexander, Thomas, and B. P. (Braxton Parrish) as his children. Perhaps James was omitted because he was the signatory. John’s name is struck out, as might be expected since he was likely deceased by the date of Thomas’s death. And there appears to have been a “Samuel,” who’s name is also struck out but about whom nothing is known. Missing are Robert, Noah, Nancy, Joseph, and Peter, all good candidates for being Thomas’s children, candidates who were still living at the time of his death. Are these five people (six if we include James) not Thomas’s children? A huge number of family historians believe otherwise. And the 1830 census indicates that Thomas had many more children (possibly twelve) than just the six (including crossed-out John) listed in the Affidavit of Death. But all may not have been his. He could have taken in children from deceased relatives. And, of course, many children may have died before being named in later records. As one Illinois historian has written, on the 19^th-century Illinois frontier

Death was a constant, if unwelcome, companion.

Affidavit of Decease with names of children for Thomas Summers. Missing are Robert, Noah, Nancy, Joseph, Peter, and James
(Patricia Terwilliger collection.)

Among the missing five, Joseph is the only one who served in the Civil War (despite erroneous claims made for others based on name only) and he has a National Archives pension file that has now been obtained in hopes that it would reveal his origins. It didn't. It did provide his date of death (28 Jan 1896 near Greenbrier, Arkansas), some highly variable dates of birth (c1818, calculated from ages in various documents), and details on his military service and married life, but it provided nothing about who his parents may have been.

We are stuck. Is the Affidavit of Death correct, and if so who were the parents of Robert, Noah, Nancy, Joseph, and Peter Summers? We even have doubts about James. And our doubts increase when we find that a pension application affidavit by James Summers states that Noah Summers, who fought in the Black Hawk War, was his brother. If Noah was not a son of Thomas, neither was James. But, on the other hand, why would someone other than a son, of which Thomas had many, be a signatory?

If any of you would like a free no-strings-attached copy of Joseph Summers's  National Archive file just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the download button at the top right of the web page. You will then get (another) "Log in or Sign Up" message. Just click "Or continue with dropdown only" at the bottom of that message. You need not log in or sign up. It is not necessary to be a Dropbox user. Leave a comment or send me an email if you have problems.

Pension File Download

Sleuthing Again

On 29 Dec 1869, Mary E. Summers married Ezra K. Gilchrist in Franklin Co, Illinois. Ezra, a Vermont (or possibly, New Hampshire)-born Civil War vet who kept a saloon in the village of Sneak Out, died soon afterward, on 18 Jan 1873 in Parrish, Illinois, quite likely as a result of medical problems incurred during his military service. On 9 May 1864 at the battle of Buzzard Roost in Whitfield County, Georgia, he had been wounded in the right foot, which caused serious deformity. He became increasingly lame until he was discharged. Possibly as a result of the injury, the treatment, or hospital stays, he developed chronic diarrhea, which resulted in his death. He and Mary had a single child, William Gilchrist, who appears to have died very young, possibly as an infant.

James and Mary Duckworth Family (Ancestry). Children from left to right:
Herbert, Orvil, Richard, James Lawrence, and Robert.

On 10 Aug 1873 in Franklin Co, the widowed Mary Gilchrist married James H. Duckworth, son of Moses Duckworth and Cassander A. Summers, and brother of John Wilson Duckworth, who achieve notoriety owing to his KKK connection (The Summers Clan Klan).

We know a lot about Mary’s husbands, Ezra and James, but we face a great mystery in Mary, herself. She was know to have been born around 1847, but three Mary E. Summers of Franklin Co, Illinois, all first cousins, fit that description: Mary E., daughter of Harper and Phebe (Swafford) Summers; Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William K. and Elizabeth (Whittington) Summers; and Mary E., daughter of John K. (often given the name “John Edward” with no evidence except other trees) and Elizabeth (Larken) Summers. Other possibilities can be ruled out by age or proven histories.

Family historians have made guesses over the years, mostly the daughter of Harper and Phebe, but none provide proof or even evidence other than the name. In an attempt to find proof I ordered the Civil War Pension file for Ezra Gilchrist in hopes that something could be found there. It looks like proof has been found. The massive file includes a 23 Mar 1897 deposition from a George W. Summers stating that he is the brother of Mary Summers Gilchrist Duckworth. George stated that he was 67 years old (born c1830) and that he lived in Macedonia, Illinois.

Only one of our candidates had a brother George born anywhere near 1830 and that was Mary E. Summers, daughter of John K. and Elizabeth (Larken) Summers, whose brother was George W., born c1832.

One little problem remains. Neither the 1880 census nor the 1900 census show a George Summers of the required age living in Hamilton or Franklin county even though in 1897 George gave Macedonia, which straddles both counties, as his address. But George could have moved there after 1880 and could have died by 1900. He was 67 years old at the time of the deposition and was not living in a healthy area. In an article in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Professor Ronald R. Stockton has stated

It is hard to imagine how profoundly difficult it was to survive on the nineteenth-century Illinois frontier. In many cases the soil was unbroken, the swamps were not drained, diseases were rampant, and medical care was scarce or non-existent. Death was a constant, if unwelcome, companion.

Would you like to get a copy of the entire Ezra Gilchrist file? You may find something I missed. To get a copy just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the download button at the top of the web page. You will then get (another) "Log in or Sign Up" message. Just click "Or continue with dropdown only" at the bottom of that message. You need not log in or sign up. It is not necessary to be a Dropbox user. Leave a comment or send me an email if you have problems. 

Ezra Gilchrist Narional Archive File, Download