Birth: Sep. 27, 1824
Mechanicsburg (Champaign County), Ohio
Died: 1867
McDonough County, Illinois
Eli Wilson was a son of John Wilson and Jane McCompsey. He was born in Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio in 1824. On Sep 25, 1851 he married Sophia E. Beck in McDonough County, Illinois. She was born in Greencastle, Indiana in 1830, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Beck (both born in North Carolina). Sophia died in 1917 in Kirkman, Iowa where she is buried in Rosehill/Kirkman cemetery.
Eli Wilson shares his tombstone with two of his children: Edward B., 1852-1854 and Elizabeth, 1853-1865.
Other known children born to Eli and Sophia Wilson: Jacob born 1849-1934 in McDonough Co.; Jane, born 1854, per the 1860 census; Oliver Browning "Brum" Wilson 1855-1942 (died in Shelby Co., Iowa); Mary Bell born 1857; Anna Catherine 1859-1916 (married to Elijah Flack—and is buried in Industry, IL); Melissa born 1860; Alice born 1864; and Eli born 1867.
Eli Wilson's parents and a sister, Mary Ann (Wilson) Gibson, are also buried in this cemetery. His aunt, Mary "Polly" (McCompsey) McClure, and cousin Sarah Jane (McClure) Venard are likewise interred here.
Biographical information comes from census records, vital statistics, and marriage records from Ancestry.com and the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index and from Duane Lester's, "Rural Cemeteries of McDonough County, Illinois, Volume II, Bethel-Industry."
Check out the video clip taken on Memorial Day weekend in May 2010 to see the current condition of this stone. It's the fourth clip in this blog post, the one with the green border. The stone is now toppled from its base because of damage by cows inhabiting the cemetery.
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