In a family history by William's daughter, Clara, she describedWillia m from the eyes of a woman who must have been "smitten" withhim: "she w ent to the dance and he was one of the musicians. He wasplaying the f iddle. He had beautiful, soft, red hair at that timeand that night he w ore a dark blue velvet coat. He had blue eyes.She thought he was the m ost beautiful boy she had ever seen."
Another relative described him: "As a man, William Purvis waspeculiar i n many respects, persistently abstaining from alcoholicdrinks and toba cco, which habits were very common in those days."
He became a county judge and claimed Abraham Lincoln among hispersonal f riends. He was considered quite wealthy by the standardsof the day, b ut his brother, George, was much richer.
Between his wives, he had 18 children, the second family, whichinclude d Clara, barely knew the first and only became acquaintedafter reachin g adulthood.
Residences & events in his life:
Hardin Co, KY, near Elizabethtown. Clara, said "he had no opportunitya t all to get an education. He was nineteen years old when hemarried a nd the girl he married taught him to read and write. Shemust have tau ght him well because later in life he became rather animportant man in h is community. She also got him to join the churchand stop an
occasional spree. I don't know that he ever went on a spree, but I dok now that he said he never tased liquor after he joined the church."
1826 He arrived in IL according to the listing of "Kentuckians inIL."
1827 Sangamon Co, IL, near Springfield, where he rented some land andm arried. He built a large cabin, one large room on the ground withanot her above that. (Years later the family would return for a groupphoto i n front of this cabin.) Clara erroneously thought the familyhad arriv ed in IL that same year, stating further that Williamcounted Abraham L incoln among his good friends, "both about the sameage and they were m en of much the same turn of mind. Both of themwere intensely patrioti c and sensibly religious." They called eachother "Abe" and "Bill."
1831 Shelby Co, IL. One history listed him among the early settlerso f the county, recording his arrival as this date. However, adescendan t said they settled there in 1835 which seems to besupported by anothe r county history.
1835 Sangamon Co, IL. William and John Ooley were named in the fileo f the estate of a Bartlet Haley who died intestate on 5/2/1835.
1835 E Nelson Twp, Shelby Co, IL. The county history says he settledi n this township on this date, however, land records recorded hisfirst p urchase of real estate much later.
5/10/1836 He was living in Shelby Co when he purchased 2 tracts of 80a cres each for $1.25/acre from a federal land sale. The property waslo cated in Moultrie Co at S8 13N.
8/10/1838 Shelby Co. He bought 2 pieces of property in the county ofh is residence, one plot by deed, another by patent. Brothers, Tom,John , and George, also bought land on the same date.
Moultrie Co, IL. Clara remembered the family home east of Sullivan:
"This home, at the time it was built, was something to be proud of. Myf ather and his sons built it with their own hands. The bricks weremade a nd burnt in their kiln. Much of the lumber was sawed fromtrees on the ir farm. The house was not what we would call a pleasantarrangement t oday but was built after a pattern much in vogue in histime. It was a l arge appearing house from the outside, yet in themain body of it there w ere only three rooms. The two rooms builtparallel to the road had a w ide hall, a hall eight feet wide betweenthem. This was the fashion of m ost of the old houses built in anearly day in Illinois, the better cla ss of houses. These two frontrooms were each eighteen feet square. O ne was furnished as theparlor, but it had a bed, a really very beautif ul bed as I canremember--polished black wood of some kind and with wha t is calledthe spool wood forms in the head.....the best furniture at t hat timewas horsehair. Ours was of black horsehair....and the wood of i tmatched the wood of the bed. The chairs were cane bottom and had bars across the back and on this roses were painted.....At the east sideo f the room, and, by the way, the house faced north--was the parlorfire place and this was a very fine affair in its day. The mantel wasof wh ite marble and the pillars that went up at the side were ofwhite marbl e. The hearth, as I remember, was also of marble. I won'tbe sure of t hat, but I do know that the hearth to the fireplace inthe living room w as made of brick and I used to think it looked socoarse compared with t he hearth of the better room.
Mother always kept fine, white muslin curtains that were pleatedc rosswise hanging at these high windows and I remember how thebreeze, t he wind, used to come in and flutter those white curtainsover the brig ht red carpet, a heavy three-ply ingrain carpet, veryfine. The carpet w as one mother was very proud of.....In thenorthwest corner of the room s tood a thing that very few people haveever seen--a melodion, and reall y the only one that I ever saw. Itwas shaped like, I guess you would c all it, the grand piano,table-shaped, but it resembled a toy piano, bu t sounded like anorgan. The notes were not the ringing bell piano not es......Thehouse was built in an L-shape with a great porch but not co vered.The great porch filled out the L. On this porch later on a bedr oomhad been built for hired hands and tramps. My father always kept everybody that came by and asked to stay overnight so it was convenientt o have some place like that to store them away." Clara later saidit w as the second best house in the neighborhood without naming thefirst.
The grounds were sprinkled with all kinds of flowers and shrubs, manyo f which William transplanted from his excursions. William learnedthe a rt of grafting fruit trees and had one tree which bore 5different kind s of apples, producing various varieties from early
spring until fall.
1849 Moultrie Co, near Lovingington. He was a member of the firstboa rd of trustess for the Methodist Church built there.
1850 Moultrie Co, IL. William had property = $960 recorded in thecen sus but no occupation. There were 10 children at home at thattime.
1856 The school district was formed and the first school built withWi lliam , Major McPheeters and William Kercheval as the first boardof di rectors. William also directed the work on the building.
5/1858 He was appointed guardian of a Richard Purvis, who may havebee n a nephew.
7/30/1860 T13N R6E, PO Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. Wm was listed inth e census as a wealthy bricklayer with property totaling $6400/1500.Wif e Eliza M was 45, the children were Elizabeth, 23, asst; Wesley,17, fa rm worker; twins Alvira and Charlotte, 15; as well a Benjamin FDavid, 1 0, and Martha A David, 9. Who were they? Two doors down wasniece Nan cy and Joseph Kercheval.
William was also county judge about this time, his name appearing onse veral court and county documents. Also to his credit, he was oneof th e founders of the Methodist Church of Sullivan.
10/26/1861 William bought 2 pieces of railroad land located at S20T14 N, each containing 80 acres, for $8.00/acre.
His last meeting with Abe Lincoln before he went to Washington,accordi ng to family tradition, occurred by chance as both were ridingon a tra il through the woods one day. William later took his sonsthere and sa id, "Boys, now always remember that you have seen the logwhere Abraham L incoln sat and visited with your father."
Being a musician, he taught his children to play and sing, two of thes ons choosing the violin along with him. Eventually William and hischi ldren performed for special occasions in addition to touring thearea t o raise money for the North during the Civil War. The groupwas perfor ming the night they received the news of Lincoln's deathand wore crepe b ows on their arms while on stage. A granddaughtersaid William was "te rribly stricken with grief.....saying, 'Thecountry will go to the dogs n ow. Nothing can save the country now.'"
From the McPheeters' family letters:
9/6/1863 "Squire Purvis & John Hamson had a big jaw lately. Johnknow s more precisely what the Squire thinks of his loyalty, for hetold him i n full. The old man and Mrs. Kerchevill have quitquarelling. The old H amson lady gave him such a dose lately that he
will not trouble her again. Henry Purvis was riding by Travilion's af ew days since. The old man was on the side of the road. Henryshouted f or Vollandingham. The old man replied that Vollandinghamwas a tory an s so were all his friends. Very well done."
7/23/1865 "I must tell you how I spent the 4th....Mrs. Loustenperform ed on the melodian and of course Purvis choir sung."
Clara described William's violin:
"my father picked (it) up somewhere at an auction in Illinois in theea rly days. It was a Stradivarius made at Cemona, Italy and I thinkmust h ave been on record because in later years the authorities sentfor it a sking to display it at one of the World Fairs. My brother
(Wesley), who had it at that time, however, would not let it go. Hewa s afraid he would not get the same violin back." "Its history wason a p archment in the case." Unfortunately the violin was neglectedand has l ong since disappeared.
7/11/1870 Town of E Nelson, Moultrie Co, IL. For reasons unknown,Wil liam's family was listed in the census under son James W, 26,(actually J ohn W as William had no son named James. John was stillsingle at that t ime). William, 62, had amassed more propertyamounting to $8000/1500 a nd was still farming, as was John. Williamhad lost his first wife and r emarried by that time to Ellen J, 30.Still at home were Charlotte, 24, a nd Mary C, 19, and new son Jasper,1. Also in that family were 2 adopt ed children George Reams, 14, andAmanda Webb, 14.
1875 E Nelson Twp. He was listed in the atlas among the 1021township r esidents as a land owner along with brother, George, andsons, Ephraim a nd Enoch. Son, John, had moved west and so was notlisted.
6/2/1880 Same place. At age 71 William was still farming when thecen sus taker came around. Wife Ellen was 41 and William had a wholesecon d family: Jasper, 11, William 9, Lucy, 7, Clara Bell, 6, andtwins Fra nklin and Florence, 11 months. Oliver Perry, 19, farmlaborer was coun ted there as well. Next door was son Enoch whilebrother George was 3 d oors in the opposite direction.
It was said by his children that William was rather strict with hisfir st family but extremely fond of the children of his old age, wasvery i ndulgent and kind to them, boasting that he never whipped anyof his ch ildren. However, all the children loved and respected himgreatly.
1881 The history of the county said he was still living at the samepl ace where he had settled 50 years prior. It stated further that"he ha s raised a large family of children, and has held many officesof trust , and was always an active and enterprising citizen of the
county."
8/1900 His descendants had a reunion with the following report in then ewspaper:
"At an early hour last Saturday August 1900, carriages laden withp eople and provisions were driving toward the old Purvis homesteadand c emetery for a day together (a family reunion). Dr. Kellarcalled the m eeting to order and proceeded to organize by electingHudson Martin of B ement chairman and Mrs. Maggie Goodrich of Goodlyn,Kans.
secretary. Miss Mary Powell was selected organist, after which songsa nd short speeches by old friends were rendered. Dr. Kellar read abrie f history of the family of William and Eliza Purvis.
The following is a brief history of the family of William andEliz a Purvis.
'About 1835 William Purvis and his wife, Eliza Purvis, settled inM oultrie county and entered a quarter section of land including thiscem etery at our left. Eleven children were born to them, four arehere to day.
Many of the old time pioneers can remember the trial andhardships t hrough which the first settlers passed. When they wishedto purchase g roceries, they went to St. Louis, that being the nearesttown of any si ze where they could get supplies. After working in thetimber all day W illiam Purvis would sit up until ten and eleveno'clock making baskets f rom native timber, and his wife Eliza wouldbe up knitting stockings an d mittens from wool they sheared fromsheep and carded and spun in yarn .
When a wagon load of baskets were finished they were taken to St.L ouis and proceeds were used to buy sugar, coffee, and othernecessaries n ot produced on the farm.
Mr. Purvis made sorgum molasses and sugar and all kinds of farmwo rk.
Eliza Purvis the wife and mother died Dec. 4 1866. In 1868Willia m Purvis married Mrs. E.J. Tanner, six children were born tothem, Jas per, William, Lucy, Clara, Frank and Florence. In Jan.1881 William Pu rvis passed away and was buried by his wife in thislittle Purvis Cemet ary by the old home place.'"
William's widow sold the property to a family named Daugherty, thename b y which the cemetery on the grounds became known.
The rest of his siblings were born in Fleming Co, KY, and while hisdes cendants recorded his birthplace as posted, it is unlikely hisparents w ent to Hardin Co, then back to Fleming.
Daughter, Clara, said his final illness was "brought on by exposurewhe n he went to the woods to work with the them (hired men) to cutdown tr ees for their winter wood. He had taken his lunch--it wasrather a war m day--and after working until he was perspiring and
overheated, he sat down under a tree to eat his lunch and becamechille d, so that he came home not feeling very well. He was still inthat st ate of semi-illness when he received word that (son)Wesley.....had mov ed several miles west of Sullivan......So he wentover to see him, rode o ver on horseback through bad weather when hewas not well anyway. He c ame home and went right to bed and after anillness of about a week of p neumonia he died."
He died without a will but the first family agreed that Ellen and herc hildren could continue to live on the farm until the youngest childrea ched 21. Their father had already given a piece of land to eachof the f irst family, with the exception of the youngest. He intendedhis last 2 20 acres to be split among the rest of the children.
However, it seems Wesley got greedy and sued to divide the landimmedia tely and won. After dividing the property among 15 childrenand sellin g everything else, there was only $80 left for Ellen. Thewhole family f elt cheated after receiving such small parcels,especially since the pr ice of land was only about $35/acre. Thedispute between the two famil ies resulted in Ellen selling herchildren's land and moving to McCook, N E, in 1885.
The Daughtery Cem is located on the original farm of William Purvisne ar Sullivan, IL and is named for the next owners, the ones whopurchase d it from Ellen when she went west.
Engraved on William's side of the gravestone he shares with Eliza isen graved:
"Mark the perfect oath and behold the upright, for the end ofthat m an is peace."
Some said the third wife intended to be buried with him also but thenm oved out of state, never to return.
