John Washington Hawes ^{2 3 4}

  General Notes:

The Hawes were pioneer residents of Logan County, Illinois who had also migrated from Spencer, (Mount Eden) Kentucky. They came with the first of the Ho users to settle in Logan, Jefferson Houser (Solomon's first cousin), his father John Houser (Jacob's brother) and Ellis Clark (Solomon's cousin Sallie's husband. Solomon married Sallie after Nancy Hawes died) in 1835. They first came to the Sugar Creek neighborhood. They settled on the old homestead in Eminence township owned in 1910 by Mrs. Sarah Sumner.

They being pioneer settlers in Illinois therefore endured many hardships incident to a pioneer life. They felled the trees of the forest and built their rude houses of the logs. The cracks being chinked and daubed with mud. They were also shingled with clapboards which they made from the trees. Their clothing they made from the flax which the soil produced and from the wool which was shorn from the backs of the sheep. This they spun and wove into cloth which clothed their bodies, furnished lined for their tables, sheets and blankets for their beds. They cooked their food by the old fashioned fireplace, stoves being of more modern invention. Their living consisted chiefly of meat, bread and hominy with some wild fruit which grew in the forest. Occasionally these fruits were dried and stored away for the winter. The canning process was not yet known. The transportation was chiefly on horseback, streams being forded in shallow places. There were no bridges and swimming the streams on horseback was little thought of. The boys often went courting and took their sweethearts to church on horseback, both riding the same horse. The prairie was broken chiefly with oxen, also the hauling was mostly done with oxen. Pekin was the nearest market place and the county seat [of Tazewell County.] The fences were made of rails split from the trees. Their educational advantages were also very meager. Their school houses were also built of logs. The furniture consisted of benches made of slabs, often so high that their feet could not reach the floor, there being no desk in front to support their book, no backs to the bench to support their backs. The spelling book was the principal book used. An education in those pioneer days meant to spell, read, write and cypher a little. It was not an uncommon sight in those days to see the wolves come near the door yard, in many instances drink from their swill pails and pick the bones from their door yards. Deer and wild game were in abundance and were much appreciated by the early settlers as food. There were many hardships and disadvantages in an early day in Illinois but those who strived and did what they could became prosperous.

M. L. Houser, Grandfather and Grandmother Howser :

He was the son of a Revolutionary soldier who had been with Washington at Valley Forge, and later, he also followed Boone into Kentucky. He was a farmer, kept a store, and for twenty-five years was postmaster at Eminence. For twelve years of that time, he was a Justice of the Peace, an office of some importance in those days. It appears that he had considerable natural ability, possessed a character that inspired confidence, was somewhat better informed that the average, and consequently was a leader in the community. He and his wife had four sons and eight daughters.

One of their daughters, Nancy, became the second wife of Solomon Howser about 1839. Their child, James Wilson Houser, was born in May of 1840 and Nancy died when the child was but a few months old. The Hawes then took James Wilson into their home and raised him, although they had twelve children of their own. Pictures of the Hawes which James Wilson had indicate that they were a rather distinguished looking couple. Mr. Hawes was interested in both religion and politics; and was a warm personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. James Wilson remembered a letter which his grandfather received from Mr. Lincoln thanking him for a campaign contribution of $5 and discussing the chances they had of winning the election. He also remembered that before he was old enough to go alone he accompanied Mr. Hawes to hear Lincoln speak. Mr. Hawes's faith in the Republican Party endured to the end of his life. In 1872, he and his thirty-two descendants who were voters went to the polls and voted for U.S. Grant; and then anticipated Ethel Barrymore by fifty years in saying 'That's all there is; there isn't any more'. He died the next year and Solomon Howser, one year later.

He was named executor of his father-in-law's will.

Hawes, John Eminence, Logan County, Illinois, June 1, 1843. Mentions Walter Bowles and Wm Ryan. (from the Christian Church newspaper)
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The publications by Dr. W. W. Houser, "Genealogy of the Houser, Rhorer, Dillman, Hoover Families" and Martin Luther Houser, "Grandfather and Grandmother Howser" both apparently indicate the death date of John Hawes as March 14, 1874. However the gravestone for John clearly reads March 17th. Neither of their publications mention any error on the inscriptions so it appears that they both relied on incorrect information from other sources without every seeing the gravestone or a picture of it. In addition, the gravestone gives his age at time of death to be 83 years, 3 months, and 13 day. If his birth date is calculated using those numbers from his true date of death (March 17, 1874), the result is a birth date of December 4, 1790 instead of the 1791 quoted by the two sources above. It is sometimes possible for people to not know exactly how old their loved ones were at the time of death, so the inscription for the age could be wrong but seldom does one see a mistake in the date of death.
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  Birth Notes:

Birth date is calculated from the age at death of 83y, 3 m, 13d.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He has alternate birth date of 4 December 1791 and a birth location of Hagerstown, MD.

Several researchers offer this birth year of 1791 instead of 1790 but I have yet to see any source citation. The memorial page established at Find-A-Grave gives this birth year of 1791 but also indicates the age at death on the gravestone which calculates to the 1790 birth year.
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• He was buried after 17 March 1874 in the Nibblick Cemetery in Atlanta, IL.

The gravestone for John is a white sandstone domed tablet that has weathered quite badly. It has been broken into at least three pieces of which have been repaired and glued back together as of September 2002. Perhaps the broken fragments were buried face down which may have kept the engraving from weathering any more. The inscription reads "John Hawes, Died Mar. 17, 1874, Aged 83y 3m 13d".

Find A Grave Memorial #42373793
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John married Sarah Phillips on 20 September 1810 in , Shelby County, KY.¹ (Sarah Phillips was born on 15 June 1789 in Virginia,^{5 6} died on 24 October 1872 in , Logan County, IL ⁶ and was buried after 24 October 1872 in , Logan County, IL ⁶.)