Thanks to clues given by Cousin Faye Compton of
Thomasville
,
NC
, Cousin
Olen Twidwell
recently made a surprising discovery at
Round
Prairie
Cemetery
. Round
Prairie
Cemetery
is about 3 miles east and then1 mile north of
Plymouth
,
IL
, in
Schuyler
County
. It
is about a quarter mile from the McDonough and Schuyler county line. Hancock,
McDonough and Schuyler counties come together at the edge of
Plymouth
. Surprisingly, the headstones of Tabitha
Twidwell Regan, first born child of Obediah and Elisabeth Twidwell, and her
husband, James Regan, were located in the
cemetery – only about 15 feet from the burial place of Thomas and Polly (Wayman)
Twidwell! Tabitha was born
Oct 8, 1808
, in Rowan/Davidson Co, NC. This would make Obediah and Elisabeth
Kenneday’s (Canaday’s) marriage date ca 1807. After Tabitha married James
Regan, they lived close to Thomas and Polly Twidwell in NC. Near the headstones
of Tabitha and James is the headstone of their son and probably James' mother,
Sarah. After coming to
Illinois
, Tabitha and James lived approximately a half
mile from the Twidwell homestead east of
Plymouth
on what is now called "The old
Andrew Lawyer Place
”. James
and Tabitha may have come to
Illinois
with the Thomas Twidwell family, the Morris
family, the Myers family and the Kenneday family.
Transcription of headstone of Tabitha Twidwell Regan – TABITHA
wife of
JAS. REGAN
DIED
March 1, 1852
Aged 43 yrs, 4 mos, 20 days
Transcription of
headstone of William H Ragen (small headstone next to Tabitha's) -James
and Tabitha's infant son:
WILLIAM
H
son
of J & T REGAN
Born
June 21, 1846
Dyed
7 months 27 days
This
indicates Wm H died ca
Feb 17, 1847
Transcription of James Regan’s headstone
located just to the right of Tabitha's:
JAMES
REGAN
DIED
Feb 4, 1859
Aged
55 Y's, 6 mos., 4 D's
Just to the right of James’
headstone is a headstone for “Sarah” which may be James’ mother.
Apparently James and Tabitha Twidwell Regan were living in Schuyler
Co before 1840. The farm he bought in Lamoine Twp,
McDonough
County
is about a mile from the Schuyler Co line. It is
about a half of a mile from the Thomas Twidwell homestead and is right next
to land that was owned by Thomas’ son, John Twidwell. Legal
description of the property is: the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter
of section 28, Township 4 North, Range 4 West (Lamoine Twp, McDonough Co, IL)
with the transaction recorded in 1840 at
Quincy
,
IL
--Martin Van Buren was President. The 40 acre tract
was an original land purchase at the federal land office on
11 September 1837
at a price of $1.25 per acre, recorded in
Vol. 698, page 184. The transcription of the original land purchase mistakenly
shows his name as James “Ryan”.
James Regan paid property tax in Schuyler Co., IL in 1838. His name is
spelled Rigins on the record. His assessment was as follows:
Wagons
1 valued at $40
Horses
2 valued at $115
Cattle
1 valued at $15
Hogs, sheep, household furniture
valued at $15
Total Property
$185
Total Tax
$ .92
Other clues are found on the 1830 federal census for Davidson Co., NC.
Obediah Twidwell (name transcribed and/or recorded as Tredwell) is found on page
234, line 19. Next door is John Kenneday, probably Elisabeth Kenneday’s
father. There are several other Kenneday families close by. On page 242, line 7,
we find Sarah Regan and on line 11, James Regan Jr.
By 1840, we find James and
Tabitha in McDonough Co., IL, according to the federal census of that year. The
census shows:
James
(spelled Riggins)
1 male under 5, 2 males 5-10, 1 male
30-40
1 female 10-18, 1 female 30-40
After
Tabitha died, James married her sister, Mary Twidwell in
Hancock
County
(Probably in
Plymouth
) on
16 March 1853
. The record is in the
Carthage
courthouse in Volume 2, Page 16 of the marriage
entries, license number 2016. James had a brother, Isham Regan, who probably
came to IL from NC, at the same time as James and Tabitha. He
owned land about one-half mile straight east of the Twidwell homestead in
McDonough Co., IL.
Research by
Olen Twidwell
February, 2007