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Note: William Sheets
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BIOGRAPHY: "William Sheets came in 1835 to Danville township, where he a nd his brother-in-law built a mill, afterward known as the Kyger mill. T hey carried on this mill for nine years. He sold the mill and went on h is farm, where he remained for seven years, when he bought an interest i n the mill again and went back to the same, living there for two years. D uring his two years at the mill, he together with Thos. S. Morgan and H enry and Daniel Kyger, built the steam mill at Georgetown. However, he s old out his interest in the mill before it was run at all. Having no i nterest in the Kyger, nor the Georgetown mills, he went back to the far m and there remained until his death in August 1879. Mr. Sheets marrie d Miss Elizabeth Kyger and they were the parents of six children." (Ful l text of "History of Vermilion County, Illinois; Chapter XVII).
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BIOGRAPHY: "William Sheets, deceased, whose portrait appears in this wo rk, was born in Washington county, Ohio, on the 7th of October, 1806, a nd lived there until the spring of 1833, when he came to Vermilion coun ty, Illinois, and engaged in farming.
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In 1835 he moved to Danville township, where he and his brother-in-law b uilt a mill, now known as Kyger's mill, and carried on the same for nin e years . . . During his two years residence at the mill, he, Thomas S. M organ, and Henry and Daniel Kyger, built the steam mill at Georgetown; h e sold his interest before the mill was run.
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He married Miss Elizabeth Kyger on the 3d of September, 1829. She was b orn in Monroe county, Ohio. They had six children, two of whom are not l iving; Angeline, born on the 29th of July, 1832, and Matthias, born on t he 24th of November, 1843. His son, John McKendree, enlisted in the 73 d Reg. Ill. Vol., and died in the hospital on the 26th of December, 186 2." (Source: "The Past And Present Of Vermilion County Illinois," Beck with, Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1903. Contributed by W. H . Newlin and W. R. Lawrence; Page 540)
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CHILDREN: William and Eliza Sheets are reported to have had 6 children . Two are buried at McKendree Cemetery, Vermilion, IL but the name of o nly one, Daniel N. is known. Perhaps another child could have died in O hio.
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RESIDENCE: Georgetown, Vermilion Co., IL
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RELATIONSHIP: William Sheets was a half-brother of Mary Sheets who marr ied John Kyger, brother of William's wife, Mary.
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RESEARCH: The Sheets family let me have the Family bible that William a nd Eliza Sheets gave their son, Matthias. In the bible were the family r ecords, tin-type pictures and a note written by William telling how the f amily came to Vermilion Co., in 1833. (Furnished by Nancy Michael)
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MEDICAL: Cause of death was heart disease.
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DEATH: "Name: William Sheets; b. 7 Oct 1806, Washington Co., OH; d. 11 A ug 1879; Father: Sheets; Spouse: Eliza Kiger; Wedding date: 3 Sep 1829; B urial: Georgetown?" (Pape Mortuary, Danville, IL, online).
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CENSUS: 1860 Census: Vermilion Co., IL, Georgetown Township; Reel #: 5 93-285; Page #s438,439; Enumerated 5 Aug 1860 by Hamilton White:
SHEETS Age Sex Occupation Real Val. Personal Val. Bi rth
William 53 M Farmer 6,000 2,000 O H Eliza 52 F OH
Angeline 25 F OH (Age should be 28)
John 18 M IL
Mathew 16 M IL (This probably was Mathias)
Melvin 11 M OH (# See "Problem" below)
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Problem: # The 1860 Vermilion Co., IL census lists Melvin, age 11, bor n in Ohio, in the William & Elizabeth (Kyger) Sheets household. Sinc e it appears that William & Elizabeth were in Vermilion Co., IL from 1 833 to the time of their deaths, it could be that Melvin was a visiting r elative. He is not listed in the 1870 Vermilion Co. census.
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CENSUS: 1870 Census: Vermilion Co., IL, Georgetown Township; Reel #: 5 93-285; Page #212a; Enumerated 22 Jul 1870 by L.M. Brown.
SHEETS Age Sex Occupation Real Val. Personal V al. Birth
William 63 M Farmer 11,000 2 ,000 OH Eliza 62 F Keeping houseOH
Angeline 38 F OH
Wm. 23 M Farmer 1,500 1 ,000 OH (* See note below) Isaac 19 M Farm laborerOH (* See note below)
HEKER:
Martha 12 F At homeIL
(Sons, Mathias and Hines William are listed in separate households on t he 1870 Vermilion Co. census. Hines William does not appear in the Wil liam & Elizabeth (Kyger) Sheets household in the 1860 Vermilion Co., IL c ensus. Possibly he had established his own household by then. His f amily is not listed in the 1860 Vermilion Co. census, so he may have be en living in a different county)
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Problem: * William, age 23, born in OH, and Isaac, age 19, born in OH a ppear on the 1870 Vermilion Co., IL census. They are not listed in th e William & Elizabeth (Kyger) Sheets household in the1860 census. Wil liam & Elizabeth were living in Vermilion Co., IL at the time of Willia m & Isaac's births. It is possible that they were visiting relatives.
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1850 Census #21, Vermilion Co., IL., FAM NO. 334 Sheets, William 44, M. 2 000, OH Sheets, Eliza 42, F. OH Sheets, Angeline 18, F. OH Sheets, John M cH 9, M. IL Sheets, Matthias 7, M. IL (Next door) 1850 Census #21, Verm ilion Co., IL., FAM NO. 335 Ritter, Minerva 28, F. OH Ritter, Nancy 7, F . IL Ritter, Theodore 5, M, IL Ritter, Amanda 3, F. IL Kyger, Ann 68, F . 550, PA Kyger, Hanna 51, F. OH (Next door) 1850 Census #21, Vermilion C o., IL., FAM NO. 336 Kyger, Adam 31. M. 1400, OH Kyger, Cath'en 21, F. T N Kyger, Angeline 5, F. IL Kyger, Walter 3, M. IL Kyger, Taylor 1, M. I L ---------------------------------
Georgetown Township, Vermilion Co., History Page 503: William Sheets, t ill his death, lived on the beautiful farm which he purchased of Mr. Ri tter, or, rather, the one his labor and excellent taste has made beauti ful, an honored and respected citizen, beloved and admired be every one w ho has known him. It gives us great pleasure, as it doubtless will our r eaders, to be able to present the portraits of these two worthy old pio neers, Near Mr. Kyger, on the farm just north, lives Andy Reynolds, now w ell advanced in years. He came to this county a poor orphan boy, more t han fifty years ago, and lived for several years in Catlin, where his y outhful days, which under brighter circumstances would have been spent i n school, were given to his earning enough to keep him clothed in winte r. He has now one of the pleasantest homes in town, where he delights t o dispense cheerful hospitality in his happy way. One of the earliest o f his recollections is standing on the mound in Catlin a cold winter da y to see a wolf hunting on the surrounding prairie. He had grubbed root s in the timber so long that he thought a prairie could only be of valu e as a place to have grand wolf hunt on.
Georgetown Township, Vermilion Co., History Page 540: William Sheets, d eceased, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Washington Co unty, Ohio, on the 7th of October 1806, and lived there until the sprin g of 1833, when he came to Vermilion County, Illinois, and engaged in f arming. In 1835 he moved to Danville Township, where he and his brother -in-law built a mill, now known as Kyger's Mill, and carried on the sam e business for nine years. He then sold his interest in the mill and bo ught the present place and moved on the same. He lived here for seven y ears, when he bought an interest in the mill aand again moved to the sa me, and lived there two years, when he sold his interest and returned t o the same which was his home at his death. During his two years reside nce at the mill, he, Thomas S. Morgan, and Henry and Daniel Kyger, buil t the steam mill at Georgetown; he sold his interest before the mill wa s run. He married Miss Elizabeth Kyger on the 3d of September 1829. She w as born in Monroe County, Ohio. They had six children, two of whom are n ow living: Angeline, born on the 29th of July, 1832, and Matthias, born o n the 24th of November, 1842. His son, John McH., enlisted in the 73d R eg., Ill. Vol., and died in the hospital on the 28th of December, 1862. M r. Sheets owned at his death, two hundred and ninety-five acres of land i n this county. He was justice of the peace two terms, supervisor three, a nd and had also held the school and road offices. He had been a member o f the M. E. Church thirty-six years, class leader thirty-four years, st eward 33 years, and also superintendent of Sunday school. Mr. Sheets de parted this life on the 11th of August, 1879, at 8:35 a.m., after being i n ill-health two years. He died of heart disease. Mr. Sheets was one of t he early settlers of this county, and his loss in mourned by a large co mmunity of sorrowing friends.
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