| Sources |
- [S1513] Portrait and Biographical Album, DeKalb County, Illinois, Chapman Brothers, (Chicago, Illinois: Chapman Brothers, 1885.), 301, 302. (Reliability: 3), 31 Dec 2016.
Joseph Sixbury, deceased, farmer, was a native of Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., N.Y., born Nov. 17, 1810. Malinda (Ellwood) Sixbury, his widow, is a native of Minden, Montgomery Co., N.Y., born March 2, 1815. Joseph Sixbury and Malinda Ellwood were united in marriage in their native county Jan. 15, 1834, and in July, 1837, removed to Sycamore, De Kalb Co., Ill., where they continued to reside. The fruits of their union were two children, Chauncey E. and Mary Eliza. The former was born in Sycamore, May 30, 1838; the latter, May 28, 1845. Chauncey E. Sixbury was married to Jennie Ainley, also of Sycamore, April n, 1866, and now resides in Boone Co., Iowa. Mary E. Sixbury was united in marriage to James H. Schuyler, a resident of Sycamore, May 9, 1866, and settled in Nunica, Mich. Two children were born to them, and are
named Colfax Schuyler and James C. Schuyler. Colfax was born in Nunica, Mich., Feb. 23, 1868. James
C. was born in the same town, March i, 1874. Mary E. Schuyler died in Nunica, Feb. 17, 1876. Her remains
were brought to Sycamore and repose in Elmwood Cemetery. The two children thus early left motherless have since continued under the watchful and affectionate oversight and care of their grandmother, Malinda (Ellwood) Sixbury. Joseph Sixbury departed this life Dec. 28, 1879. It has already been remarked that Joseph Sixbury and his wife came to De Kalb County as early as July, 1837, the pioneer days of this section. Those who removed here from the midst of the older civilization of the East, were obliged to encounter more or less in the way of deprivation so far as the comforts of life were concerned, both socially and otherwise; and Mr. and Mrs. Sixbury were called upon to bear their share of the privations and trials of pioneer life. Outside of the discomforts tha" naturally and inevitably beset the white people, were the disagreeable, not to say dangerous, proclivities of the Indians, who at that period occupied in part this particular section. The surrounding groves were their rendezvous, from which they made frequent incursions into the settlements to beg for food and other favors. Although not particularly hostile, they sometimes were troublesome. In relating to the writer some of the ways of the aborigines, Mrs. Sixbury said sometimes they would appear at the cabin door of the settlers and cast their blankets inside. If the occupants of the cabin allowed the blankets to remain, the Indians considered it an invitation to come in and take their repose, but if the blankets were taken up and placed outside, the Indians accepted the act as a refusal to allow them to tarry, and, picking them up, passed along. Soon after the period indicated, the Indians were removed by the Government to Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Joseph Sixbury, besides taking an active part in helping to improve the Western wilderness, to which he had removed previous to the Government land sale, was public-spirited as well, and was one of the
few men who assisted in the location of the county seat of De Kalb County at Sycamore. His land
patent covered a portion of the site of what is now the beautiful and thriving city of Sycamore. Himself
and wife were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the upbuilding of which in
those primitive days they both bore an important part. Each abounded in works of benevolence and
chanty. Those were the days in which the grand and rugged eloquence of Father Cartwright and other
able and eloquent pioneer Methodist preachers were heard in the cabins of the settlers and in the groves
and forests. It almost seems strange, but those early comers often speak of the days of old, and associate
with them some of the pleasantest and most enjoyable episodes of their lives. Their necessary dependence
one upon another made closer and stronger the bond of friendship and sympathy between them, and though few in numbers and deprived of much that happily surrounds them in these later days, they yet were happy and contented. All honor to the courageous and hardy pioneer of the West. Mr. Sixbury was a Steward and Class-leader in his Church up to the time of his death. He also occupied positions of responsibility and trust in the civil affairs of the town and county, having been chosen assessor of his town many years, and was also elected to the important office of County Treasurer two successive terms.
- [S318] Dan Sixbury, Dan Sixbury (Reliability: 3), 9 Feb 2005.
- [S862] Find A Grave online database, ((http://www.findagrave.com : 2012)), accessed Jan 7, 2017), Entry for Chauncey Elwood Sixbury; Find A Grave Memorial# 15859143; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15859143. (Reliability: 3), 7 Jan 2017.
Chauncey Elwood Sixbury
Birth:
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