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- [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.
- [S629] The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record - v. 53, 1922, (New York, New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1922.), US41760.5., 53: 9. (Reliability: 3), 7 Aug 2009.
- [S1513] Portrait and Biographical Album, DeKalb County, Illinois, Chapman Brothers, (Chicago, Illinois: Chapman Brothers, 1885.), 241. (Reliability: 3), 31 Dec 2016.
Chauncey Ellwood, Mayor of Sycamore (1885). The portrait of this gentleman, which appears on the opposite page, is a most fitting accompaniment to the PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM OF DE KALB COUNTY, from the relations he sustains to its citizens and from the fact that he has been a resident within its borders for more than a quarter of a century. He has been a landholder at Sycamore since 1837, when he entered a claim to 80 acres of Government land, receiving his patent for the same dated the 10th day of July, 1844, and signed by the President, John Tyler. His residence is located on a portion of this land now included within the incorporated limits of Sycamore. The comparative condition of the now beautiful city with those primitive days may be estimated from the fact that, when Mr. Ellwood removed hither in 1858, a broad field of wheat fronted on what is now one of the main thoroughfares of Sycamore.
Mr. Ellwood was born Dec. 24, 1816, in Minden, Montgomery Co., N. Y., and is the son of Abraham and Sarah (Delong) Ellwood. The former was born Nov. 7, 1792, in Montgomery County, and was a farmer in the early years of his life ; a respected citizen, having filled various town offices in the town where he resided in New York State ; an active business man, having constructed several sections upon the New York Central Railroad and also upon the enlargement of the Erie Canal, and in the latter years of his life carried on the cooperage business. He died at Sycamore, whither he and wife removed in 1856, his demise occurring August 24, 1872. The mother died at Sycamore Jan. 18, She was born in Montgomery Co., N. Y., Feb. 23, 1795. Both parents belonged to hardy races, tenacious of life and of robust physical development, all of which characteristics are perpetuated in the present generation. The mediate ancestral stock had its origin in the sturdy, stalwart inhabitants that settled the valley of the Mohawk in the State of New
York. Of eleven children born to Abraham Ellwood and his wife ten survive. Nancy, the oldest child,
was married in Montgomery County, her native State, to Livingston D. Walrod, and removed to Sycamore
after the birth of her first child, Joseph, in the fall of 1836. Her second son, James W. Walrod, now deceased, was the first white boy born at Sycamore in 1838. Malinda is the widow of Joseph Sixbury,
and resides at the home of Mr. Ellwood, of this sketch, who is her immediate successor in the order
of birth. A sketch of herself and husband will appear upon another page in this volume. Eliza married
Aaron Barringer, and, after his death, became the wife of O. Bowman. She is now a widow and a
resident of Cherry Valley, Otsego County, N. Y. Chauncey, Reuben, Alonzo, Livingston, Hiram, James E. and Isaac L. were born in the order named. Chauncey, Reuben, Alonzo, James E., all reside at Sycamore, and are represented in this work. Livingston is a physician in Schenectady, N. Y. Hiram and Isaac L., both prominent business men at the city of De Kalb, are the subjects of biographical sketches in the ALBUM of this county. Alida, youngest child, married E. P. Young (deceased), the record of whose life may be found on another page.
- [S1522] The True Republican, Illinois. Sycamore., "Death of Member Pioneer Family," February 19, 1930, p. 4, col. 3,4; digital images, \i Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections\i0 (Reliability: 3), 7 Jan 2017.
DEATH OF MEMBER PIONEER FAMILY
Fred Sixbury, son of Channcey Sixbury, Civil War Veteran, and Grandson of Joseph Sixbury, One of Our First Settlers, died in Iowa. Fred Sixbury, who was born in Sycamore in 1877, the fifth of a family of ten children, was not well known here, as he left when he was five years of age, but his family, who were prominently identified with the history of this county in its formative period were prominent here for two generations. The death of Fred Sixbury, which occurred at his home at Story, Boone county, Iowa, on Jan. 24 last, recalls some of the early history of this community. Fred Sixbury died at his home at Elma, Iowa , on Jan. 24 last, survived by three children: Dr. Carl Sixbury of Lamoni, Iowa; Harold Sixbury of Davenport, Iowa, and Miss Carmalette Sixbury of Elma, Iowa. He is also survived by four sisters and three brothers. His father, Chauncey Sixbury, a large, robust hearty man, a veteran of the Civil war, for many years conducted a farm northeast of Sycamore in the Charter Grove neighborhood, and everybody hereabout was acquainted with him. He moved with his large family to Boone county, Iowa, in 1882, and here remained until his death. Chauncey Sixbury's father, the grandfather of Fred Sixbury, was Joseph Sixbury, a native of Amsterdam, N.Y., who married Malinda Ellwood, whose six brothers were prominent in the earily history of this county and for many years later. Mr and Mrs. Joseph Sixbury resided for many years with Mrs. Sixbury's brother Chauncey Ellwood, for some time mayor and widely known, for whom her son was named. They occupied the Ellwood homestead on the south limits of Sycamore now owned by Mrs. J. B. Nesbitt, to which was attached considerable land which is now subdivided, one of the streets being named Chauncey street.
Joseph Sixbury and his wife; Malinda Ellwood-Sixbury came to Dekalb county in 1837, the third year of the settlement of the county, when it was a wilderness. Although bands of Indians had been driven out some three years before, there remained many scattered families who made their temporary hemes in the various groves, who were among the many disagreeable features with which settlers were obliged to contend. From the surrounding groves the Indians made incursions into the settlements to beg food and other favors. In relating some of the habits of the aborigines Mrs. Joseph Sixbury said that they would appear at the cabin doors of settlers and cast their blankets inside. If the occupants 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 visitors accepted the act as a refusal to allow them to tarry, and picking up their blankets they passed on. Soon after the arrival here of the Sixburys the Indians were all removed by the government to the vicinity of Council Bluffs. Uncle Joe Sixbury and his wife were devout Methodists '97 of the kind that was called shouting Methodists, and no one could be mistaken as to what were their religious convictions. Joseph Sixbury was a steward and class-leader in church, was assessor of the township for many years and was elected county treasurer for two successive terms. His grandson, Fred Sixbury, who died a few days ago, is survived by children and grandchildren, the latter of the fourth generation of Sixburys descendants of Joseph Sixbury who came here from Montgomery county, N.Y.
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The True Republican, obituary of Fred Sixbury
The True Republican, obituary of Fred Sixbury
Source: http://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=STR19300219.2.43&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-STR-1--txt-txIN-sixbury------- |
- [S318] Dan Sixbury, Dan Sixbury (Reliability: 3), 9 Feb 2005.
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