I descend from Thomas Evans and Margaret Jane Kilborn’s daughter Donna Lovilla Evans and am researching Donna’s siblings in the hope of learning more about my ancestors.
Today’s blog is about Thomas and Margaret Jane’s daughter Margaret Elizabeth (also known as Maggie or Madge), my great grandaunt who was born September 17, 1859 in Owego, New York. She lived with her parents in Owego until around 1870 when she was 11 and her family moved to the Chicago area – most likely DuPage County. Shortly after that move, Stella’s mother died. Margaret attended the Lombard and Elmhurst seminaries and at the age of 20 was living with her father and younger sister in Lombard next door to her older sister Stella who was married with a nine month old daughter.
On April 9, 1881, Margaret (Madge) married Wilbur Knowles Patrick, the son of William Kirk and Mary Lovina (Knowles) Patrick of Bloomingdale, New York. The young couple moved to Bloomingdale where Wilbur lived near his father’s farm, then purchased additional land on Swift Road where they built a new own home. His focus was on dairy farming. Because their daughter Mary Grace Patrick who was born in 1884 wrote a short story about her life titled “My Days On the Farm Near Glen Ellyn” which was shared with me by one of her descendents, we know a lot about Madge’s life. She was petite – about 98 pounds and learned about farming after her marriage. Grace’s book stated that after Madge’s mother died, her father remarried and her stepmother died shortly thereafter. (we are not sure who this wife was but a Delia Evans who died in 1876 is buried near Thomas Evans.)
Grace reminded readers that in 1900 houses had no electricity or water and heated the home with multiple fire places but the house was extremely cold in the winter until those fires got going. Her mother not only helped on the farm but also prepared meals for eight to ten boarders who stayed at their home — construction engineers who were building and working on the railroad that ran near the house, a school teacher, and two or three hired men who helped out on the farm. Grace also talked about how the milk first went to Lombard to be shipped to Chicago and then when the milk train went from her street to Chicago how she would take the milk train to Chicago in the morning to wh shop for items that her mother had put on a list. And if they stayed in Chicago too late, the could catch a different train to Lombard and someone would pick them up via buggy and bring them home. Grace also mentioned how her grandfather Thomas Evans bought her a one horse sleigh one year and how she often played with her mother’s sister and brother’s children in Chicago or when these cousins came to visit her on the farm near Glen Ellyn.
The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois includes a short description of Margaret’s husband’s life and a bit about Margaret so we also know that the family were members of the Congregational Church in Bloomingdale and that Margaret attended the Lombard and Elmhurst seminaries – we’re trying to research more about these schools. We are fortunate to have access to these two sources as it is rare to get such an insight into the lives of those who lived in the mid 1880s to early 1900s.
Madge’s father Thomas came to live with them before 1911 and died in her home on March 19, 1911. She lost her husband Wilbur seven years later on April 25, 1918 – he was found dead in bed that morning. He had been an active member of the Woodsmen who attended his funeral on April 25th along with many other friends. She then moved into her daughter Grace’s house by 1920 and then moved into her daughter Stella’s home by 1930.
We thought it appropriate to also share this photograph of Madge with many of her children and grandchildren which was taken about 1930. From the stories shared by her daughter Mary Grace, Madge embraced her hard working life on the farm of her new husband but also stayed connected to her siblings, their children and to her extended family of children, grandchildren, and also to her neighbors.
Madge lived seventeen years after her husband’s death and had many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She died at the age of 75 in Hampshire. She was buried in the Wheaton Cemetery. A copy of her gravestone from FindAGrave is shown here with permission of Ruth, the photographer.
CHILDREN:
Stella D Patrick (1882-1969) – married Irving D Lutz
Kirk Patrick (about 1883-1883) – lived about six months
Mary Grace Patrick (1884-1972) – married George Bell Walker
Harry Evans Patrick (1889-1941) – married Alice Crisler
I share DNA with two descendent of Margaret – 144 cM, and 55 cM. If you are a descendent of Madge or her siblings and are willing to have a DNA test, please reach out with the results as it may help the descendents of Thomas Evans learn more about their heritage.
Research Questions: Is there a published obituary for Margaret? We haven’t found one yet. Are there any records from the schools that Madge attended? Is there any more information available about her father’s second wife?
All posts on this website are a work in progress. We’d love to hear of any corrections or additions to the information shared. Also we’d love it if you’d like the post as that helps share this post with others.
SOURCES:
1860 United States Federal Census, Tioga County, New York, population schedule, Oswego, page 190, dwelling 1671, Thomas Evans; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 January 2014).
1880 United States Federal Census, DuPage County, Illinois, population schedule, Township of York, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 250, Page No 16 (D), dwelling 138, family 138, Thomas Evans; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 December 2013).
1900 United States Federal Census, DuPage County, Illinois, population schedule, Bloomingdale, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 27, Sheet No 9 A, Page 94 (stamped), dwelling 163, family 167, Patrick W. K.; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 18 June 2014).
1910 United States Federal Census, DuPage County, Illinois, population schedule, Blooingdale, enumeration district (ED) Enumeration District No 2, Sheet No 17A, dwelling 246, family 249, William K Patrick; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2014).
1920 United States Federal Census, DuPage County, Illinois, population schedule, Bloomingdale Township, enumeration district (ED) 3, Sheet No 14A, dwelling 273, family 276, George Walker; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 23 May 2017).
1930 United States Federal Census, Kane County, Ilinois, population schedule, Hampshire, enumeration district (ED) 45-84, Sheet No 1A, dwelling 2, family 2, Irving Lutz; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2017).
Bateman Newman and Paul Selby, Editors, Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and a History of Du Page County Volume II (Chicago: Munsell Publishing Company, 1913), page 976; digital images, HathiTrust (https://babel.hathitrust.org : accessed 20 December 2023.
“BLOOMINGDALE,” Arlington Heights Cook County Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois), 3 May 1918; digital images, Newspaper Archive (https://access.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 6 June 2017).
DuPage County, Illinois marriages, 1839-1906 (n.d.), Page 94; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/139395-dupage-county-illinois-marriages-1839-1906 : accessed 1 December 2019.
Find a Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 May 2017), Jane N Evans, Find A Grave Memorial# 23629923.
Find a Grave, Find A Grave, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 May 2017), Madge E. Patrick, Find A Grave Memorial# 72427811.
“Illinois, Civil Marriages, 1833-1889,” database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/Q292-YCWS, accessed 23 May 2017), Wilber K Patrick m Madge E Evans.
“Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947,” index, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 January 2014), Margaret Evans Patrick d. 21 Dec 1935.
Illinois “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947,” index, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQTV-SV2, accessed 23 May 2017), Wilbur Knowles Patrick, d 23 Apr 1918.
Walker (Mary) Grace Patrick, My Days on the Farm Near Glen Ellyn (self published (typed by descendants from her writings): self published (typed by descendants from her writings), June 1990).
Copyright 2023 — Joanne Shackford Parkes — sharing a link to this post which may be updated in the future is appreciated but please do not copy this material and paste it elsewhere.
My Greene and Shackford Family History 