While my goal is to add all the memorabilia I've found in the past, pertaining to each of my ancestors, I keep finding new information! I just can't seem to get caught up, because I am constantly finding new details (and no, I'm not complaining)!
This interesting find was discovered while I was looking for proof of marriage between John Elijah Gale and Mary Jane Loveland, which is said to have occurred in Illinois before 1860. Illinois obtained statehood in 1818 and the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 broadened the way for trade and westward expansion. Federal land was sold to pioneers who were willing and able to work and improve upon the land and John Gale's father, Joseph Gale, was one of those pioneers.
At the Illinois State Archives site, one of their many databases is the "Illinois Public Domain Land Detail". There you can easily search the land records by name or location. There, I found three transactions under Joseph Gale's name, all in Montezuma, Pike County, Illinois, as shown here:
The only other Gale records for Pike County were those of William Gale, shown here:
If my memory serves me correctly, this William was either Joseph's brother or uncle, but that's another story. Stay tuned for more!
In the book, "History of Pike County, Illinois", by Charles C. Chapman, 1880, this map is provided:
