Beagles

John H. BEAGLES & Descendants of McDonough County, Illinois

Note: Having a long-standing interest in the BEADLES families in western Illinois, I was surprised to find the following reference to an early settler of Macomb:

” I arrived at the hamlet of Macomb on October 27, 1833. There were at that time eight log buildings…. I remember the name of every man in town. There were Bob Price, David Burrel, Jim Campbell, Jim Head, Horace Head, Bill Bailey, Elijah STAPP, John Beadles, Nick Rodgers, Johnathan Ratekin, Sam Ratekin, Jonathan Baker, and James Clarke…”The original article appears in the Macomb Journal, January 15, 1897, p. 2, col. 3, from an interview with “Uncle Anderson Cannon” in the Bardolph News Office; as reprinted on p. 14 of Macomb, A Pictorial History by John E. Hallwas, (1990) G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.

I began searching other records and found references to John BEAGLES, but not John BEADLES. In addition, the adjacent listing of Elijah Stapp, whom I believe to be John BEAGLES father-in-law have led me to the conclusion the early settler of Macomb was named John BEAGLES, not John BEADLES.

John H. BEAGLES was in McDonough County, Illinois by the fall of 1834, when he married Mary Ann STAPP, daughter of Elijah STAPP (1). In May 1835, Mary BEAGLES witnessed the will of Elijah STAPP, apparently her father, although she is not listed as an heir in his will (2). The STAPP family came to McDonough County about 1833 (3).

John BEAGLES was a member of the 57th Regiment of Illinois Militia about the year 1837 (3). He was enumerated in the 1840 Census of the county with a woman between the ages of 20 and 30 (almost certainly his wife Mary). No children were listed in this census.

In 1842, John purchased land in the southwest part of Section 8 of Emmet Twp in McDonough (3,4). According to his tombstone, John died in the fall of 1845 (4).

Nearly two years later, John’s widow Mary married Oakey M. HOAGLAND (5). Mr. HOAGLAND was also a native of Kentucky, born in 1803 (6). Mary was HOAGLAND’s third wife (6). In 1848, Mary, guardian of Cynthia Ann BEAGLES, petitioned to sell land in Emmet Twp (3). In 1850, Oakey and Mary’s family consisted of 3 of his children from 2 previous marriages, Mary’s daughter Ellen, and Oakey and Mary’s son Benjamin, age 2 (7). By 1860, Oakey and Mary had two more children in the household (John and Mary) (8).

Nellie BEAGLES married in 1866 to Thomas PURSLEY (9). (Cynthia Ann, Nellie, and Ellen BEAGLES may be references to the same girl.) The 1870 Federal Census of Bardolph, McDonough County, IL shows Thomas’ occupation as painter (10). By 1870, Nellie and Thomas had 2 sons, Charlie and Wilson. One son, Frankie, who died in 1872 is buried in Bardolph Cemetery (6). Nellie and Thomas had evidently left McDonough County before 1880, as I did not find them in the Federal Census for that year (11).

Although Mary Ann STAPP BEAGLES HOAGLAND died in the spring of 1871 (6) and Okey M. HOAGLAND died in 1875 (6), I did not find them in the 1870 Federal Census of McDonough County.

John H. BEAGLES
	b. 12 Jun 1807 (4)
	m. 21 Oct 1834 in McDonough Co, IL (1)
	d.  3 Oct 1845 (4)
	bur. Old Macomb Cem, Macomb, McDonough Co, IL (4)

Spouse:	Mary Ann STAPP
	b. about 1818 in KY (6,7,8)
	d. 5 May 1871 (6)
	bur. Bardolph Cem, Bardolph, McDonough Co, IL (6)
	dau. of Elijah STAPP (1)
	other husbands:
	  Oakey M. HOAGLAND (m. 15 June 1847, McDonough Co., IL) (5,6)

Children:
  1. Alonzo Edwin BEAGLES
	1841, age 10 months (4)
	bur. Old Macomb Cem, Macomb, McDonough Co, IL (4)
	(Apparently John's son--no evidence of other BEAGLES families
		have been found in McDonough County)
  2. Cynthia Ann BEAGLES (may be same as Ellen)
  3. Ellen/Nellie BEAGLES
	b. about 1842 in IL (7,8)
	m. 11 Sep 1866 in McDonough County, IL (9)
	to Thomas PURSLEY (b. abt 1842 in TN) (9,10)
	Children:
	  Charley PURSLEY  b.   abt 1867 (10)
	  Wilson PURSLEY   b.   Jan 1870 (10)
	  Frankie PURSLEY  d. 2 Apr 1872 (6)

References:

MCGS = McDonough County (Illinois) Genealogical Society

  1. Marriage License, McDonough Co, IL #55; Marriages of McDonough Co, IL, Vol. I, 1830-54, by Libby Grimm and Julie Terstriep, MCGS, Sep 1990
  2. Will Book Abstracts I, McDonough County, IL,1834-1857, MCGS, July 1980, p. 2.
  3. Emmet Township Pioneers, McDonough Co, IL, by Marjorie Guy Harris, pub by MCGS, pp. 239-40.
  4. Old Macomb Cemetery by Marjorie Guy Harris, pub by MCGS,1984,
  5. Marriage License #663, McDonough County, IL, performed by W. Stewart; Marriages of McDonough Co, IL, Vol. I, 1830-54, by Libby Grimm and Julie Terstriep, MCGS, Sep 1990
  6. Bardolph Cemetery, Bardolph, McDonough Co, IL, by M.G. and A.V. Harris, pub by MCGS, Dec 1990, pp. 65-6.
  7. 1850 Census of McDonough County, IL, by Eileen Solomon, pub by MCGS, 1987 p. 241, Household #164,
  8. 1860 Census of Macomb Twp, McDonough County, IL, #1011-1019.
  9. Marriage License #2809 performed by H.C. Mullen, McDonough Co, IL; McDonough Co., IL Marriages, Vol. III, 1864-71, by Libby Grimm and Mary Hartmann, pub by MCGS, Feb 1983
  10. 1870 Census of Bardolph, McDonough Co, IL, p.9, #71-66
  11. 1880 Census of Bardolph, McDonough Co, IL

Comments are closed.