Father: John Hastings, Sr.
Mother: Jane *****
Spouse-1: Jane Knox - b: 1806 - Stribane Par., Co. Tyrone,
Ireland
d: 19/Jan/1855 - La Salle Co., IL - bur:
Restland Cem.
m: 30/Aug/1826 - Harrison Co., OH
Child-1: John - b: 1827 - Harrison Co., OH
d: Sep/1859 - bur: Restland Cem., Mendota, La
Salle Co., IL
2: Samuel
- b: 11/Sep/1829 - Harrison Co., OH
d: 1909 - bur: Restland Cem., Mendota, La Salle
Co., IL
3: Mary
Ann - b: 1830 - Harrison Co., OH
d: ~1903 - Lee Co., IL
4: William
- b: 1831 - Harrison Co., OH
d: 1854 - bur: Restland Cem., Mendota, La Salle
Co., IL
5: Jane
K. (Jennie) - b: 1833 - Harrison Co., OH
d: 1921 - bur: Restland Cem., Mendota, La Salle
Co., IL
6: Thomas
- b: 1834 - Harrison Co., OH - nra: 1860
7: Mariah
- b: 1835/1836 - Harrison Co., OH
d: ~1903 - La Salle Co., IL
m: S. Newton Barton - ~1861
8: Elizabeth
- b: 1837/1838 - Harrison Co., OH - nra: 1850
9: Charles
- b: 1839/1840 - Harrison Co., OH - nra: 1860
10: Harrison H. (Harry)
- b: 27/Nov/1842 - Harrison Co., OH
d: 1926 - bur: Restland Cem., Mendota, La Salle
Co., IL
11: Martha Matilda
- b: 1843 - Harrison Co., OH - nra: 1882
m: Octavius A. Wright - 8/Mar/1876 - La Salle Co., IL
12: James H. - b:
Apr/1846 - Harrison Co., OH
d: ~1935 - King Co., WA
m: Christina Beat - 27/Oct/1886 - La Salle Co., IL
Spouse-2: Elizabeth Pumphrey - b: 3/Jul/1819 - VA
d: 3/Apr/1894 - La Salle Co., IL
- bur: Restland Cem.
m: 24/Aug/1855 - Grundy Co., IL
Child: Elizabeth (Lizzie) - b: Feb/1858 - La Salle Co., IL - nra: 1900
Biographical Details:
John Hastings, Jr., was born August 31, 1804, in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He was the son of John, Sr., and Jane Hastings and was of Protestant, Scotch-Irish, rather than Catholic, native Irish ethnicity. As noted elsewhere, the extended Hastings family immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland about 1820 (1822 in some sources and 1819 in at least one other) and settled in Harrison County, Ohio.1,2,3 At this time, the area was sparsely settled and heavily forested. Naturally, John, Jr., and his brothers would have helped their father clear trees to open a farm. According to published accounts of the family, John Hastings, Jr., attended a seminary in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, prior to his marriage and became qualified as a school teacher. He reportedly taught school for a few years in the early 1820's. John Hastings, Jr., and Jane Knox were married on August 30, 1826, according to civil records of Harrison County. She had also been born in Ireland and was the daughter of Samuel Knox, a wealthy and successful businessman and farmer, who had originally come from Scotland. After their marriage, John, Jr., and his wife settled on a farm given to him by his father. This was probably located in Moorefield Township since the corresponding population schedule of the 1830 US Census for Harrison County listed the household of John Hastings, which consisted of a young adult couple of between twenty and thirty years of age and one female and two male children, all less than five. Clearly, the three children can be identified with some confidence as John, Samuel, and Mary Ann and, thus, in exact agreement with the known family of John, Jr., and Jane Knox Hastings. It is further known that the family remained resident in Moorefield Township throughout the 1830's, 1840's, and early 1850's. Accordingly, census records of 1840 indicated nine children for the household, viz., two males from ten to fifteen years of age, two males and two females, between the ages of five and ten, and two females and a male less than five. Again, this agrees exactly with the family of John and Jane Knox Hastings. Likewise, in the population schedule of the 1850 US Census for Harrison County, all twelve children are listed by name. Within this context, John Hastings, Jr., is known to have started a successful merchantile business in the village of Moorefield, Ohio. Apparently, he became a prominent citizen of this locality and was, subsequently, twice elected to the Ohio State Senate in the mid-1840's. In addition, he served as Justice of the Peace and was a census enumerator for Moorefield Township in 1850. Even so, as many American citizens of the nineteenth century, for some reason John Hastings, Jr., decided to move further west. Clearly, this was not because he was unsuccessful within the community in which he already lived. On the contrary, it is clear that he was prominent and successful. However, he had twelve children, seven of whom were sons, and it is likely that, as with others of the time, it was the promise of cheap land and associated economic opportunity, especially for his children, that motivated him westward. Accordingly, he and members of his immediate family, as well as, perhaps, other relatives and friends made an inspection tour of La Salle County, Illinois, in the fall of 1853. Although exact details differ between accounts of this trip, the party certainly included his son, Samuel. In addition, James Hastings is also mentioned in at least one of the accounts. This could have been John's brother, James; however, he is not so identified. Alternatively, this James Hastings could have been the son of his brother, William, which is the most probable identification. Again, there is disagreement as to how or who it was that decided upon the new town of Mendota as the most desirable location for establishment of a new business. Nevertheless, in June of 1854 members of the Hastings family settled in the town and established the firm J. Hastings & Co., general merchants. The store was built on Washington Street and dealt in dry goods, grain, and lumber. By all accounts, John, Jr., and his two oldest sons, John and Samuel, were active in the enterprise. Apparently, the lumber business was especially lucrative owing to a large demand for building material as the town was being built. Mendota, Illinois, was started as a "railroad town" and was platted in March of 1853. Thus, John, Jr., and his family were, indeed, early settlers of the village. Moreover, as one of the first successful merchants, John Hastings was appointed as a "Trustee of the town of Mendota" on July 9, 1855. Clearly, this is consistent with his previous political experience in Ohio. Jane Knox Hastings died on January 9, 1855, and there is good evidence that her widower husband, John, Jr., remarried a considerably younger widow, Elizabeth Pumphrey, on August 24, 1855. The marriage was recorded in Grundy County, Illinois, which adjoins La Salle County to the east and suggests that they may have eloped. Indeed, considering the mores and customs of the time, it is likely that John's remarriage less than nine months after his wife's death may have met with some disapproval and opprobrium both by his family and the community as a whole. A further indication of this is that in all subsequent published accounts of his life, this second marriage is never mentioned. Nevertheless, census records disclose that the George R. and Elizabeth Pumphrey and their seven children were living in Moorefield Township of Harrison County in 1850. Therefore, it is almost certain that John Hastings, Jr., and Elizabeth Pumphrey would have known each other in Ohio. Presumably, George Pumphrey died between 1850 and 1855. Within this context, one might suggest that it was not John Hastings, Jr., but his eldest son, John, that married Elizabeth Pumphrey. However, there was one daughter born to the marriage and in later census records she invariably gave the birthplace of her father as Ireland. Clearly, this excludes the younger John as a putative husband of Elizabeth Pumphrey, since he is known to have been born in Ohio.4 Unfortunately, John's success in Mendota was only for a short period of time since he died there on September 12, 1857, and was buried in Restland Cemetery. In consideration of these facts, one can only wonder whether or not John Hastings, Jr., ever regretted his move from Ohio. However, there is no known evidence that he did and, moreover, most of his children remained in Mendota and its close vicinity for the remainder of their lives.Source Notes and Citations:
1. U. J. Hoffman, History of La Salle County, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., Chicago, IL, 1906: pg. 976-9. Exerpted from a short biographical sketch of Samuel Hastings:
"The Hon. John Hastings, a son of John Hastings, the emigrant, and the father of Samuel Hastings of this review, was born in Inniskillen, Ireland, and was one of five children. In 1822 he came with his parents to America and for some time pursued his studies in a seminary in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, whereby he was qualified for teaching, which profession he followed for several years. Subsequent to his marriage he settled upon a farm given him by his father, but after a few years engaged in merchandising near Cadiz, Ohio, and in the new enterprise profited. He became not only a man of recognized business ability and success but also a factor in public life there and was honored by election to the state senate, where he served for two terms with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He also filled the office of justice of the peace, rendering decisions which were strictly fair and impartial and which 'won him golden opinions from all sorts of people.' In 1850 he was census enumerator and four years later he came to Illinois, settling in Mendota, where in connection with his son Samuel he engaged in the dry-goods and lumber business until his death, which occurred September 12, 1857, when he was fifty-three years of age. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Jane Knox, was born in Stribane, County Tyrone, Ireland. Her father, Samuel Knox, was born and reared in Scotland and became connected with agricultural pursuits, whereby he won prosperity. That his business reached mammoth proportions is indicated by the fact that he employed thirty servants. From 1817 he was a resident of Harrison county, Ohio, where he died at the age of seventy-six years, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which he was a devout member. He took an active part in church work, serving as an elder for a number of years, and did everything in his power to promote moral progress and development. Mrs. Jane Hastings, with her five brothers and sisters, was reared in the same belief, but in later years she became a Methodist, to which church Mr. Hastings belonged. Her death occurred January 19, 1855, when she was in her fiftieth year ... .
Samuel Hastings, whose name introduces this review, is one of twelve children, seven of whom were sons. The family included the following: Mary Ann, deceased; Jane a resident of Mendota; Maria, deceased, who was the wife of S. Newton Barton, who died during the Civil War; Harry, of Lee county, Illinois; and James, of Seattle, Washington. They were reared upon the paternal homestead in Harrison county, Ohio, and in the town where their father carried on business, and were provided with good educational advantages. John Hastings, the eldest brother of our subject, was associated with him in business in an early day and died in Mendota, in 1858, at the age of thirty-two years.
Samuel Hastings began his education in the common school and afterwards received a thorough business training at the commercial college in Columbus, Ohio. In 1853 he came to Mendota, while upon an inspecting tour, and he has written a story of that initial trip to Illinois in a series of pioneer reminiscences which were published in one of the local papers and which constitute most interesting reading. On the trip he visited Homer, now Troy Grove, Mendota and Kewanee, Illinois, and other points in this section of the state. He made the trip in company with his father and James Hastings and in their search for a location they took into consideration the qualities of soil and the abundance of coal to be secured. Samuel Hastings favored Kewanee, but his father and James Hastings were in favor of Mendota and he gave way to the majority opinion. In June, 1854, he took up his abode in the city which has been his residence and was associated in the dry-goods business with his father until the latter's death."
back to bio.2. Anonymous, Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle County Illinois, The Lewis Pub. Co., Chicago, IL, 1900: pg. 472-3. Exerpted from a short biographical sketch of Samuel Hastings:
"The Hon. John Hastings, a son of John Hastings, the emigrant, and the father of Samuel Hastings of this review, was born in Inniskillen, Ireland, and was one of five children. In 1822 he came to these hospitable shores with his father and for some time pursued his studies in a seminary in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, while later he engaged in teaching for several years. After his marriage he settled upon a farm which his father gave him, and a few years later embarked in the mercantile business near Cadiz, Ohio. After managing that enterprise with ability for a number of years he was nominated and elected to the state senate, where he served his constituents with credit for two terms. For a long period he was justice of the peace, and in 1850 he held the office of census enumerator. In 1854 he came to Illinois and was associated with his son Samuel in the dry goods and lumber business in Mendota until his death, which occurred September 12, 1857, when he was fifty-three years of age. He married Miss Jane Knox, who was born in Stribane, county Tyrone, Ireland, a daughter of Samuel Knox, a wealthy gentleman who was born and reared in Scotland and became connected with agricultural pursuits. That he carried on an extensive business may be inferred from the fact that he employed thirty servants. About 1817 he came to the United States, locating in Harrison county, Ohio, where he died at the age of seventy-six years. He was one of the typical 'old-school' gentlemen, quiet and severe in manner and a strict Presbyterian in religious faith. For a number of years he was an elder in the church and took an active part in its work. Mrs. Jane Hastings, together with her five brothers and sisters, were reared in the same belief, but in her later years she identified herself with the Methodist denomination, to which Mr. Hastings likewise belonged. She preceded her husband to the better land, dying January 9, 1855, when in her fiftieth year.
Samuel Hastings, whose name introduces this review, is one of twelve children, seven of whom were sons. The surviving members of the family are: Mary Ann, a resident of Lee county, Illinois; Jane, of Mendota; Mariah, widow of S. Newton Barton, who died during the Civil War; Harry, of Lee county, Illinois; and James, of Seattle, Washington. They were reared upon the paternal homestead in Harrison county, Ohio, and in the town where their father carried on business, and were provided with good educational advantages. John Hastings, the eldest brother of our subject, was associated with him in business in an early day and died in Mendota, in 1858, at the age of thirty-two years.
After he had completed the common-school course, Samuel Hastings entered the commercial college in Columbus, Ohio, where he obtained a knowledge of business forms and banking. In 1853 he came to Mendota, while upon an inspecting tour seeking a settlement in a desirable location. Pleased with this town, he returned to his native state and the following June, accompanied by other members of his father's household, took up his abode in the city which has since been his palce of residence. He was associated with his father in the dry-goods business until the latter's death ... ."
back to bio.3a. Anonymous, History of La Salle County, Illinois, Inter-State Pub. Co., Chicago, IL, 1886: pg. 707-8. Exerpted from a short biographical sketch of Samuel Hastings:
"Samuel Hastings, druggist, Mendota, was one of the first business men of the place. From 1855 till 1857 he was engaged in the dry-goods business, style of the firm being J. Hastings & Co., ... . Mr. Hastings is a son of John Hastings, who was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, Aug. 31, 1804, and in 1819 accompanied his father's family to the United States and located near Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio. At that time the country was a wilderness, covered with a heavy growth of timber. He assisted his father in opening up a farm. In the latter part of 1827 he married Jane Knox, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, who came with her parents to the United States and settled in Harrison County, Ohio, about 1814. Having a natural love for trade early embarked in the dry-goods business, locating in Morefield, Ohio. In the spring of 1843 he settled on a farm where he lived till 1854. In the fall of 1843 he was elected to the State Senate from his district and re-elected in 1845. In the fall of 1853, accompanied by his son Samuel and John Parrish, he came to La Salle County, Ill., and immediately made arrangements for building a store in Mendota, buying a lot on Washington Street opposite the First National Bank, now owned by Abel Hoffman and Willett Pierce. he then returned to Ohio and the following spring moved his family to the new home, and the same spring the firm of J. Hastings & Co., general merchants, was established. They also dealt in grain and lumber, doing a large business in the latter, as building material in the new town was in great demand. Mr. Hastings also improved three large farms which are now very valuable. He was one of the most prominent and energetic business men of the early days of Mendota, but his career in La Salle County was short-lived, his death occurring Sept. 12, 1857. His family consisted of twelve children--John, Samuel, William, Thomas, Harrison, Charles, James, Mary Ann, Jane, Maria, Elizabeth and Martha. The deceased are--John, William, Thomas, Charles and Elizabeth."b. ibid., pg. 661-2. "John Hastings was one of the first successful merchants."
It is clear that the published La Salle County histories of 1906 and 1900 are derived from a common source since they include essentially identical details. One important difference between them is that the sisters, Mary Ann and Mariah, were clearly living in 1900, but had died by 1906. Therefore, their deaths can be assumed to have occurred in the interim. The earlier 1886 history includes somewhat different details, which are generally consistent with the later histories. The major exception to this is the discrepancy in the years given for the arrival of the Hastings family in the United States, i.e., 1822 in the later histories and 1819 in the earlier history. This cannot be resolved with present evidence; however, it is of interest to note that the arrival of the Knox family is stated to have been about 1817 in the 1906 and 1900 histories and about 1814 in the 1886 history. This suggests that the published articles were based on two oral accounts, both of which affirmed that the Knox family arrived a few years before the Hastings family and estimated the year of their arrival accordingly.
Of the twelve children of John, Jr., and Jane Knox Hastings, five had died, apparently without offspring, by 1886, viz., John, William, Thomas, Charles, and Elizabeth. There is some indication that Thomas may have died in the Civil War; however, if this had been the case, then it seems unlikely that such a fact would have been omitted from all of the subsequent published histories of the family. Therefore, unless independently verified, his Civil War service must be considered as spurious. Mariah married S. Newton Barton, who died in the Civil War. They had two known children, Samuel and Nellie Barton, born about 1863 and 1865, respectively, and who according to census records and published histories subsequently lived with their unmarried aunts and uncles in the town of Mendota. James married Christina Beat in 1886, after which they apparently left Illinois and moved to Washington. They were listed in the 1900 Snohomish County population schedule along with a young son, also named James H., born in Illinois in July of 1888.
Six of the remaining seven children of John and Jane Knox Hastings apparently survived until 1900, viz., Samuel, Mary Ann, Jane, Mariah, Harrison, and James. Martha Matilda Hastings had married Octavius A. Wright on March 8, 1876. They had two sons, Harrison Hastings and Roy Knox Wright, born in January of 1881 and September of 1882, respectively. However, both parents must have died relatively soon after this because both sons subsequently lived with their unmarried uncle and aunt, Samuel and Jane Hastings.
Published histories clearly indicate that Samuel Hastings was a prominent merchant in the town of Mendota, Illinois, during the last half of the nineteenth century. Even so, he was among the nine children of John, Jr., and Jane Hastings that apparently never married. Within the context of social conditions of the nineteenth century, such reticence with respect to matrimony seems quite unusual. The motivation for this is unknown, but one could speculate that he (and they) held other matters as more important, perhaps, pursuit of business, etc.
back to bio.4. According to the mortality schedule for the 1860 federal census, Samuel's older brother, John, was born in Ohio and died in September of 1859 rather than in 1858. His age was given as thirty-one years and the cause of his death was stated as "bowel complaint" from which he had suffered three months. Since his age at the time of his death was given as thirty-two in later published histories, it is probable that John was born in late 1827, perhaps, November or December, but this is merely speculation. Even so, the date of birth indicated on his tombstone is 1829. Clearly, this is impossible unless John and Samuel were twins; however, there is no indication of this in any other source, published or otherwise. (1860 US Census Mortality Schedule for La Salle County, Illinois, National Archives, Washington DC: (microfilm: roll T1133_59; img. 30).)
back to bio.
Additional Citations:
5. 1830 US Census Population Schedule for Harrison County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 194, (microfilm: roll M19_133; img. 392).6. 1840 US Census Population Schedule for Harrison County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 196, (microfilm: roll M704_402; img. 178).
7. 1850 US Census Population Schedule for Harrison County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 328B, (microfilm: roll M432_693; img. 228).
8. 1850 US Census Population Schedule for Harrison County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 330B, (microfilm: roll M432_693; img. 232).
9. Marriage Records, Harrison County, Cadiz, OH, (LDS Family History Library microfilm: roll #0894637, Salt Lake City, UT, 2009).
10. Charles Augustus Hanna, Historical Collection of Harrison County, in the State of Ohio, privately published, New York, NY, 1900: pg. 265. (Reprint available from Genealogical Publishing Co., 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD, 21202-3897) (Saundra Gibb; database - :993466; worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com, 2001.)
11. Anonymous, Past and Present of La Salle County, Illinois, H. F. Kett & Co., Chicago, IL, 1877: pg. 483.
12. Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Illinois State Archives & Illinois Genealogical Society, Springfield, IL, 2014. ("Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900", www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html)
13. Restland Cemetery, La Salle County, Illinois (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=107648&CScn=Restland&CScntry=4&CSst=16&CScnty=739&, continuously updated).
14. Melba Hastings, "Hastings Family Genealogical Charts and Family Group Sheets", 1970, unpublished.