​
The Liberty Bell Of The West Chapter NSDAR celebrated Chapter achievements and Member recognitions at their April 26th meeting. The Illinois State Organization of NSDAR held Illinois’ 125th Virtual Conference April 23rd through April 25th. Graduation ceremonies were held for DAR members who completed the Members Course and the New Horizon Course.  A Capstone Project had to be completed by each member as a part of the courses.
 
Members of the LBOTW Chapter who graduated from the Members Course are Donella Butler, Andrea Costilow and Marcia Ellison. For their Capstone Project the ladies created story boards portraying books about women of the revolutionary era and displaying them at the Chester Public Library. Their project won the State Conference Award for Outstanding Independent Project in Education.
 
Patsie Hopkins graduated from the New Horizon Course. Her Capstone Project was a display at the Randolph County Plaza of Flags over the July 4, 2020 weekend that honored each of the Revolutionary War Patriots associated with the LBOTW Chapter.
 
Shanti Kennedy was recognized for Genealogy Preservation Supporting Documents. She indexed 5,647 records.
 
LBOTW Chapter received a Level 1 Chapter Achievement Award; 1 of 3 CAA Largest Percent Improvement 2020 – District 7; Service To Honor Flight and Genealogy Preservation Supporting Documents – 5,736.
 

​Three members of the Liberty Bell of the West chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will have a display at the Chester Public Library featuring women and their roles during the American Revolutionary War.
 
The display features period books about women’s contributions to history, culture and society. Examples of women featured are Abigail Adams, Pocahontas, Eliza Hamilton and others who have been at the forefront of history making moments in the United States.
 
Members Donella Butler, Andrea Costilow and Marcia Ellison created this project as a requirement of the DAR Membership Training course.
 
Each display will be available for a two week period beginning March 17. The library is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
 
 

​George Pointer, my 5th great grandfather, was born around 1750 in Virginia. He died around 1810 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. George assisted in establishing American Independence and achieved the rank of private. He first served under Captains John Martin, John Boyle and Colonel Benjamin Logan. He then served under Brigadier General George Rogers Clark with the Lincoln County Militia (Harding, George Rogers Clark & His Men, PP 121, 122, 174).
 
My 5th great grandfather and his wife had eight children. The second oldest, George Pointer, born in 1780 in Virginia married Joannah Tackett in the year 1801 in Wayne County, Kentucky. That same year, they had their first child, Elizabeth Pointer while living in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Elizabeth Pointer married James Monroe Jett, also born in 1801 in Pulaski County, Kentucky.
 
James Monroe Jett is a descendent of Jost Hite, my 7th great grandfather, born around 1685 in Germany, died 1761 in Frederick County, Virginia. After arriving to America and moving multiple times; Jost, his family and several other families eventually moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. As history recounts, Jost went on to own the largest land holdings in the Colony of Virginia. Jost organized a group of families to settle in the Shenandoah Valley near present day Winchester, Virginia. He is credited in US History books as being the first European to settle west of the Blue Ridge Mountains (German Origins of Jost Hite, Virginia Pioneer by Henry Z Jones, Jr., Ralph Connor and Klaus West, Edingburg, VA 1979). In a past episode of Who Do You Think You Are, country singer Tim McGraw, finds out that he is also a descendent of Jost Hite.
 
Elizabeth Pointer and James Monroe Jett, along with other family members, eventually moved to Osage County, Missouri. George Washington Jett, one of their younger children, married Elizabeth Baker. A child of that union, William Jasper Jett married Amanda Ellen Johns. Of that marriage was born my grandmother, Loretta Jett who married my grandfather Clarence Albert Lindsey. From that union came my father, Jackie Wayne Lindsey who married Erma Jean Mayfield.
 
My grandfather, Clarence Lindsey, was born 1902 in Alto Pass, Union County, Illinois. My grandmother, Loretta Jett, was born 1907 in Cooper Hill, Carroll County, Missouri. Loretta and her family lived in Gasconade, Missouri where there was a government boat yard. Clarence and his family lived in the Rockwood, Randolph County, Illinois area. Clarence worked on a boat and found himself in the Gasconade, Missouri area where he met Loretta. Their oldest child, my father Jackie was born in Gasconade, Missouri. The little family eventually moved to Randolph County to make their home in Chester, Illinois.
 
I take you back in time, to travel with my ancestors, to bring you to present day. As I did my research, to complete my application for membership to the Daughters of the American Revolution, I discovered that my 5th great grandfather had already been in this area, some 241 years ago, as he fought with Brigadier General George Rogers Clark and his men to secure Kaskaskia. Not too many weeks ago I stood with my father and youngest daughter at the Covered Bridge to watch a historical marker be rededicated, marking the area where the troop camped before moving into Kaskaskia.
 

​Seeking one’s family history can be a very rewarding task although it often is frustrating.  My sister and I were told may times during our youth that we had patriots who fought in the Revolutionary War.  We were proud of the fact but needed to prove it.  Collecting documents/proof from people who lived over 200 years ago is not easy, but with a lot of assistance we have found one great-grandfather seven times removed and are able to follow the line through the generations until it reaches us. 
It all begins in Bedford County, Virginia.  The area was originally settled by English, Scotts, and Irish.  The county lies in western Virginia between Roanoke and Lynchburg.  In 1752 the General Assembly of Virginia established the town of Liberty.  This was a year subsequent to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.  This is the first location in history to bear the name, LIBERTY.  Another claim to fame is that Thomas Jefferson had a summer home in Bedford County.  The primary occupations involved farming and timbering.  Walter’s parents, Daniel and Mary Heuton, were both born in Bedford County as were their eleven children.  Our patriot Walter Neal, born on 11-17-1752, was the oldest. He was a cooper by occupation. He married Winifred Wood in 1774 and they had thirteen children.  His enlistment in the Revolutionary War can be found in Bedford County, Virginia, Order Book 5, May, 1778.  He died of natural causes at 48 years of age (10-20-1801) and is buried in Bedford County, Virginia. At some point Winifred apparently moved to Gallia, Ohio, because that is where she is buried as are a number of her children.  Rachel, the sixth child of Walter and Winifred, is our direct ancestor.  She and her husband, Thomas Wray, are buried in Gallia.  From Rachel, our ancestry line runs through two more women:  Rachel’s daughter, Matilda, and Matilda’s daughter, Melinda.  Then direct line returns to sons:  Melinda’s son John William Hedrick and then John’s son, John Franklin Hedrick.  Next the line runs through John Franklin Hedrick’s daughter, Melba, who is our mother. 
There is much more we would like to know but have not yet discovered.  Direct lines are harder to trace through women who often leave not only their immediate families but also their geographic roots to move with husbands.  Records housed at The Daughters of the American Revolution Library indicate that thirty-eight women have verified Walter Neal as their patriot.  Of those thirty-eight, five show the same direct line through his daughter, Rachel Neal Wray, and we are two of them.  We continue to search for more details and hopefully our search will be productive.
Andrea Jeanne Fulford Costilow
Marcia Lynne Fulford Ellison

 







 Lybarger Revolutionary War Memorial -- Medley, Bedford County, Pennsylvania

​Nicholas Layenberger brought his family across the Atlantic on a ship named the Snow Betsy. By August of 1739 the family was settled in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  Less than forty years later his son Ludwick, two of his brothers and two nephews were serving with the 4th Company, 1st Battalion Bedford County Militia in the Revolutionary War.  According to the Bedford County Census of 1790 the spelling of the surname had changed from Layenberger to Lybarger.  Ludwick Lybarger’s grandson, Samuel, was the first Lybarger to move to the prosperous French village of Kaskaskia, Illinois. 
                                                                                 MONTREUIL TO MONTROY
The surname “Montreuil” came into use during the early 17th century in what is now Canada.  In 1636 Louis Sedilot arrived in Quebec, New France.  Born in Montreuil-les-Bresches in Picardie, France, he attached “dit Montreuil” to designate his place of origin.  Louis is the progenitor of the Canadian Montreuils whose descendants traveled from Quebec and settled at Kaskaskia. Jean-Baptiste Sedilot dit Montreuil was born November 24, 1749, in Quebec Diocese Montreal Canada.  He was a 5th generation descendant of Louis Sedilot and Marie Grimoult and the first to reside permanently in Kaskaskia. The surname Sedilot was eventually dropped and the name Montreuil survived. During the Revolutionary War, George Rogers Clark liberated Kaskaskia from English rule.  Jean-Baptiste Montreuil served with Captain Francis Charleville’s company of Kaskaskia Volunteers when George Rogers Clark captured Fort Sackville (Vincennes) in March of 1779.  Sometime around 1848-50 the spelling of the name changed to the English phonetic spelling of Montroy.
                                                                               
I am descended from Ludwick Lybarger.  My husband and I are both descended from Jean-Baptiste Montreuil.  There is a little stone cottage still standing on Lot 20 Chestnut Street, Chester, Illinois.  The restoration of this stone cottage has been dedicated to the memory of these two revolutionary War Patriots. 
                                                                                                               Joan Montroy, Liberty Bell of the West Chapter, NSDAR.
 
 

​In a world that is so vast, we can still find connections between those descendants in our past and see how their connections in society reflect into present day and even into our future.  This feature article will look at how one Revolutionary War soldier has impacted the name of the nearby town, Mulkeytown, including many of the sites and roads named Mulkeytown in Southern Illinois. 
Jonathan Mulkey was a pioneer and one of Tennessee’s first known Baptist preachers.  Mulkey was a Private who served in Colonel Christian’s expedition against the Cherokees in 1776 during the Revolutionary War.  Jonathan’s son was born that same year and named Phillip Mulkey.  Phillip followed in his father’s footsteps and became a popular traveling evangelist and he preached in Tennessee, Kentucky and in Southern Illinois.  Phillip died in 1844 and was buried in the Mulkeytown cemetery. The Mulkey Cemetery located in Mulkeytown, Illinois, prominently displays a sign in honor of Jonathan, which states, “Pioneer Gospel Preacher”. The Mulkey family is credited with opening the first store in 1835 in the trading point area of Southern Illinois which was eventually named Mulkeytown, Illinois, after the Mulkey family.  Even the very prominent jurist, Judge Mulkey, sprang from this renowned family. For a town to name itself after a preacher and store owner, it was and continues to be a great honor and privilege. 
Fortunately, Phillip’s father survived the Revolutionary War and if he would have not survived, then the little trading town in Southern Illinois could have been named after someone else.  So, when you are traveling in Southern Illinois and you happen to cross Mulkeytown Road or see a building or cemetery named after Mulkey or if you travel through Mulkeytown, remember that its name originated from a Revolutionary War soldier. 
This article is brought to you by Jill Asbury, a descendent of Revolutionary war soldier, Jonathan Mulkey.
 
References: findagrave.com
                      genealogytrails.com/ill/franklin/tyrone_twp.html
                        oocities.org/franklincoil/mulkey.html
                                    anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Mulkey
 

Patriot of Shelia Alms, Deb Uchtmann, Bernice Cowan, Mary Ann Bunselmeyer

 John Clendenin’s story begins in Scotland.   Charles Clendenin, John’s grandfather, was born in Dumfrieshire, Scotland in 1712 and immigrated to America prior to 1735.   After arriving in Lancaster, PA he traveled south to Westmorland County, Virginia and settled at Fort Lee/Fort Clendenin.  In 1818 this settlement was renamed Charleston, West Virginia after Charles Clendenin. 
          John Clendenin was born January 15, 1759 in Eddisen, Augusta County, Virginia.  His father, James Clendenin (son of Charles), served in the French/Indian War in 1759 as one of Captain William Preston’s Rangers.  John served in the 3rd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line and was noted to have also furnished supplies to the forces.  During the war, John was assigned to some type of military prison.  Family history has it that while serving in this capacity, a woman came to John in desperate need to talk to her brother who was incarcerated in the prison.  The law would not permit a woman to enter the confines of a prison. John, showing compassion, loaned her his uniform for disguise and the woman was able to see her brother.
          After the Revolutionary War, John and his wife Mary (Sympson) moved to Green County, Kentucky.
          At the close of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the area of Illinois was surveyed into land patents that were to be sold and the revenues generated were used defray the cost of the war.  Anyone with military service was given preference in purchasing these land patents.  In 1817 John and his family relocated from Kentucky to Chester, IL.  On October 11, 1817, John purchased one of the land patents in the amount of 120 acres for $262.40. 
          John lived on this land until his death in 1836 and was buried in the family cemetery located on this property.  This cemetery has been incorporated as “The Clendenin Historical Site”.  On June 16, 2007, Liberty Bell of the West Chapter held a ceremony marking the grave of Revolutionary War Soldier and Patriot, John Clendenin.  

​
Revolutionary War Patriot – William Faries (Faris)…Northern Ireland to South Carolina to Indiana to Cutler, Illinois

Northern Ireland
In the 1600’s British King James, as part of his attempt to put down the rebellious Irish, provided land in Northern Ireland to wealthy Scottish landowners.  They in turn, imported Scots to work the land.  William Faries was one of these people. These Scottish people came to be known as the Scotch-Irish (some now call them Scot-Irish). These Scottish people were predominately Presbyterians. Many of these were called Covenanters.  Covenanters were Scottish reformers who pledged themselves to the “true faith” and renounced the tenants of the Catholic Church by signing documents called covenants.  Because England was Anglican and Ireland was Catholic, the Scottish Presbyterians were persecuted because they would not bend to either religion.
 
In 1772, William Faries (Faris) came to America with his wife Agnes.  They arrived in Charleston, SC having left Ulster (Northern Ireland), Antrim County.
 
South Carolina
America offered religious freedom and land.  To encourage emigration, the British Crown offered free land in the new world.  William Faries received a British royal grant of 200 acres in the southeastern portion of Chester County, South Carolina.
 
As the American Revolution progressed, William served several times in the South Carolina militia.  In Book 1 of Stub Entries to Indents Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution, one payment stub states that William Faries was paid fifteen pounds, thirteen shillings and eleven pence for 135 days of militia duty.  Family records state that his home was vandalized three times by the British Loyalists militia. 
 
William Faries died May 30, 1805.  It is believed that he was buried on his farm in
Turkey Creek, York County, SC, though no record of a tombstone can be found.
 
Indiana Territory
In 1815, widowed Agnes Faries sold their land and using ox-carts and pack horses, moved to Indiana which at that time was considered part of the North West Territory.  Several married children had already moved to this area.  Covenanters found themselves increasingly unwilling to live in a slave owning state.
 
Eventually all her children but one, settled on Walnut Ridge, in Washington and Lawrence Counties in Indiana.  The entire Covenanter congregations in South Carolina began to emigrate in groups to this area.
 
Agnes Faris (by now the family had changed the spelling of their name) died on June 21, 1822 aged 83 years at New Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana and is buried in Jolly Cemetery.  In 2003, my family found her hand carved tombstone and it was still very easy to read. 
 
Joshua, son of William and Agnes married Mary Preston.  They resided in Washington County, IN near his mother according to the 1820 Washington County Census. They had seven children together.  Joshua Faris died September 3, 1830 aged 43 years and is buried in Rice Cemetery, Jefferson Township, Washington County, IN.
 
Cutler, Perry County, Illinois
His widow and all their children moved to Perry County, Illinois later in 1830. The reason for this is not known.  There were numerous Scotch-Irish covenanters living in this area.  Mary died on September 15, 1845 and is buried in Hopewell Cemetery, Perry County, IL with no marker.
 
Martha Loudon Faris, daughter of Joshua and Mary married Henry Ervin (there is a street in Cutler that is named Ervin Street) and had 10 children.  Martha died August 10, 1884 and both are buried in Cutler Cemetery, Perry County, IL
 
Margaret Mary Ervin, daughter of Martha and Henry, was married to Robert James Cleland by Presbyterian minister. W.J. Smiley in 1874. To this union were born eleven children.  Margaret died September 29, 1924 and both are buried in Cutler Cemetery, Perry County, IL
 
Charles Ervin Cleland, son of Margaret and Robert married Mabel Grace Robb at the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Coulterville, IL.  Charles was a veteran of World War I and died November 10, 1973 and both are buried in Coulterville Cemetery, Randolph County, IL
 
Robert James Cleland, son of Charles and Mabel, married Dorothy Schlueter and they had five children together.  These five children were all baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Coulterville.  Robert died November 1, 2012 and both are buried in Paradise Cemetery, Randolph County, IL  
 
Author of this article is Lori Cleland Hill, daughter of Robert and Dorothy.
Her daughter is Lauren Chadderton Hinnerichs and her daughter is Hazel Hinnerichs.
Eight generations from this loyal patriot!
 

​National Society Daughters of the American Revolution local Liberty Bell of the West Chapter held it's bi-Annual Day of service at Pierre Menard home this last Wednesday. Members prepped the garden for fall, dusted inside the house and Summer Kitchen and enjoyed a joyful luncheon! Pictured in the newly cleaned Summer Kitchen(LtoR) are Shanti M. Kennedy, Andrea Costilow, Ellen Kautz, Deb Uchtman and Lori Hill. 

​On Thursday September 12th members of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Liberty Bell of the West Chapter attended the Society's kick off at DAR days in Mount Vernon IL. 

Members present were (LtoR) Emily Lyons, Marlene Seymour, Shanti M. Kennedy, Marcia Ellison, DonNita Schorr, Peggy Privatsky, Donella Butler, Sandy Smith, Lori Hill and Andrea Costello. 

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution's local chapter Liberty Bell of the West members place patriotic decoration at the Bicentennial Memorial at the Randolph County Courthouse.  Pictured are members (LtoR) Jo Levery of Sparta, Emily Lyons of Chester and Donella Butler of Chester.

​Chapter Regent of Liberty Bell of the West Chapter presented the Good Citizen's Essay Winner, Kaitlyn Hammel at Trico High School's Senior Award Night. Senior's from all Randolph County high schools submitted essays for this year's National Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest and Kaitlyn's was chosen as the winner. Kaitlyn's essay will be submitted next to NSDAR Illinois State's essay contest. 
Pictured are(RtoL) Doug Hammel, Kathy Hammel, Kaitlyn Hammel and Lori Hill of Steeleville. 

​On April 18, 1818 the U.S. Congress issued a proclamation authorizing the people of the Illinois Territory to draft a constitution for admission into the Union and to establish Kaskaskia as their capital. The constitution was adopted Aug. 26, 1818 and statehood was granted on Dec. 3, 1818.
On Aug. 26, 2018, the Liberty Bell of the West Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a ceremony at the Randolph County Courthouse to commemorate the upcoming 200th birthday of the state of Illinois. Members of the Illinois State Organization NSDAR were also on hand to help celebrate the occasion.
The event featured the unveiling of a French Granite Marble monument, which is located between the Randolph County Courthouse and the Randolph County Museum on a grassy area between the two landmarks. The project to erect this monument has been approved by the Historian General National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
The Illinois State Organization National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) has a membership of more than 7,600 with 104 chapters. The Randolph County chapter is named "Liberty Bell of the West."
The Randolph County chapter organized the dedication ceremony which took place Sunday August 26, which coincides with the date that the Constitution of the State of Illinois was adopted on August 26, 1818.
Approximately 100 people joined the Liberty Bell of the West Chapter DAR for the occasion. Steve Colonel, Chester School District 139 music director, played recorded music to start the celebration and the Processional of Dignitaries.
Lori Hill, Chapter Regent, provided the welcome, after which an invocation was given by DAR State Chaplin B.A. Church. The National Anthem was sung by the Chester High School Swing Choir "Sound Affect."
State Regent Gloria Flathom then provided greetings to the gathering after which Joan Montroy, chairman of the Bicentennial Monument committee, provided a rich and very informative "History of the Monument,"
Keynote Speaker Marc Kiehna, of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners, further expounded on issues related to the monument dedication after which Joan Montroy, Chapter Chaplin, gave a "Dedicatory Prayer."
The official unveiling of the monument was conducted by David Holder, Randolph County Board of Commissioners and Shannon Wolff, Randolph County Sheriff, with Lori Hill, Chapter Regent, narrating.
Ron White, Randolph County Board of Commissioners, conducted the actual "Acceptance of the Monument" on behalf of the citizens of Randolph County.
To bring the ceremony to an official conclusion, Juanita Broyles, District VII Chaplin, provided a "Benediction" after which Steve Colonel led the group in the singing of the official song of the State of Illinois, "Illinois".
The French Marines, de Fort de Chartres, led by Commander Don Martin, provided a Musket Drill Salute to close the event. After the Retirement of the Colors and Recessional, members of the DAR met for a group photo in front of the monument.
The official birthday of the state of Illinois will take place Dec. 3 with more events taking place at time.

Laura Juelf's, Senior Graduate of Red Bud High School, is presented award as National Daughters of American Revolution Liberty Bell of the West Chapter Winner of Good Citizen's certificate. Marlene Seymour(of Chester) presented the award on behalf of the chapter. 

NSDAR's Liberty Bell of the West Chapter held their monthly meeting and were informed about the Monarch Butterflies Migration Patterns and Habitats. Pictured LtoR, Deb Uchtman of Steeleville, Melba Clendenin(the presenter of the program), Sheila Alms of Steeleville, Rachel Clendenin and Connie Clendenin of Rockwood. Also at this meeting welcomed our newest members Rachel Clendenin and Maria Ellison.