Gone, but not forgotten: The Jeremiah Daniels family

Jeremiah Daniels was born in 1796 in Tennessee, according to the 1850 Jackson Township, Newton County, census. The other census records give North Carolina as the place of his birth.
He married Susan Self in Clay County, Illinois, June 9, 1825. Susannah, as she was enumerated in 1850, was born in 1806 in Tennessee. Other census records give South Carolina as the place of her birth.
In 1830 the family was living in Shelby County, Illinois. Census records before 1850 do not give the name of anyone except the head of household. Instead, they enumerate the household by gender and age group.
In 1830, the couple had one son under five and two daughters under five. The family was not found in the 1840 census, but Jeremiah did purchase 40 acres of land in Shelby County from the government land office in Vandalia Oct. 10, 1840.
From the information on the children listed in the 1850 census, it appeared that the family didn’t move to Arkansas until sometime after 1846.

In 1860, Jeremiah had moved to Jefferson Township. He had $500 in personal property (Daniels Ridge Road is located in Jefferson Township-perhaps it was named for this family).
In 1870, he was still living in Jefferson Township, but now he had $800 in personal property. Only two of his younger children were living with him and his wife.
Susannah passed away June 2, 1880.
In 1880, daughter Nancy and son Erby were still living with his father, though John Self (likely a relative of Susannah’s) was also part of the household helping with the farming. Jeremiah died in 1882 and was buried at Buffalo Cemetery in Parthenon.

Barbara LeRoy is the author of “Which Side Were They On?,” a 302 page book listing biographical sketches of the Newton Countians who were involved in the Civil War, available for sale either in the Bradley House Museum or by purchasing online at www.newtoncountyar.com. The book sells for $33.