Mary Jane Hollingsworth Sanders

 

Mary Jane Hollingsworth was the daughter of Eli Hollingsworth and Mary Baughzel Russel. She was born on 15 Dec 1846 in Vermillion, Indiana, USA[7, 8].

When she was 3 she appears on the1850 Census, Vermillion County, Indiana, with parents Eli and Mary Hollingsworth. Her residence in 1860 was Helt Township, Vermillion County, Indiana. [9] . Her siblings Anna and Zimri are still at home.

This small picture was labeled by her daughter, Eda Sanders and is marked 1859, aged 16.

This may be Harriet Singleton Sanders (George’s mother) or Mary Jane Hollingsworth.  No name was on the photo. The clothes appear to belong to an Indian. Harriet Singleton Sanders was 1/2 Cherokee, her mother being married to John Singleton. A large 15 x 24 framed copy and the small copy are known.

Lavina Shoemaker Marshall

1880 Census: Myrtle Sanders, age 5, living in the home of Greg and Lavina Marshall in Friends Creek Township, Macon County, IL. Listed as “cousin”. Lavina was a Shoemaker, daughter of Amanda Hollingsworth (sister to Mary Jane) and Unknown Shoemaker, which would have made her a first cousin to Eda and Will Sanders.

Will and Eda Sanders about ages 16 and 15 or so.

Children of George William and Mary Jane Hollingsworth

Eda Myrtle Sanders was born to George William and Mary Jane Hollingsworth Sanders on 24 Aug 1874 (Mt. Auburn, Christian, IL)





William Dallas Sanders. He was born on 06 Aug 1876 in Mt. Auburn , Illinois; picture probably taken in 1877.



Eda was about 3 1/2 and Willie was about 17 months old when their mother, Mary Jane Hollingsworth Sanders, died in 1878. When Eda had grown up a bit, she went to live with her cousin, Livina ShoemakerMarshall and husband Greg Marshall and worked in her boarding house. In the 1880 census, she is shown as age 5.Willie was raised by Frank Sanders , his uncle and his aunt, Annais Hollingsworth Sanders, who was a sister to Mary Jane.(It is unclear if or how Frank Sanders is related to George William.) Their father, George William Sanders, was a “traveling man” and was not settled down enough to raise the children.

George William Sanders + Mary Jane Hollingsworth

George William Sanders II was born on 23 Dec 1844 in Wilson County, Tennessee , (or Vienna , Johnson County, Illinois) to George William Sanders, Sr. (born about 1821) and Harriet Singleton Sanders, who was claimed to be one-quarter Cherokee Indian. George was usually known as William Sanders.

George William II may have served in the Civil War. The Illinois Civil War Detail Report [1,2] from www.cyberdriveillinois.com shows a William Sanders, who was a Private in Company K in the 152 IL US Inf. His residence was Decatur, Macon Co, IL, age 20, Height 5’4” with light hair and blue eyes. He was single and a farmer. He mustered in Springfield, Illinois, in Feb. 1865, and out in Memphis, Tennessee, in Sep. 1865. Other George W. Sanders fought on the Confederate Side. (It is difficult to ascertain whether either was actually our G William.)

Eastern Cherokees vs. United States
On 30 June 1906, Congress appropriated more than $1,000,000 for the Eastern Cherokees of the U. S. George W. made application for a share of those funds as he was a descendant of the Cherokees of Tennessee. The task of compiling a roll of eligible persons was begun by Guion Miller, special agent of the Interior Department. The funds were to be distributed to all Eastern and Western Cherokee Indians who were alive on May 28, 1906, who could establish the fact that at the time of the treaties they were members of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe or were descendants of such persons and that they had not been affiliated with any other tribe of Indians. (See Application No’s: 170811 (George W. II), 178400 (William D.) and 18115 (Eda M and minor children) on the Guion Miller Rolls).

The applications were first prepared and sent by attorney P.L. Van Cleve, Blue Mound, Illinois, and received by the Indian Office on Mar.5, 1907. In this first application, George W. provides information that he lives in Blue Mound, Illinois. He states he was born Dec. 22, 1844 in Vienna, Johnson County, IL. His mother (Harriet Singleton Sanders) died about 1850. George W. was a widower, his wife Mary J. Hollingsworth Sanders having died on Feb. 28, 1878. His father was George W. Sanders (I). He did not know the Indian name of his mother or father. George W.’s father and mother (George W. and Harriet Singleton Sanders) were both born in Wilson County, TN. Harriet died about 1850 and his father George W. died about 1860 .
George W.(II) had three brothers, according to this application:

John Sanders, b. 1840 d. abt 1854
James Sanders, b. abt 1842, d. abt 1866 and
Richard Sanders, b. abt 1846 (and presumably alive in 1907).

Presumably, these were all children of G. W. and Harriet Singleton Sanders.

George W. (II) thought his Grandmother Singleton was still alive in Wilson County, Tennessee in 1907. His Singleton grandparents had three children who would be siblings to Harriet. (Adaline, Fate and Nancy). , George did not know where his aunts were living in 1907. He did not know any of their Indian names. Two of George’s long time acquaintances, George W. Elliott and H. N. Donavan, witnessed this application. Applications were made as well for George W. (II)’s children William Dallas and Eda M. Sanders. The applications took a long time and there were a number of letters back and forth to Guion Miller because Mr. Miller claimed that there was not enough information to prove their relationships. In February of 1908, a letter requested more information from George W. about his mother and maternal grandparents.

George's reply letter provides evidence that George was probably born in Illinois, as he testified, and that his grandparents were John and Clara Singleton of Wilson County, Tennessee in 1834-36. Not being slaves was a requirement for the application as well.

The Sanders Side

George W Sanders + Harriet Singleton

George William Sanders-(John-1)[3] was born about 1823 in TN. He died about 1860 in TN. He married Harriet Singleton on 11 Jan 1845 in Wilson, Tennessee, USA[2]. She was born about 1825 and died about 1850 .

Their Marriage Record #10, Wilson County, TN 11-Jan-1845 was found on Ancestry.com

As can be seen in the two records , the names are George W. Sanders and Harriet Singleton. (The record is listed on Ancestry.com as “Marnel” Singleton, clearly a transcription error.) They were married in Wilson, Tennessee, where George W. II’s obituary says he was born in 1844 ( which may be incorrect as the place was later found to be Illinois.) It was not uncommon for marriages to be later than births, as the Justice of the Peace may have traveled around from place to place and was only available at certain times. This documentation proves they were married the 11th of January in 1845 by Saml Bond, Justice of the Peace.

Aden Clevenger Hawk

Aden Clevenger Hawk was born 19 August 1839 in on a farm eight miles north of Lafayette, Tippecanoe, Indiana, the third child of William and Amy Penelope “Nellie” Hawk.

The family moved to Illiopolis Township in 1842 and on Nov. 1, 1845[1], located in Macon County. He died 01 November 1918 in Niantic, Macon, IL. He married Amy Catherine Cass Blankinship 06 November 1862 in Macon Co., IL, daughter of Joseph Blankinship and Amy Ridgeway. She was born 20 June 1842 in Ohio, and died 13 April 1928 in Harristown, Macon Co., IL.

She was usually called “Kate” or Catherine and he was called, “ A. C.”

The marriage certificate of A. C. Hawk and Amy Blankinship shows that they married November 6th, 1862. The Civil War was raging and Abraham Lincoln was President of the U.S. A.C.’s brother, James M., joined the Union forces.

Aden and his wife, “Kate”, lived about 4 miles southeast of Niantic, which is now in Macon County, Illinois. They had five children: Aliff, John, Nellie, Edward and Roy.

A C Hawk purchased 40 acres of land in the north east part of the northwest section of section 30, in township 16N, range 01E, Meridian 3, in the county of Macon on Nov 20, 1867 as listed in the Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database. (Volume 791, page 408). He paid $15.00 per acre for a total of $600.00. This was two years after the end of the Civil War.


[1] The Old Settler’s Reunion of 1889 lists A.C. Hawk’s immigration to Illinois as 1839 and to Macon County as 1878.