Bless Those In-Laws! by Margaret G. Irwin

The following poem was printed in the September/October 2008 issue of Everton's Genealogical Helper.

Bless Those In-Laws!
By Margaret G. Irwin

Maiden names are fleeting,
They're almost never there,
For when the ladies marry,
Names vanish in thin air.

There is no way to search for her,
'Less her given name is strange.
Without a maiden name to use,
The quest will vainly range.

With luck, when she is newly-wed
With a babe upon her knee,
Her husband's in-law brother
Will join the family.

And magically you have the name
She was known by at her birth.
To the family historian,
It's a pearl of priceless worth.

Or, as she reaches middle age,
With prosperity to share,
Her ailing, aged parent
Will come to her for care.

And there you have been given
The very clues you lack
To trace her lineage in the past,
Through decades going back.

So, no more in-law humor!
No kinfolk boo-ed and hissed.
They are the greatest help of all
For the genealogist!

James Lyons

James Lyons, brother to Mary Lyons previously posted, was born January 24, 1807 in South Carolina to James and Jane (Elder) Lyons. He married about 1832 in South Carolina to Nancy Elder (born May 15, 1807).

James and Nancy had 5 known children:

• Jennett C. - born September 11, 1832 in South Carolina and died July 3, 1842 in Illinois.
• Mary Jane - born July 27, 1836 in South Carolina and died October 17, 1842 in Illinois.
• Matthew Elder - born September 26, 1838 in South Carolina and died June 25, 1841 in Illinois.
• James Riley - born about 1842 in St. Clair County, Illinois and died about 1874. He married Anna W. McQuilken February 21, 1861 in St. Clair County.
• William Elder C. - Born October 1847 in St. Clair County, Illinois and died sometime between 1920 and 1930. He married Ellen D. Crawford on December 10, 1869 in Randolph County, Illinois.

James Lyons died July 1, 1855 and his wife, Nancy, died October 13, 1857. James, Nancy, and 3 children - Jennett, Mary Jane, and Matthew - are all buried in Old Salem Cemetery, Washington County, Illinois.

Mary Lyons

Mary Lyons, daughter of James Lyons and Jane Elder, was born August 1, 1803 in County Antrim, Ireland. She emigrated in 1805 with her family to South Carolina, where the family settled in the Fairfield District. In 1833 the family moved to Illinois.

On January 12, 1836, Mary married Henry L. McGuire, a widower with 2 children. The place of this marriage is not known. They had 6 children:

• Mary E. - born October 25, 1837, died November 21, 1860. Married Robert G. Ardry September 9, 1858 in Washington County, Illinois.
• John L. - born February 11, 1839, died July 21, 1914. He married 1st Mary Jane Gibson on December 15, 1859. He married 2nd Alice M. Duckworth on February 3, 1887 in Perry County.
• James - born October 6, 1840, died August 16, 1841.
• Margaret P. - born January 14, 1841, died July 18, 1861.
• Elihu B. - born December 2, 1844 in Washington County, died December 4, 1932 in Randolph County, Illinois. He served in the Civil War in 1864 as a private in the Union Army, with Company K, 142nd Infantry Regiment Illinois. Never married.
• George C. - born December 14, 1847, died July 28, 1852.

Mary Lyons McGuire died September 20, 1893 and Henry L. McGuire died December 30, 1874, both in Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois. They are buried at Hill Prairie Cemetery.

Esther Hemphill

Esther Hemphill was born about 1795 in Ireland to Hugh Hemphill and Sara Lyons. Esther married William Semple in Ireland sometime before 1816. William was born about 1793 in Ireland. They immigrated to the U.S. from Liverpool, England aboard the ship Ivanhoe, and arrived at the port of New York on May 13, 1850.

Esther and William had 7 known children:

• James - born May 5, 1816 in Ireland, died July 24, 1902 in Van Buren, Indiana. He married Louisa about 1847.
• William J. - born March 1823 in Ireland, died July 2, 1904 in Monroe County, Indiana. He married Sarah Hemphill about 1869.
• Hugh - born about 1828 in Ireland, died between 1881 and 1900 in Indiana. He married Margaret Jenkins sometime before 1870.
• Sarah - born about 1829 in Ireland.
• Samuel - born March 1829 in Ireland, died between 1900 and 1910 in Indiana. He first married Ann about 1858 who died before 1870. He married second Sarah about 1872.
• Esther - born about 1832 in Ireland.
• David - born about 1834 in Ireland, died May 16, 1866 according to family sources.

Included on the passenger list with William and Esther are: Sarah age 25, Samuel age 23, and Mary Anne age 19. None of the U.S. censuses show a Mary Anne with the family, however, Esther listed above is about the same age. Perhaps they are one and the same with the name being written incorrectly. Or they had an 8th child (Mary Anne) and Esther and David immigrated later with another relative. James, William and Hugh Semple all immigrated to the U.S. separately from their parents.

Esther Hemphill Semple died on September 16, 1969 and William Semple died February 11, 1871 - both probably in Indiana.