The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be our Annual Show & Tell on Tuesday, January 13th at 7 PM.  Bring a story or an artifact to share.  Really unusual items often turn up at this meeting so don’t miss it!

All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County.

This month we’ll feature two of Fondulac township’s earliest settlers that most know little about, Richard Hammett and Simon Delong.

Richard Hammett was born in Virginia in 1792.  He married Hannah Adamson in Mason County, Kentucky, on February 28, 1815.  Richard’s family was enumerated in the 1820 census, still living near the Ohio River in Mason County, Kentucky.  The family had moved across the river and was living in Scioto County, Ohio, by 1830.  The call of the West beckoned to them, and the next thing we know, Richard purchased 160 acres from the government in the Northeast Quarter of Section 1 of Fondulac, and they had settled here by 1838.  The couple had at least eight children.

Hannah passed away January 1, 1845 and was buried on the Hammett land. Richard died December 14, 1854 and was buried next to his wife in the little burial plot.  Over the years, it is estimated that about twenty burials, possibly more, were included in the area.  The burial ground was half an acre along the southern edge of the eastern half of the original quarter section.

Richard’s estate was probated here in Tazewell county and those records are a valuable window into not only his life, but that of his neighbors as well.  240 acres of ground were divided among the sons, and personal property was left to the daughters.  Most of the household goods and farm implements were sold including: 1 broad axe, 1 log chain, an iron kettle, a wash tub, a crosscut saw, a sausage stuffer, two barrels, a cookstove, a chest and tools, a buffalo robe, a looking glass, a rocking chair, a cupboard, a dining table, carpet, a corn plow, a two horse plow, a corn sheller, a fanning mill, a two horse wagon, a two horse buggy and much more including livestock.

Eventually, the original 160 acres was deeded from the Hammett family to John Brautigam except a half-acre reserved as a burying ground.

After the estate was settled, the Hammett children slowly scattered.  Jesse married first Mary Bateman then Sarah Moore.  He lived in Peoria from 1860 until his death May 14, 1908.  He’s buried in Springdale.  William married Nancy E. Hancock and lived in Peoria until his death June 18, 1912.  He’s also in Springdale.

Richard married Sarah Parker in 1846 and moved to Mankato, Minnesota where they lived until his death August 20, 1896.  Johnson seems to have ended up in California where he’s buried in Placerville in 1887.  Martha married William Hadley in 1853, John married Charlotte Myers in 1856. Martha and John along with George and Mary just drop out of local records after 1860 such that it would seem that they, too, moved on to distant lands.

Simon Delong was born April 1, 1789 in New Hackensack, Dutchess county, New York.  He first married Mary Potter (1792-1825) with whom he had at least six children.  He then married Catherine Hammett December 25, 1927 in Scioto county, Ohio.  Simon and Catherine also headed west in the 1830s but are first found in Tazewell County living in Fondulac township in the 1850 census.  Simon died March 26, 1858 and was buried in the Hammett cemetery as was his wife Catherine when she passed 7 May 1867.

There is no indication that the children from Simon’s first marriage ever lived in Tazewell county.  They seem to be scattered around Southern Illinois.

Simon’s will left his estate to his wife Catherine to be passed on to the only child they shared while simply enumerating the children of the first marriage, leaving them each one dollar.

The Tazewell census listed Simon as a farmer but a 1903 History of Scioto County, Ohio mentions that “Simon Delong was a well-known character in Portsmouth from 1821 to 1835.”  It goes on to say that he was a butcher there and that there is an addition that bears his name.

If anyone would like more information about these families or others that are buried in the tiny cemetery, which today is on private property and wholly inaccessible to most, contact TCGHS for more information.

The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all-volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for 47 years.  TCGHS operates an archive, library, and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin.  Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us.   If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.