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EARLY SETTLERS OF SANGAMON COUNTY - 1876
By John Carroll Power

These biographies were submitted by a researcher and evidently abstracted from the 1876 History of Sangamon County, IL. Errors could occur, so one should always verify the correctness by obtaining copies of vitals and performing all necessary research to document what is contained herein.



TWIST, JOHN, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, went to Seneca Falls, when a young man, and was there married to Phoebe Russell, who was born in Newark, New Jersey. They had two children at Seneca Falls, and moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriving in 1821, in what is now Woodside township, six miles southeast of Springfield, where they had two children. Mrs. Twist made cheese and her husband hauled it to St. Louis on an ox wagon, where he found a market for it. In that way they raised the money to buy their first eighty acres of land. Early in 1826 they moved to a place on the Sangamon river, two miles northeast of Rochester, and about eight miles east of Springfield. Mr. Twist, in connection with Dr. Darling, of Springfield, built a saw and grist mill further up the river, four miles northeast of Rochester. It required all the men within a radius of ten or twelve miles to raise the mill. Mr. and Mrs. Twist had two children near the Sangamon river. Of their six children--

THADDEUS, born in New York, died in Sangamon county, aged fifteen years.

CICERO, born in 1820 in Seneca Falls, New York, married in Sangamon county, Illinois, May 21, 1845, to Sarah A. Baricman, and moved in August, 1848, to DeWitt county, Illinois. They had ten children, CICERO S., the sixth, and SARAH P., the eighth, died young. Of the other eight, NORVILLA A. was married Sept. 20, 1866, to John W. Dunn, has one child, JAMES E., and lives in Macon county, Illinois. LOUISA was married June, 1872, to James Long, has one child, CHARLES, and lives in McLean county, Illinois. MYLO lives with his father. EVAN A. was married Feb. 19, 1874, to Jane Bennett. MARY E., WESLEY W., ADELIA E., and JOANNA live with their father. Mrs. Sarah A. Twist died Jan. 10, 1867, and Cicero Twist was married Nov. 3, 1867, to Sarah Enos, and resides near Weldon, DeWitt county, Illinois.

JOANNA, born Feb. 26, 1822, in Sangamon county, married Henry Johnson. See his name.

MYLO, born in 1824 and died, aged seven years.

JOHN A., born Nov. 12, 1826, near Rochester, Sangamon county, Illinois, was married Nov. 26, 1856, in Rochester, to Eliza J. Sattley. They have six children, IRA F., RALPH S., MARY A., ELLA R., ELIZA J. and JOHN A., Jun., and reside in Rochester, Illinois.

John Twist died July 13, 1831, at his mill, on the Sangamon river, north of Rochester. His widow married James Stewart. They had one child.

EMELINE Stewart, born in Sangamon county, and married Addison Foley. They have two children, and live at Hay Market, Prince William county, Virginia.

Mrs. Phoebe Stewart died Jan. 11, 1836, in Sangamon county, Illinois. See name of James Stewart.



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