Abraham Hatfield

Abraham Hatfield
Abraham Hatfield was born March 26 1826 in Indiana.

As a child Abraham had red hair.  Marvin Downs Jr. recalls:
I have heard my grandmother (Elizabeth Hatfield Downs) tell about her dad (Abraham) who was a child when they came to Illinois. He apparently was red headed and the Indians liked to ride up and play with him. As you can imagine, his mother was scared to death but apparently they wouldn’t have hurt him for any thing. (From Marvin Downs Jr.) According to Maxine Dodds Shelts, he caused quite a stir among the Indians when they first settled in Bainbridge. The would come to the cabin look him over, picking him up and put beads around his neck. They never tried to harm him, they just couldn’t understand that red hair.
(The Indians in Schuyler at that time were remnants of the Sax, Fox, Kickapoo, Pottawamie and Miami)
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He married Mary Thompson February 1, 1849 in Schuyler County, Illinois.
He died September 24, 1867 in Bainbridge, Schuyler County, Illinois.
SS Illinois, a paddle steamer mail packet running between Panama and NY.

This is the packet steamer “Illinois” that Abe Hatfield and his family returned form the Gold Rush on, via the isthmus of Panama.  More about the Illinois and that trip.

Abe Hatfield returned from the gold rush a moderately wealthy man. He bought Illinois River Bottom land. To view a 1894 map of the holdings (of his estate, since he died in 1867), you can view the PDF here View Map

Here is an image of the 1860 census, showing Abe and his family in Bainbridge Township, Schuyler County, Illinois. Notice that living next door is the family of James and Caroline Dodds. Their son John was to marry Abe and Mary’s daughter Joanne in 1876.  Three doors down, the family of  Samuel and Margaret Dodds.  Abe’s sister Mary Josephine would marry Samuel’s son William in 1870.

Hatfield History