(My Maternal Great Great Grandmother)
The 1840 Connersville Township, Fayette County, IN, census provides the first record of this Sarah Ann GREGG. She is listed as the head of household and has 2 little girls between 5 and 10 years of age. She herself is between 20 and 30 years.
On January 18, 1844, Sarah Ann married Joseph R. NIXON in Fayette County, IN. According to the September 10, 1850 census the couple had moved from Fayette County to Hancock County, IN which is 2 counties to the West. Joseph is a saddler, with real estate valued at $2,800. Sarah is now 36 years old and living with them are young Sarah Ann GREGG, 17, b. IN (who would become my great grandmother); Martha J. GREGG, 15, b. IN; Sarah E. NIXON, 10, b. IN; John G. NIXON, 8, b. IN; Ann Eliza R. NIXON, 1, b. IN.
By July 12, 1860 the family had moved across IN to Lancaster, Cass County, in western IL. On the census for 1860 Joseph, 43, has real estate valued at $1,860 and a personal estate over $2,000. Sarah Ann is now 44 and Ann E.R. NIXON, 11, is the only child listed.
July 27, 1870 finds Joseph, 54, and Sarah, 56, relocated in southern IL, township 7 range 7, Chester, Randolph County. According to the census for 1870, living with them is Sarah's granddaughter, Dina(should read Dema) WELLS, 13, b. MN.
On February 15, 1875 Sarah Ann (GREGG) NIXON, about 60 years old, died near the city of Chester, in Randolph County, IL. No death date has been discovered for Joseph R. NIXON.
(My Maternal Great Grandmother)
(Three spellings of her surname have been found, GREGG, GRIEG, GRAGE)
Although we do not have a birth record for this Sarah A. GREGG, her 1911 obituary states that she was born June 22, 1834 in Connersville, IN. It is assumed that she is one of the females between 5 and 10 years of age in her mother's household on the 1840 census mentioned above. On the 1850 census for Centre Township, Hancock County, IN she is shown as 17 years old in the household of Joseph R. NIXON.
At some point between 1850-60 Sarah met and, although no record has been found to date, presumably married Charles W. WELLS. They are found on the 1860 census for Union District, Dunklin Co., MO. Sarah is 27 years old and Charles W. WELLS, carriage maker, is 28. Sarah is the mother of 3 small children: Dema, age 3; Edwin, (my grandfather) age 2; and 2-month-old baby Martha, who would have been named after Sarah's sister, Martha.
In September, 1863, Sarah gave birth to her fourth child, Alma Jane WELLS, in Marlinsville, IN. Further details of Sarah's life between the 1860 census and 1872 are yet to be discovered. No other record has been found to date mentioning Sarah's daughter, Martha. We do know that her first daughter, Dema, age 13, had migrated to Randolph Co. IL by 1870 and was living with Sarah's mother and Joseph R. NIXON. Neither Sarah, her son Edwin, daughter Alma, or Charles W. WELLS have been found on any 1870 census.
In 1872 gr grandmother Sarah married Amos D. BARNETT. From the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900 we find: BARNETT, AMOS D., GREGG, SARAH A (MRS) 05/13/1872 Vol. C, p.31, license no. 48, RANDOLPH Co., IL. It is noted that her maiden name is used in this record rather than WELLS.
By 1880 Amos BARNETT, 35, and Sarah, now 44, have settled in Chester, Randolph Co., IL with their daughter, Laura, 8. Their daughter, Emma, is not shown on this census and may have died. Next door to them lives the James GOUGE family. Young Minnie GOUGE will soon become Sarah's daughter-in-law when Minnie and Edwin Finley WELLS are married in 1886.
In 1908 Sarah had two strokes and was left paralyzed and unable to speak. She died on May 7, 1911, having been cared for throughout her long illness by Amos. Her obituary gives honor to Sarah as a woman highly regarded and revered by the Chester community. Her son, Edwin Finley WELLS, of Sikeston, MO attended her funeral. She was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, in Chester, Randolph Co., IL.
Children of Sarah A. GRAGE/GREGG/GREIG and Charles W. WELLS
Dema WELLS, b. 1856, St. Paul, MN
Died May 25, 1947, Chester, Randolph Co., IL
Buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Randolph Co., IL
Edwin Finley WELLS, b. 1858, Cass Co., IL; No Death Date
Martha WELLS, b. abt 1860, MO; No Death Date
Alma Jane WELLS, b. Sept. 1863, Marlinsville, IN; No Death Date
Children of Sarah A. GRAGE/GREGG/GREIG and Amos D. BARNETT
Emma BARNETT, no dates
Laura BARNETT, no dates, m. August SANNEMAN
