#M16 MCNABB, John III (AFN: NJ9N-SL)*
Born: 3 Feb 1809 Logie, Stirling, Scotland.
Died: 4 Oct 1892 Mt. Palatine, Putnam, Illinois.
Father: John McNabb II #M32 (13 Oct
1768-1819).(AFN: NJ9N-LK)
Mother: Jane Drysdale #M33 (chr 8 Nov 1785-1 May
1809). (AFN: NJ9N-MQ)
Married: 22 Sep 1842 in Urbana, Champagne, Ohio, to Margaret Morrison #M17. (AFN: NJB4-57) They had eight children.
John McNabb (left) at his store. Exact location and date unknown. Man on right is unidentified. An enlarged (and cropped) photo of this same shot is found at McNabb Store. Photo courtesty of James McNabb Bumgarner.
*To locate person on Internet by AFN (Ancestral File
Number):
Go to http:/www./familysearch.org and click
Custom Search. Click Ancestral File. Scroll down to AFN. Type in the
Ancestral File Number. Click Search. You may find a Pedigree Chart and a Family
Group Record as well as submitters.)
Children:
1. Mary MCNABB (b abt 1838), m Erin WILSON. (Mary,
the daughter of Margaret Morrison before her marriage to John McNabb, was adopted by
John. See more information under the Margaret Morrison biography.)
2. John Morrison MCNABB. (27 Jun 1843-1849).
*3. Daniel MCNABB #M8 (5 Feb 1845-13 Sep 1931), m 29 Sep 1869 Mary Frances GEORGE #M8.
4. Jane MCNABB (25 Dec 1846-24 Feb 1916), m 1869 James A. KIZER.
5. Helen Orcila MCNABB (9 Nov 1849-1923).
6. Robert Drysdale MCNABB (27 Dec 1851-2 Apr 1890.)
7. John Morrison MCNABB (20 Jan 1854-8 Jul 1919.)
8. James Archibald MCNABB (22 Feb 1856-26 Nov 1941), m 10 Mar 1881
of Mt. Palatine, Putnam, Illinois Antoinette LAUGHLIN.
Though coming from different parts of the central lowlands of Scotland, John McNabb III of Perth and Margaret Morrison of Argyllshire were destined to meet in America and there perpetuate the McNabb clan that became an important part of Putnam County, Illinois. Two of their children were responsible for founding the town of McNabb, Illinois.
John McNabb III lost his mother when he was five months old and his father when he was 10. He was assigned three men as guardians (John Gentleman, John Galloway and John Archibald.) These men furnished meals, work and clothing.
At age 19, in 1828, John left his native land and headed for South America but somehow ended up in New York City with only a dollar in his pocket. He worked on the Erie Canal in New York then went to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.
Fights in the Second Seminole War
When John was about 26, he joined the U.S. Army under General Winfield Scott and fought the Seminoles in Florida. The war, known also as "the Florida War with the Indians," was the second of the Seminole Wars which were fought between the United States and the Seminole Indians of Florida. (The "first war" was 1817-1818 resulted from a border clash between Georgia frontier dwellers and the Seminoles in Spanish Florida.)
The second war (1834-1842) was caused by American efforts to move the Seminoles to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma.) Thousands of American settlers had poured into Florida. One of the major problems they faced was finding enough land for settlement. Seminiole Indians lived in some of the territory's richest farmland. The U.S. government offered land in the Oklahoma region to the Seminole if they would leave Florida territory. Some accepted, but others refused to leave their homes. Following a massacre by the Indians of some American troops in 1835, the war began. The Seminole were defeated in 1842. Most of the Seminole left the territory after the war, but a small band stayed in the Florida Everglades. They were later herded westward into Oklahoma. This war was the longest (seven years) and costliest ($20,000,000 and 1.500 troops killed) of the United States Indian wars. The Seminoles also lost their best leader, Osceola.
For detailed information on the Florida wars (all three of them!) and on the Seminoles go to this web site: The Florida Wars and the Seminoles.
John remained in the army until 1838, when he was wounded in the right wrist. He received a pension. he returned to Pennsylvania, then went to Ohio. He married Margaret Morrison in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. The couple moved to Magnolia, Putnam, Illinois, in 1845 where Margaret's brother, John Morrison, had moved. The John Morrisons bought prairie land east of Mt. Palatine.
John and Margaret built their first log cabin west of the future town of McNabb, midway between the area of the two future railroad depots. Four years later they built the homestead on the other corner of their farm which was used by the McNabb families for three generations.
John and Margaret were termed as early day farmers and stock raisers, in an obituary of their son James A. McNabb.
John and Margaret are buried at Brookside Cemetery in Tonica, La Salle, Illinois.
SOURCES:
1. Excerpt from letter of 21 Mar 1942 to Elsie Gladys Lundquist McNabb from Nettie McNabb (wife of James Archibald McNabb.) "[John McNabb] was born at Falkirk near Glasgow Feb 3 1809 son of John McNabb and Jane Drysdale. He was their youngest child and only son. He came to the U.S. in 1826, he was wounded in the Seminole war in Florida after which he went to Ohio and there married Margaret Morrison, 1842."
2. James McNabb Bumgarner gives John McNabb's birthdate as 23 Feb 1809 in Menstrie, Scotland. Died 4 Oct 1892 at the McNabb home, Magnolia Tsp., Putnam Co., Il. Md 22 Sep 1842 at Champaign Co, Ohio. Also cites The Olden Times, p. 661 and says he was a soldier in the Florida war with the Indians. Newspaper article copy of 8 Oct 1892 provided by Bumgarner says: "Died, at the old home place 3 1/4 miles southwest of Mount Palatine, Oct 4, John McNabb in the 84th year of his age. Deceased was one of the early settlers in that vicinity and widely known throughout this section. He was the father of Daniel McNabb of Tonica, and of James and John and Orcilla who still live on the old homestead. He was a soldier in what is known as the Florida war with the indians. " Bumgarner's research has been posted in the Ancestral File (cited above.)
His birth is recorded on Microfiche 6903097 (baptism 1643-1854) b. 3 Feb 1809, Logie, Stirling, Scotland.
Tracings says John born in Menstrie. See the citations in Tracings for further information on John.
Burial is at the Brookside Cemetery. Cemetery records show buried in Lot Five. Wallace and Frances Gray have visited and photographed the gravesite. Tombstone reads, "John McNabb born Sterlingshire Scotland 1808-1882/Margaret His Wife born Argyleshire, Scotland 1812-1880." The tombstone was of recent origin.
Excerpt of letter sent to Wallace F. Gray from Lewis Wabel Jr. of Henry Illinois, dated 12 Jun 1992: "You asked about McNabb, Il. From the book 150 Years in Review of Clear Creek Families and Friends, Putnam County, Illinois, page four states the following: John McNabb had been born in Menstrie, Scotland. He had worked in New York awhile to earn money to go further west. Then in Dayton, Ohio, he married Margaret Morrison. She was born in Campbelltown, Scotland. Soon thereafter, the couple accompanied the Morrison family to Illinois.. The Morrisons bought prairie land east of Mt. Palatine. John McNabb and his wife built their first cabin just west of the present village of McNabb, later they built the homesteaad which was used for three generations. The 3-1 (Illinois, Indiana & Iowa Railroad) was built to Streator to 1887 and completed through Putnam County by the late 1890s by way of Loston, Mt. Palatine, McNabb and Granville. [Ed Note: there is record of the 3-1 R.R. Depot at McNabb in 1901, W. F. Boyer, agent] Thus the village of McNabb was brought into being. It was named for the McNabb family, pioneers on the farm upon which the original town was plotted."
Census records of 1850 (15 Nov 1850), 1860 (20 Jul 1860, P.O. Magnolia), 1870 (Post Office Mt. Palatine) all list John McNabb and family.
Death of John McNabb is in a newspaper clipping. Says he was one of the early settlers in that vicinity and widely known throughout this section. He was a soldier in what is known as the Florida war with the Indians.
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