Thomas Franklin Lucas

Thomas Franklin Lucas was born in what is now Logan County on April 14, 1831. He married Mary Jane Buckles, a daughter of Robert and Mary "Polly" Birks Buckles [and my 4g grandparents], about 1852/53 [records lost in courthouse fire]. Thomas was the son of John T. and Sarah Bowman Lucas [both siblings of my 4g grandparents James and Hannah Bowman Lucas].

Thomas Franklin Lucas died on February 19, 1855, and was buried at Steenbergen. His widow married as his second wife Abner Copeland, a son of William and Sarah Lucas Copeland, and moved to Iowa and then Missouri.

When I asked for probate papers on Thomas Lucas, son of James and Hannah Bowman Lucas, I guess it is not a stretch that I was sent the probate file - or rather a portion of it - for this Thomas Lucas.

Robert and Polly Birks Buckles

These are the stones Robert and Mary "Polly" Birks Buckles at Steenbergen Cemetery, my great great great great grandparents. They are the parents of John Andrew Buckles of the Buckles angel. Robert Buckles served in the Winnebago Indian War shortly after arriving in Logan County, Illinois

The Buckles Angel

This angel marks the Buckles enclave at Steenbergen Cemetery, Mt. Pulaski Township, Logan County, Illinois. Note the "wall" in the background which surrounds this group of stones.

This stone is for John Andrew and Esther Jane Scroggin Buckles, my great great great grandparents. Despite the 1877 date on the stone Esther died December 16, 1904, and John died July 6, 1909.

Vanishing DAR Markers

Humphrey Scroggin was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Note the DAR markers on his grave in Steenbergen Cemetery, Mt. Pulaski Township, Logan County, Illinois. He also has a flat military plaque. The stone was saved and repaired through the intervention of Dalen and the late Sandra Shellhammer, genealogists who oversaw the cemetery operations for years.



Literally just a few feet away is the stone for Revolutionary War veteran Abraham Lucas. The above picture was taken in 2001. Note the edge of the DAR marker. This Memorial Day that marker was no longer there. There is no military marker. You would not know Lucas was the forefather of many DAR members.