John A. Buffington, Planted by Space Aliens?
By Sharon Glaser Hillis
I first started working on the Buffington family genealogy seriously in the 1980’s while living in a logging camp in Whale Pass, Alaska. There were no roads to drive to a town, and all research was done the old fashioned way by writing a letter, and sending it in the U.S. Mail. With the help of a researcher I had hired in Knox County, Illinois, I was able to connect with another Buffington descendent named Celia Olson. She was also interested in genealogy and we exchanged information and some photos of the Buffington family. Celia had even written a manuscript about the Buffingtons, which she graciously shared with me.
John A. Buffington has been a brick wall (hard to research) for some time.
John’s Mother?
I had believed that he was the son of Hannah Buffington until John E. Buffington pointed out to me that Hannah who was born in 1785 would have been 52 years old if she had given birth to John A. in 1833, possible, but not probable. Perhaps she was his grandmother. On the other hand, she lived to an advanced age, so maybe she also passed through menopause late in her life. Whatever relationship they had, it was close.
Hannah was born March 23, 1785 in Hanover, Green Brier Co., Virginia [1](now part of West Virginia). Hannah was about a month shy of 105 years old when she died February 21,1890 in Orange Township, Knox Co., Illinois. One of the arrangements at her funeral was a bouquet of calla lilies and hyacinth.[2] Her death notice refers to her as “Mother Buffington” and states that she had been a faithful member of the M.E. church for 60 years, and in all probability the oldest person in Knox Co. She is buried in Haynes Cemetery in Knox County, Illinois. I tried to get records from the Orange Chapel church, but all they could find were references from the Gilson Circuit Book[3] stating she (a widow) was accepted as a probationary member on April 2, 1865. Hannah Buffington has not been found in the 1850 census, nor have I been able to locate any marriage record or maiden name for her.
On December 9 of that same year, John’s wife, Cintha nee Lewis Buffington, died and was buried next to Hannah. The gravestones are also very similar in style perhaps indicating that the same person chose them. We have a photo of funerary arrangements for Cintha’s burial made of unthrashed stalks of wheat in a fan shape, and a cross made of flowers.
John’s Sister
John apparently had one sister, Mary Jane, who married first Samuel Myrick December 3, 1846 in Dearborn County, Indiana (Other source records say Francis Myrick, and I don’t know if this is the same person.). There is a boy named George Myrick who may have been her son. Samuel died September 13, 1869, and is buried in Haynes Cemetery. Mary Jane remarried two months later to Daniel Miller on November 11, 1869. Daniel had secured a legal separation from his first wife, Mary Humphrey. Mary Jane was 41 years old and her new husband was 25 years of age. One has to wonder at this arrangement. Did Mary Jane receive an inheritance or was she just attracted to a younger man? They lived together for 19 years, then divorced about 1888. Daniel graduated from Law school a year later in 1889, and then opened a law office in Knoxville. Daniel remarried a third time in 1890 to Mrs. Nancy (Adkins) Tucker. In the book, “Knox County History” the biography about Daniel Miller states he married “Mary Jane Myrick, sister of John Buffington.”[4]
Mary Jane died December 13, 1901, and is buried in Haynes Cemetery alongside Cintha and Hannah Buffington. She went back to her first married name, or perhaps George didn’t want to be reminded of the Miller part of his life, and her tombstone reads Mary Jane Myrick, although the 1900 census names her Jane Miller. Census records are renown for inconsistencies and errors. The census information recorded about the Buffingtons is no exception. In 1850 Jane is living with Samuel Myrick in Dearborn Co., Indiana, by 1860 she had moved to Knox Co., Illinois and is listed with Francis Merrick, George, who is 2 years old, and Hannah, age 67. 1870 shows her in the household of Daniel Miller, as well as Daniel’s son Andrew, Hannah Buffington, and George W. Myrick. In 1880 the census listed the relationship of the people living in the household to the head of the house. Daniel is recorded as head, Mary J. is listed as wife, Andrew as son, Hannah Buffington as Mother-in-law, and George Myrick as “other”. The 1890 census was destroyed by fire. The 1900 census shows George Myrick, widowed, with daughters Jennie and Ollie, and Jane Miller listed as stepmother. The census also says she had given birth to 0 children. This is confusing. I wonder if Francis Myrick is George’s father? Mary Jane may have been living with Francis, but she may not have been the natural mother of George. Since Samuel died in 1869[5] Mary Jane would have still been married to Samuel while living with Francis if they are different men. We have not found a Francis in other census records to indicate he is a different man from Samuel.
John
Now, to get back to the subject of this story. Our John A. Buffington was born on August 12, 1833, in Indiana, probably Dearborn County, where there were lots of other Buffingtons.
We have a sepia-toned photograph of him, unsmiling, perhaps taken about the 1880’s, that shows him clean shaven except for a bushy beard about four inches long that covers all the area below his mouth. His dark brown hair is 3-4 inches long on the top and sides above the sideburns and is parted on the left side and combed upward and backward which may have made him appear a little taller than he actually was. His hair and beard are streaked with gray, and his hair is wavy. He has a thin straight nose, and thin lips, down-turned at the edges. His eyes are light colored, perhaps blue, green, or hazel. He is wearing a shirt that was white or light colored with a dark check pattern similar to gingham under his jacket.
It looks like there is a vertical scar on
his left earlobe, and that his ear lobe attaches
directly to his head without the usual
projection down then up. (His great-grandson, Don Hillis, also has this type of ear lobe, including a scar on his left ear, a memento of a car accident.)
The first record of John is in the 1850 Indiana census where he is listed in Laughery Township, Dearborn County living with the family of Elisha Huffman and his wife, Rachel. John is listed as 18 years old and a farmer. Rachel was the daughter of John Buffington from Pennsylvania and his wife Nancy Cheek Buffington. It would sure be nice to know how John and Rachel were related. Although Rachel came from a large family there is no information to suggest they are siblings. There were three Buffington brothers (John, Jeheil, and Jonathan) who moved to Dearborn Co. from Pennsylvania in the late 1790’s with their widowed mother, Mahala, who had married David Butler, and their lineage has been fairly well documented with no known connection to our John.
John was married to his first wife, Cintha Lewis, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (maiden name unknown) Lewis on October 23, 1853, in Knox County, Illinois, by Peter Godfrey, Justice of the Peace. Cintha is listed as Catherine in the marriage index, but the record clearly shows her name as Cynthia. They had eleven children of whom all reached maturity:
1. George W. Buffingtonb: September 15, 1854 in Knox Co., IL
d: June 28, 1926 Knoxville, Knox Co., IL, Burial: 1926 Haynes Cemetery, Delong, Knox Co, IL ,+Jennie Jane Lanigar Linegar, b: March 01, 1870 m: March 11, 1888 in Knoxville, Knox Co., IL d: April 22, 1892 IL Burial: April 1892 Haynes Cemetery, Knox Co, IL
*2nd Wife of George W. Buffington:+Lucinda J. Willsb: June 1846 in OHm: December 14, 1893 in Fulton Co., IL, d: July 21, 1918 Steuben Twp., Marshall Co., IL
2. Noah Uriah Buffingtonb: March 22, 1856 in Knoxville, Knox Co., IL,
d: December 28, 1943 Buelah, Pueblo Co., CO, Burial: January 05, 1944 Mt. View Cemetery, Pueblo, CO,
+May Mary Manleyb: July 17, 1866 in Knoxville, Knox Co., ILm: April 08, 1898 in Knoxville, Knox Co., IL Burial: September 1953 Pueblo, CO. d: September 25, 1953 Buelah, Pueblo Co., CO
3. Rachael Ann Buffingtonb: July 06, 1857 in Abingdon, Orange Twp., Knox Co., IL d: March 01, 1950 Galesburg, Knox Co., IL, Burial: March 03, 1950 Knoxville City Cemetery, Knox Co., IL
+Charles Brewer Swigertb: February 19, 1849 in Tiffin, Seneca Co., OHm: February 08, 1883 in Knoxville, Knox Co., IL d: February 17, 1932, Abingdon, Knox Co., IL, Burial: 1932 Knoxville City Cemetery, Knox Co., IL
4. Sarah S. Buffingtonb: January 16, 1859 in ILd: June 26, 1902 WA
Burial: June 28, 1902 Old Sunnyside Cemetery, Sunnyside, Yakima Co., WA
+Marion T. Wymanb: Abt. 1859 in ILm: March 08, 1885 in Knox Co., IL
d: Bef. 1895
*2nd Husband of Sarah S. Buffington: +William Cooper Kennedyb: October 29, 1866 in New London, Henry Co., IA m: Abt. 1895 d: March 14, 1943 Sunnyside, Yakima Co., WA, Burial: March 17, 1943 Old Sunnyside Cemetery, Sunnyside, Yakima Co., WA
5. David Buffingtonb: March 30, 1861 in ILd: January 02, 1942 KS, Burial: January 04, 1942 Park Cemetery, Sunnydale, Kansas.
+Jennie F. Virginia? Fernaughb: Abt. 1872 in IL,m: February 21, 1893 in McDonough Co., IL
6. Cornelia Jane Jennie Buffingtonb: August 07, 1862 in Knox Co., IL,
d: May 30, 1929 Alta Johnson's home near Mullen, NE, Burial: 1929 Fairfield Cemetery, Clay Co., NE
+John G. Whiteb: May 28, 1860 in OHm: Aft. 1880Burial: 1931 Fairfield Cemetery, Clay Co., NE d: March 28, 1931
7. Hannah Wilhimina Buffingtonb: February 06, 1866 in Abingdon, Knox Co., IL,
d: September 19, 1937 Pendleton, Umatilla, OR, Burial: September 22, 1937 Olney Cemetery, Pendleton, Umatilla Co., OR,
+Robert Eldon Fletcherb: January 1860 in Boston, Suffolk, MAm: Abt. 1901 in Pueblo, Pueblo Co., CO d: November 06, 1937 Pendleton, Umat Co., OR, Burial: 1937 Olney Cemetery, Pendleton, Umatilla Co., OR,
8. Elizabeth F. Lizzie Buffingtonb: July 31, 1869 in Abingdon, Orange Twp., Knox Co., IL , d: February 19, 1905 Knox Co., IL, Burial: February 1905 Haynes Cemetery, Knox Co., IL
+John Andrew Schidemanb: March 05, 1865 in Fulton Co., PAm: July 03, 1889 in Knox Co., IL, d: May 21, 1926 Knox Co., IL, Burial: May 24, 1926 Haynes Cemetery, Knox Co., IL
9.John A. Buffington, Jr.b: October 31, 1871 in DeLong, ILd: August 30, 1916 near Smith Center, KS in a cave in, Burial: 1916 Smith Center, KS
+Mary Leem: March 1895 in Knox Co., IL
*2nd Wife of John A. Buffington, Jr. +Mattie Ethel Kendallb: August 28, 1889 in McCook, NE m: March 20, 1906 in LaJunta, CO d: July 11, 1962
10. May Synthia Buffingtonb: May 26, 1874 in Galesburg, Knox Co. IL d: April 17, 1935 Cedaredge, Delta Co. Colorado, Burial: 1935 Cedaredge Cemetery, Cedaredge, CO
+Mat Royal Hillisb: August 29, 1875 in Howard, Elk Co. KSm: March 02, 1902 in Cory, Delta Co., CO d: June 02, 1950 in Delta, Delta Co. Colorado, Burial: 1950 Cedaredge Cemetery, Cedaredge, CO
11. Ernest Everet Buffingtonb: July 22, 1877 in Galesburg, Knox Co., IL
d: August 31, 1935 Portland, Multnomah Co. OR, Burial: September 04, 1935 Rose City Cemetery, Portland, OR.
+ Ethel M.b: Abt. 1887 in ILm: Abt. 1910d: Aft. August 31, 1935
The 1860 census finds John living in Cedar Township in Knox Co., Illinois, along with his wife Synthia, Go.(George), Noe, and Sarah. In 1865 he is listed on the Cedar Township Tax list as having an assessed valuation of $115. A listing of the 1870 property owners of Cedar Township shows John A. Buffington. A plat map of an unknown date shows that John A. owned 180 acres in Section 25 along the border with Orange Township. The majority of the land was open, with a little forest along the property line. In 1875 his evaluation increased to $465. Either he owned more land, or the land was reevaluated at a much higher rate. The 1885 tax list in Orange Twp. shows John having an assessed valuation of $825, plus one dog. He must have sold some of the land before 1890, because his valuation at that time is only $573.
Another plat map (unknown date) shows John owns 240 adjacent acres in Sections 21 and 22 of Orange Township.
The 1850 census states that John had attended school within the year, and other census records are divided about whether he could read and write. As of this date, I have not located a document with his signature, only a mark. There are still land records to obtain, and perhaps they might shed light on the matter.
There are several John Buffington’s listed in an index who enlisted in the Civil War, but without obtaining the actual record, one can not be sure which one might be our John. A cursory glance at the list does not indicate that any of them are our John.
As stated earlier John’s wife died in 1890. Sometime before 1900 he must have sold his farm and moved into town and bought a house and several other lots on Conger Street. The 1900 census, enumerated on June 1st, shows him, at age 69, living in Galesburg, Illinois, occupation retired farmer. Also living in his household is Dora White, age 32, whose occupation is servant.
A month later on July 11th, John and Dora traveled west about 90 miles to Quincy, which is in Adams County, and were married by a Justice of the Peace. The witnesses were Jos. C. Veihl and his wife, Gertrude Veihl. Joseph is listed as a bartender in the 1910 census. It is interesting to speculate about this occurrence. Was Dora originally from Adams County, or did John and Dora elope, stop at a bar, and ask the first person they talked with to witness their marriage? In 1900 a 90-mile trip was quite an undertaking for a 69 year old man. I was delighted to discover a second marriage record for John, because the application had a lengthy questionnaire for the prospective bride and groom. I guess the county hired a lazy clerk, because not one of the questions was answered on John and Dora’s application. Maybe the clerk thought at his age it didn’t matter. Both Dora and John gave their addresses as Quincy, Illinois, even though they lived in Knox County before and after the marriage.
At any rate, John must have been quite infatuated with Dora and did his best to please her. It appears that John’s children were less than satisfied with the match because his son, Noah Buffington, filed a suit in the county court a year later in July 1901, stating that John “is insane and incapable of managing and caring for his own estate and is a spendthrift who is alleged as to spend, waste, or lesson his estate as to expose himself or his family to want or suffering or want will become a charge on the county.” The trial went on for two days with many people called to testify. I was able to get copies of the court documents. Unfortunately, no transcript of the actual testimony exists. The end result was that the jury found in favor of John Buffington. If they had found him insane, he would have been committed to the state sanitarium for the duration of his life.
Della Evans gave me a copy of a newspaper article her mother had in a scrapbook that summarized the trial:
"Victory for Buffington -- John Buffington will continue to have charge of his own business and property and to dispose of it as he sees fit. This was the decision of the jury, reached after being over six hours. At first the jury were not all agreed that Buffington was a fit man to have charge of property. One man on the jury felt that a conservator should be appointed but he finally gave in.
The verdict was expected even by the attorneys for the petitioners, on the witness stand Buffington showed that his memory is not so poor and that he is not so intellectually affected as represented. Until he went upon the stand himself this case against him appeared strong. The jury evidently did not feel called to pass upon the indications of Mr. Buffington, but simply upon the question of his capacity to manage his own affairs. It is now believed that he will proceed to secure the interest of his present wife in the property."[6]
It was this article that lead to the discovery that John A. had married a second time. Dora disappears and no further record can be found for her. John died April 30, 1908, in Abingdon, and his death certificate lists him as a widower. No death record or divorce record has been found for Dora. There is an interesting tidbit which Della found while researching John’s daughter, Sarah. Sarah married 2nd William Cooper Kennedy, then she died at the age of 41 years. William remarried a woman named Dora B. (surname unknown). The 1910 census records state she is 52 years old, but the 1930 census says she is 54 years old. In 20 years she only aged 2 years—amazing. There is no proof that confirms that this Dora is the same Dora that married John A. Buffington. The ages on the census records are too unreliable to be of use in this instance. I don’t think that John’s children ever mentioned Dora. Celia Olson, who had done a lot of research didn’t know about her. (Celia who passed away in Nov. 2003, was a great-granddaughter of John A., and grew up in the area.)
John suffered a stroke in March 1908, and lingered for over a month before finally succumbing to death on April 30th in Abingdon. He was buried in Haynes Cemetery, but there is no marker for his grave. He went from a total worth in 1870 of about $4400[7], to a value of $1500 real estate, and $50 personal estate when he died in 1908.[8] John owned 5 lots in L.E. Conger’s subdivision. Some must have had houses and tenants because he received rent money as income.[6]
His horse and harness were sold to son, George Buffington, for a price of $35.00. His stove, dresser, etc. sold for a total of $18.00. He had many creditors, and by the time his lots were auctioned at a price of $1210, and outstanding debts paid, each of his eleven children received the amount of $16.45 as inheritance. The People’s Trust and Savings Bank were the administrators of John’s estate.