Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Francis, Family 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 4:13 pm

Author: Genealogical/Biographical Publishing Co

THE FRANCIS FAMILY. For years the representatives of this family have been 
inseparably associated with the growth of Will County. The first of the name 
to settle here was Abraham Francis, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, 
September 29, 1808. He was a descendant of ancestors who, during the religious 
persecution of 1696, fled from Scotland to Ireland, where subsequent 
generations made their home. In 1816 William Francis, a farmer, emigrated from 
County Cavan and settled in Brown County, Ohio. He was a hardworking man, 
whose life and surroundings offered few opportunities for education or 
advancement. At the time of his death his son, Abraham, was a youth of fifteen 
years, and he afterward continued in Brown County for some years. In the 
spring of 1831 he and a young German left Ohio and rode on horseback to 
Shawnee Mound, Tippecanoe County, Ind. From there they walked, carrying 
knapsacks and axes, to Illinois, exploring the region around the headquarters 
of the Kankakee River. With canoes they had constructed, they floated down the 
river to Wilmington, and then followed the Indian trail to New Lenox Township. 
Choosing a location, Mr. Francis entered one hundred and sixty acres of 
government land and "floated" another tract of similar size, comprising the 
north half of the east half of section nine, where his son, A. A. Francis, and 
his family afterwards resided.

After building a log cabin Mr. Francis returned to Ohio. There he married Miss 
Mary A. J. Davison, who was born in Adams County, that state, March 17, 1815, 
a daughter of William and Mary (Ingraham) Davison, both of whom died in 
Tippecanoe County, Ind. November 16, 1831, Mr. Francis and his bride arrived 
at their new home in Illinois. On that day snow began to fall and they did not 
see the bare ground again that winter, which will be recalled as the winter of 
the great snow so disastrous to pioneers. At one time, when Mrs. Francis was 
attending to her household duties, Rev. Stephen R. Beggs, the minister of the 
community, drove up to the cabin. When she met him at the door, he, judging 
from her youthful face that she was the daughter of the family, inquired where 
her father was. She answered that he was on the home farm back in 
Ohio. "Then," said he, "what are you doing here?" "I am keeping house for my 
husband and his brother Thomas," was her answer. Both Mr. Francis and his wife 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; and in early days the Sunday 
meetings of the congregation were often held in his barn, which is still 
standing. It is probable that the first religious services in the borders of 
New Lenox Township were held in this building.

When the Black Hawk war broke out, in June, 1832, Mr. Francis was one of six 
men appointed to investigate the report of the Indian outrages on Fox River. 
Finding that the reports of the outrages were true, Mr. Francis removed his 
family to Shawnee Mound, Ind. He then returned and served as second lieutenant 
under Captain Seissions. When hostilities ceased he resumed the cultivation of 
his farm. At the time of the cholera epidemic he was engaged in teaming for 
the government at Chicago. Prior to the division of Cook County and the 
separation of Will County, he served as deputy sheriff and held other offices 
of honor and trust. In politics he was for years a Democrat, but at the time 
of the Civil war became an adherent of the Republican party.

The family of Abraham and Mary Francis consisted of eleven children, eight of 
whom attained mature years and married. The eldest, Margaret L., wife of 
Needham P. Cooper, of New Lenox Township, is believed to have been the first 
white child born in this township. The eldest son, William D., died at the age 
of twenty-two years. Mary A. J. married J. S. Blackstone, of Kankakee. A. 
Allen, the second son, is represented in the following sketch. John, who was 
born January 8, 1843, is a prominent stockraiser and dairyman of this township 
and for years held the office of supervisor; his biography is presented upon 
another page. Lydia E. is the wife of William S. Nichols, of this township. 
Charles is a farmer near the old homestead. Clara M. died when sixteen months 
old. Adalina A. married Jesse Meharry, of Tolono, Ill. George L. is a 
machinery merchant in New Lenox and also engages in agricultural pursuits near 
the old homestead. Carrie D. died at the age of thirteen years. One sister, 
two of the brothers, and the widow of the second brother, live nearly all on 
the same road, the sister occupying the center farm, while the others have 
places that adjoin. All are honored and respected in the locality and are 
recognized as people of superior worth and intelligence. The father of the 
family died at the old homestead November 28, 1862, and his wife passed away 
January 15, 1884.

Additional Comments:
Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing 
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present

Biographical Publishing Company; Chicago 1900

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