THANK YOU.

Editor's note: THE FALL 1994 CIGO published a May 19, 1883, article concerning "A DANCING CYCLONE." The following material is extracted from a follow-up article which gives more details about the persons involved and closely pin points where the families lived. Note that the storm is now referred to as "deadly," not dancing. NEAR JACKSONVILLE - The cyclone in the vicinity of Jacksonville was terribly destructive to life and property. At the town of Literberry the spectacle is a sad one. The storm swept through and the residence and business portion of the town, and lasted one minute. In that brief period the Baptist and Christian churches and were both were completely demolished, four stone building were destroyed and contents blown away, and about 25 dwelling-houses leveled to the ground. The killed were JOHN TROTTER, age 75; MRS. JOHN TROTTER; AGNES GRIFFIN, age 22; MRS. MARY J. STEVENSON, age 65; Lilly Griffin, 6 months; The seriously wounded are DR. S. Griffin, who was unconscious up to Saturday night; MRS. DR. GRIFFIN, a leg broken, also unconscious; five members of the GRIFFIN family more or less injured, all of whom are in Jacksonville receiving attention. The others hurt were Mr. & Mrs.C. K. HUDSON, THOMAS HAMMOND and family of five, JAMES STEVENSON, MRS.GEORGE VAUGHN, DAVID CAMPBELL, MRS. E. FOSTERS three children, MRS.MARTHA RAY and daughter, MRS.FLEMING, GEO. FLEMING and daughter, HENRY and JAMES CRUM. The loss of property at Literberry is estimated at $100,000.00. South of Jacksonville the property of CHAS. WATERS, MARION EDWARDS, JOHN RAWLINS, JUDGE SAMUEL WOODS, at Woodlawn, JAMES OXLEY was destroyed. MRS. OXLEY is perhaps fatally injured, and little son had his collar bone and arm broken. MRS. OXLEY was about to become a mother. A tramp in JUDGE WOODS' barn was fearfully injured. In the vicinity of Roodhouse much damage was done. WESTROPE'S house took fire and was burned, and Charles Kelly. age 15 died from injuries received....JAMES GOOCHER'S dwelling went the way of the others....About Murrayville, in Morgan County, numerous houses were destroyed. REV. A. GUNN'S dwelling was demolished, and RILEY JAMES, J.W. STORY, SAM KENSHER, A.C. KIBLIN, JESSIE COVINGTON, JOSEPH WARCUP, and J.K. FANNING and their families are homeless. THE LOSS OF LIFE - Associated Press computed the loss of life in Illinois, given by counties and towns, as follows: DeWitt county, 4; Mason county, 3; Livingston county, 2; Near Graton, Jersey County, 3; Madison County, 1; Winnebago County, 5; Literberry, Morgan County, 7; Roodhouse, Green County, 8; Douglas, 1; Logan, 1; Macoupin, 6; Hillsboro, 2 Staunton & Mt. Olive, 6; Cayoga, 1; McHenry,5; Sangamon, 5, Buffalo Station, 2; Total, 61. (Central Illinois Gen.Qtly. XXX:4, Winter 1994, Decatur Genealogical Society, MaconCounty, IL) JAG&HS XXIII #1 March 1995. Mary Frances Alkire granted permission for me to copy " Cyclone article". Lorma

There are now over 4200 pages of genealogical resources on the MAGA web site now. It is time to give kudos to Shirley for all those resources she has put online, including the many Central IL Census. She is an excellent example of the word dedication. Thanks Shirley!! Mary Ann CONVERSE CONNECTIONS http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~converse/index.html CONVERSE MAIL LIST Administrator MY FAMILY GENEALOGY http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~makaylor/index.html

I do believe this might have some genealogical value in that the men portrayed raising the flag on the Iwo Jimo monument in Washington DC are identified along with a story from one of the sons of the heroes. Mary Ann >Subject: Marines > > >Sent by a Marine veteran of Korea and Vietnam...... > > > > > >Each year I am hired to go to Washington DC with the eight grade > >class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. > >I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I > >take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially > >memorable. > > > >On the last night of our trip we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. > >This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and > >depicts one of the most famous photographs in history - that of > >the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of > >a rocky hill on the Island of Iwo Jima, Japan during WW II. > >Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses > >and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at > >the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where > >are you guys from?" > > > >I told him that we were from Wisconsin. "Hey, I'm a Cheeshead > >too! Come gather around Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story." > > > >(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington DC to speak at > >the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say > >good night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just > >about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him > >as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he > >said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments > >filled with history in Washington DC. > >But it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received > >that night. When all had gathered around he reverently began to > >speak. Here are his words that night.) > > > >"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad > >is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our > >Father's" which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list > >right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. > >Six boys raised the flag. > > > >The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. > >Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the > >Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. > >They were off to play another type of game. A game called "War." But it > >didn't turn out to be a game. > >Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. > >I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are > >generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the > >glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in > >Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old. > > > >(He pointed to the statue) > > > >You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. > >If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken, > >and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a > >photograph. A photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in > >there for protection, because he was scared. He was 18 years old. > >Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men. > > > >The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant > >Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these > >guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. > >He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training > >camp, he didn't say, "Let's go kill some Japanese" or "Let's die > >for our country." He knew he was talking to little boys. > >Instead he would say, "You do what I say, and I'll get you home > >to your mothers." > > > >The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima > >Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went > >into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, > >"You're a hero." He told reporters, "How can I feel like a hero > >when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us > >walked off alive?" > > > >So you take your class at school. 250 of you spending a year > >together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of > >you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was > >Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes > >died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32. Ten years after this picture > >was taken. > > > >The next guy, going around the statue is Franklin Sousley from > >Hilltop Kentucky. A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, > >who is now 70 told me, "We pushed two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop > >General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so > >the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epson salts. You > >know what happened. Yes he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. > >Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram > >came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop > >General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his > >mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and > >into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away. > > > >The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue is my dad, > >John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad > >lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When > >Walter Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, > >we were trained as little kids to say, "No, I'm sorry sir, my > >dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone > >there sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back." My dad > >never fished or even went to Canada. Usually he was sitting there > >right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to > >tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk > >to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. > >Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, because they are in a > >photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. > >John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he > >probably held over 200 boys as they died. > > > >And when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain. > > > >When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my > >dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked > >at me and said,"I want you always to remember that the heroes of > >Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. " > > > >So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on > >Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall 7000 > >boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the > >Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank > >you for your time." > > > >Suddenly the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a > >flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes > >with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father > >who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people > >would believe, but a hero none-the-less. CONVERSE CONNECTIONS http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~converse/index.html CONVERSE MAIL LIST Administrator MY FAMILY GENEALOGY http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~makaylor/index.html

I certainly agree with Mary Ann. We are very fortunate that we are researching an area where Shirley is contributing so much time and effort. She has provided me with some wonderful answers and given me a lot more questions and I appreciate it very much. Jean Kershaw

Had a question come up this evening about the dates in the 1894 bios - I have original copies of both the 1872 Atlas and the 1894 Plat Book for Morgan County. Apparently when the 1894 Plat Book was published, the bios which had first been written and published (about the old Settlers in Morgan County) was re-published in the 1894 Book. If you find a bio of an ancestor and can't quite figure out how the information could be correct (e.g. talking about children or other family members living in what appears to be 1894) - remember that the bios were originally written and published in 1872 - that would be the time frame the bios are referencing - NOT 1894. 1878 Morgan: Campbell, Canham, Cannon, Carrigan, Day 1894 Morgan: Capps, Curtis, Curts, Fairbank, French, Graff, Hoyt, King, Knight, Larimore, LaRue, Lurton, Reave, Rockwell, rohrer, Spotts, Thompson, Vaughan, Wilcox, Wood

1878 Morgan co.: Carrigan, Carrington, Chapman, Charlesworth, Chestnut, Cockin 1881 Sangamon: Fowler, Sherwood, Smith 1891 Sangamon: English (2) 1892 Cass: Rohn (3) 1894 Morgan: Camm, Caruthers, Coultas, DePledge, Dun, Fellows, Glass, Givens, Haggard, Heinz, Hughes, Johnson, Kimber, Marsh, Massey, McDonnell, Peck, Poole, Rapp, Reid, Ricks, Strebling, Sturgis, Thompson 1915 Cass: Rohn Newspaper Article: Sherwood

1878 Morgan Co.: Anthony, Atkins, Bacon, Bailey, Baldwin (2), Ball, Barrow, Bentley, Bergschneider, Berry, Black, Blakesly, Blattel, Bolton, Bourland, Bourn, Brackenbury, Branom, Brunk, Bryant, Buck, Buckthorpe, Burbank, Calkins, Camm, Carlyle, Carver, Comer 1881 Sangamon: Meredith 1892 Cass: Smith 1894 Morgan: Bailey, Baldwin, Barnes, Barrows, Broadwell, Brown, Buckingham, cole, Price, Reinbach, Walihan 1904 Sangamon: Wilson 1912 Sangamon: Brennan (2), Daniel, Doran, Duggan, Hickey, Horbaker, Howlett, Kavanaugh (2), Roosa 2 Obits: Karrick

Thank you DWGARR

Hi Lee, I am not Shirley, but I can help you with steering you to the 1860 Morgan Co.,online census. Click on the following link: Then scroll down the page to RESEARCH AIDS> Click on MAGA WEBSITE> then scroll down until you see the Census's online. <A HREF="http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmorgan/morgan.htm"> Morgan County ILGenWeb Project</A> dwgarr

Lee - when you go to the ILMAGA Index page - scroll down (not far) on the left side of the screen you'll see a little flashing "New" arrow - click on the link for the 1860 Census - this will take you to the screen with all the individual pages. Scroll down a short way to where the alphabet is displayed - then click on the letter which starts the surname you want to look up. Let me know if you still can't find it. ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: [ILMAGA] New Bios online: Author: ILMAGA-L@rootsweb.com at ~Internet Date: 11/1/2000 2:22 PM Shirley, I tried to find the 1860 Morgan Co. census and couldn't. Can you point me in the right direction? Lee Welch ==== ILMAGA Mailing List ==== Menard County 1850 Census is now online!! Also, Marriages 1901-1932, several Cemeteries inscriptions online, 1870-80 Mortality Schedules, 1917 Farmers Directory. All on the MAGA site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmaga/index.html

Shirley, I tried to find the 1860 Morgan Co. census and couldn't. Can you point me in the right direction? Lee Welch

1891 Macoupin Co.: Maxfield, Shutt 1892 Cass Co.: Conover, Evans, Meyer, Price (3), Robinson, Six, Treadway (2), Ward 1878 Morgan Co.: Abernathy, Adams, Allan, Allis, Anderson, Angels, Atterbury, Berry, Bradley, Lynch, Mann, McFalls, Read, Rohrer, Sanson, Sargeant, Sturgis, Wood (2), Wooton 1881 Sangamon Co.: Shinkle 1891 Sangamon Co.: Taylor, Thompson, VanMeter (2) 1904 Sangamon Co.: Burke, Taylor 1906 Morgan Co.: Barrow, Rutledge (3) 1912 Sangamon Co.: Giger, Hickey, Lawyer, Tackett, Van Da Walker (2) 1915 Cass Co.: Bergen, Petefish, Price, White

Shirley, You have done it again ! The 1860 census works like a charm. I have read abt. 30 pages so far. Great work ! Marion Baker

The 1860 Census for Morgan County is now online. This census, like many of the other 1860 Census schedules, has many many spelling errors and the handwriting, in places, is very difficult to read. The census takers truly spelled names like they sounded. When searching for your family, be sure to look at every possible spelling. If you find the surname you seek and a transcription error(s) makes it very difficult to identify the correct name, let me know and I'll add the correct name in ( ) beside the transcribed name in the surname index. If you find link errors - let me know right away so I can correct same. Happy Hunting!!! Shirley

1881 Sangamon Co.: Gunnett 1891 Sangamon: Shutt, Taylor (2), Wadsworth 1904 Sangamon: Anderson, Peters (2), Shutt, Taylor 1906 Morgan: Goltra (2) 1912 Sangamon: Clark (3), Donovan, Greenawalt (3), Judd (3), Kennedy, Rachford, Reed (2), Stanton, Wilson (7), Workman 1891 Macoupin: Mindrup

1878 Morgan Co.: Bryant, Buchanan, Caldwell, Calhoun, Carpenter, Chambers, Coe, Covey, Curtiss (3), Dear, Everett, Givens, Goldsmith, Ham, Harford, Harney, Hilton, Kimball, Kimber, Landreth, Lankford, Laws, Leak, Manson, Marshall, Meacham(2), Michener, Miller (2), Miner, Neece, Nevins, Parrott, Ray, Rohrer (2), Rynders, Scott, Sims, Watson, Weller, Woods 1904 Morgan Plat Book: Ayers, Bozarth, Butcher, Carver, Chapin, glover, McConnel(2), Morrison, Post, Sanders, Smedley, Tinknor, Trabue, Very, Wackerle, Yates

1885 Greene Co.: Hudson (2), Myers, Raferty, Thorpe 1892 Cass Co.: Meyer (4), Miller, Shank 1915 Cass Co.: Carls (8), Meyer (3)

Shirley, Thank you for the notice that the 1860 Morgan Co.,IL Census will be online soon. I will be anxiously waiting. Pam

Obits: Black, Earley, Halbert, Hendrickson, Shenkel (2) 1879 Greene Bios: Fair, Farmer, Field, Fitzjarrell, Ford (6), Vedder (2), Walker 1879 Macoupin Bio: Andrews 1891 Macoupin bio: Lotter 1892 Cass: Armstrong, Crawford, Dodds, Milner, Petefish, Stephens 1905 Greene: Raffety (2) Note: Have finished typing the 1860 Morgan County Census - want to do some proofing and corrections and will get it online this weekend.