I would like to post the following query about my great-great-great grandparents, Nathaniel & Archange (DUBREUIL) SANBURN and their son, my great-great grandfather, William Riley SANBURN, all of whom died & were apparently buried in Knox Co., IL, possibly in the Maquon or Haw Creek areas. Unfortunately, even after making several trips to Knox Co. to try & locate their graves, and hiring a local genealogists to help me, I've still been totally stymied in trying to learn where they all are buried in Knox Co. Possibly someone on this list might be able to offer some info or at least suggestions on where I can look next? Nathaniel and his two younger brothers, John Goold and William Sanburn, were early residents of Knox Co., IL. John Goold SANBURN was quite well-known in the area and was on many local committees, etc. He built the first jail in Knox Co., which still exists in Knoxville area. I have found a wealth of information on John G. SANBURN & his family in the local Knox Co. history books. However, his elder brother, my ancestor, Nathaniel SANBURN is another story. I have found very little on him, his wife Archange, or my g-g grandfather William R. SANBURN. (Sometimes the name was spelled "SANBORN" or "SANDBORN," etc.) Nathaniel was brought up a Presbyterian in NY. He was born 27 Mar 1795 in Canandaigua, Ontario Co., NY and died 17 Apr 1867 in the Maquon, Knox Co., IL area, according to an old genealogy of the Sanborn/Sanburn family. His wife, Archange DUBREUIL, was b. 21 Apr 1805 in Florissant, St. Louis Co., MO and died sometime after 1839 or 1840, also in Knox Co., IL. Archange was brought up a Catholic by her French-Canadian family, early settlers of "The Illinois Country," now known as Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Fort de Chartres, IL and in the early St. Louis, MO area. Nathaniel & Archange were married in the Catholic church (King of France Cathedral) in St. Louis on 15/20 Dec 1821. They had 8 children: Charles T., 1822-1875; Emily, 1823-aft. 1894; Rosalie Sophia, 1824-1907, m. Maquon, Knox Co., IL 14 Jun 1847 Henry FAREY, "an engineer"; John G., 1828-1916; Mary, ca. 1831-aft. 1894, m. 07 Dec 1847 Maquon, Knox Co., IL Josiah JONES, 1825-1878 Maquon, IL & had children Milton, Rosalie, Alonzo, Herbert, Randolph & Martha (JONES); Randolph (aka J. Rand), 1833-1919; Martha, ca. 1834-aft. 1984 m. ___ BURTON; and my great-great grandfather, William Riley SANBURN, 11 Aug 1835?-30 Mar 1865. William Riley SANBURN m. 13 Oct 1859 in Warren Co., IL, Emily Patience NICHOLS/NICKOLS, daughter of Joel and Sarah (NICHOLS) NICHOLS, both buried in Prairie City cemetery, Prairie City, McDonough Co., IL. About 1865, when William and Emily SANBURN were working in Kansas, he was badly injured in a boiler explosion and was taken home to Maquon, where he later died, leaving three children. Emily remarried a year or so after. Although I have been unable to locate the cemetery where William Riley SANBURN, and his parents, Nathaniel & Archange SANBURN, are buried, I am fairly certain they must be in the Maquon or Haw Creek areas. Nathaniel, who participated in the Black Hawk War, was a land speculator in Vandalia, Fayette Co., IL from the 1820's until the state capitol was moved to Springfield ca. 1839, at which time the family returned to Knox Co. His brothers John G. and William were both living in Knoxville, IL at the time. Nathaniel & family were living in HAW CREEK TWP. in the 1840 federal census (p. 137); and are listed on two pages of the 1860 federal census of KNOXVILLE: p. 819 and also on p. 252, hhld 1723, family 1699. He was listed as a "clerk" on the census. I have checked the various cemetery lists in the Knox Co. Genealogical Society for records of their burials, but have found absolutely nothing. I have also been unable to locate any wills for any of them, although I am almost positive they all made them. Does anyone know if there is a list of wills available from the Knox Co., IL County Clerk's office? I have written them about 10 years or so ago but they replied they were unable to locate any at that time. While visiting Maquon several years ago, a local resident told me that some of the earlier cemeteries had been sold to farmers, who plowed over them and destroyed what markers might have been there. I don't know if this is true or not. Is this just an old tale? As my g-g-g grandmother Archange was Catholic, and some of her children were baptized in the Catholic Church in St. Louis, before they moved to IL, I am wondering if possibly there might be an old Catholic cemetery somewhere in the Maquon or Haw Creek or Knoxville areas where they may have been buried? I apologize for the length of this query but am getting desperate. :-) If anyone should have any comments, answers or suggestions about this query, you may contact me either via the Knox Co. List or e-mail me directly at my e-mail address: johns2rt@ginetworks.com My SANBURN family genealogy is on my web site at: http://www.ginetworks.com/~johns2rt Thanks in advance for any info. John Stewart Grand Island, NE