Milford Daniel family of Pennington Point and

Macomb in McDonough County, IL

by Kevin Daniel, copyright 2019


Milford, Eliza/Dica and Joseph Daniels Sr.

  Milford Daniel, wife Eliza/Dica and grandson Joseph Daniel Sr. (early 1900s)


    Milford Daniel was born on 18 March 1834 in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and died on 23 August 1920 in Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. His father's name is given as Hiram Daniel on his death certificate [1], and his mother's name as Minerva Wright. Various records show that Minerva was born about 1812 in Virginia or Kentucky and died on 21 January 1884 in McDonough County, IL. Her obituary gives her birthplace as Montgomery County, KY.  Minerva's race is given as black in census records and Milford's race is listed as mulatto. This suggests that Milford’s father was white. This family eventually added an "s" to their name.


Minerva Wright tombstone

Minerva Wright's tombstone, Oakwood Cemetery, Macomb, IL

    Minerva's obituary appeared in a Macomb newspaper[ 2]. The date of Minerva's death given in the newspaper differs from that on her tombstone. According to the obituary, she died on 19 January and was buried on 20 January 1884. No supporting records have been found to determine which date is correct, so the date on her tombstone is used to avoid confusion.

Mrs. Minerva Wright, an aged colored woman, died at the residence of her son, Milford Daniels, in this city, Saturday morning last, and was buried Sunday. She was about 75 years old, was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and lived there until after she was grown. Since, she lived many years in Missouri, and for the last 12 or 15 years has resided in Macomb.

    Minerva married Edward Wright, about 1855, probably in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and they appeared in the 1870 census of McDonough County, IL. Minerva left Edward about 1877 and he was granted a divorce in 1879[ 3] noting that Minerva had been "guilty of wilful desertion" for two years. Minerva retained the last name of Wright and appears that way in records thereafter. Her tombstone[ 4] also bears the name Minerva Wright. Edward and Minerva had one child, a son, Preston "Press" Wright 1856-1898, who was a well known entertainer, a "Jubilee Singer". Preston Wright was married and had an infant son at the time of his death.

    Milford married[5] Dica Ann Wyatt about 1854, probably in Montgomery County, KY. Dica was the daughter of Mose and Tabitha Wyatt, according to her death certificate. Her race is given as black in census records. She was born in March 1836 in Montgomery County, KY and died on 7 May 1925 in Macomb. There is some confusion about Dica's name. She appears as Eliza Ann Stevens in some records[6], but seems to be the same person. The reason for the change in her name after 1870 is a mystery. Milford, Minerva, and Dica are buried[7] in the Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb, as are many of their children and grandchildren. No stones mark Milford and Dica's graves, but it seems likely that they were buried in the same lot as Minerva which contains four plots, of which only Minerva's is marked. It may be that there were once stones for them, which have since fallen and been buried.

    Milford's occupation on his death certificate[8 ] is given as carpenter. He is listed as a laborer in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, as a carpenter in the 1900 and 1910 censuses and no occupation in the 1920 census. 'Milton' Daniels name appears as steward and organizing member in the Second Church in Macomb. According to The History of Brown's Chapel of the African American Methodist Episcopal Church: 1876-1965 by Jeffery Jones, the Daniels family were prominent members of this church. Milford and Sanford Daniels did much of the carpentry and plastering work on this church.

    Milford had moved his family to New Salem, McDonough County, IL by 3 July 1865, where he appears in the Illinois State Census. His family consisted of three males and one female under age 10, one male and female 10 to under 20, one male 20 to under 30, one male and female 30 to under 40 and one male and female 50 to under 60. This suggests that Milford and his wife had five children and that the older couple and one child were the family of Edward and Minerva Wright since Edward is not listed in the census. Despite this record, there are several conflicting accounts of the arrival of the Daniel family in McDonough County, IL in secondary record sources in McDonough County.

    A county history notes that Milford brought his family to McDonough County in the late 1860s. According to the history, there was resistance to black families settling in this county after the Civil War, but the Daniel family was aided by several white families from Montgomery County, KY who had settled there and known the Daniels in Kentucky and possibly in Missouri. Two families that assisted the Daniels were the Yocum and Harland families. The Yocums, in particular, were closely associated with the white Daniel family who had at one time owned Minerva Wright and Milford Daniel. One story in a history of Pennington Point, Illinois notes that an elderly black woman and her children and grandchildren, eight people, arrived at the home of a Mr. Yocum in Pennington Point in 1862 and suggests that this was probably the Daniels family. This story comes from a letter written by a daughter of Mr. Yocum in her later years.The Yocum man mentioned was likely Stephen Yocum who was born about 1800. There may be some truth to this story, but it does not completely match the facts. The letter seems to indicate that this black family came from Kentucky, not Missouri where the white and black Daniel families had resided since about 1858. The fact that the black woman is described as an elderly woman who had woven cloth for Mr. Yocum's mother does not seem to fit the facts either, because Minerva was only about fifty years old in 1862, the time that these events supposedly occurred. Other records[9] place Milford Daniels in Audrain County, MO between 1863 and 1865. Another discrepancy is the fact that Milford and Dica Daniels' daughter Amanda J. was born [10] in Audrain County, MO in 1864.

    The history of Pennington Point notes that Sanford Daniels recorded a different version of the arrival of the Daniels family there, but discounts it as Sanford would have only been about four years old in 1862, and the Yocum girl was a grown woman. Other descriptions of the arrival of the Daniels family in McDonough County put their arrival there in the late 1860s and the 1870 McDonough County census shows that their daughter Isabell was born in Illinois in 1868. Sanford would have been old enough to remember the details of their arrival more clearly, then. Unfortunately, Sanford's account is not published in the Pennington history. It does seem likely that these same Yocums welcomed the Daniels when they arrived and they are listed near the Daniels in the 1870 census. Other families near the Daniels in the 1870 census that were also from Montgomery County included the Stephens, Mains (Means), and Hensleys, all closely connected to the white Daniel family of Montgomery County.

    A lengthy memorial in a Macomb, IL newspaper[11] a week after his death states that Milford was one of about 50 slaves owned by 'Bob' and Katie Cockerel Daniel of Montgomery County, KY, and was taken to the area of Independence, MO while very young. It goes on to say that all of 'Bob' Daniel's slaves remained with him until his death, near the end of the Civil War. This article was written by a Hainline man who claimed to be a descendant of one of Katie Cockerel's sisters. Mr. Hainline stated that his data came from a conversation with Milford some years before his death which appears to be untrue. Other primary records, in addition to those cited previously, do not support Mr. Hainline's version of the facts. The 1860 Missouri census shows that Robert and Catherine Daniel, aged 61 and 62, were living in Jackson County, MO. The 1860 slave census of Jackson County shows that Robert owned only 11 slaves and that none were the right age to be Milford and Dica Stevens Daniels, or Minerva Wright. Robert and Catherine Daniel lived long after the end of the Civil War, appearing in the 1870 and 1880 censuses of Jackson County. Numerous primary records place Milford in either Montgomery County, KY or Audrain County, MO when he was supposedly in living Jackson County, MO. It may be that the author of this article learning that Milford was connected to a Daniel family that lived near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, KY and later moved to Missouri, assumed that it was the Robert and Catherine Daniel family and the rest of the article was embellished. It is possible that Milford knew of Robert and Catherine Daniel, though he would have been very young when they moved to Missouri and would never have met them or they him. A deed recorded in Montgomery County, Kentucky shows that Robert and Catherine Daniel were residents of Jackson County, MO by 1837 and that Catherine's maiden name was actually Hainline, not Cockerel. Robert Daniel was unrelated to the Daniel family that actually owned Milford and Dica Daniels.

Estridge Daniel tombstone

Estridge Daniel tombstone, Daniel Cemetery, Montgomery County, KY

    Minerva Wright, Milford's mother, was a slave of Estridge and Mary Fox Daniel, of Montgomery County, KY, and she was bequeathed to Mary in Estridge Daniel's will[12]:

Whereas I Estridge Daniel of the county of Montgomery and State of Kentucky am of a sound and composed State of mind but taking into consideration that though now in health I may soon be called unto death, I do make this my last will and Testament. First I will that all my debts should be paid. Second I give and bequeath to my wife Mary, a certain negro woman named Manerva with her offspring if she should have any after this date and also the household and kitchen furniture to have and to hold the same so long as she may live and at her death the same is to be divided equally between Malinda Hon, Shelby Daniel, Harvey Daniel, Isom Daniel, Jane Alexander, James Q. Daniel. The Indian Creek tract of land containing 100 acres and the Sand Mountain tract containing 200 acres is also to be equally divided between the above named children. Of my cash and cash notes I will and bequeath to Santford Estridge Stephens and William Stephens, sons of Narsissa Stephens, and Estridge, son of Elizabeth Stephens, and Pelina Daniel fifty dollars cash. Pelina's is to come out of her mother's part. The said children shall not have this portion until they are twenty-one. The balance of the cash, cash notes together with what other property I may have at my death shall be equally divided between Malinda Hon, Shelby Daniel, Harvey Daniel, Isom Daniel, Jane Alexander and James Q. Daniel. The farm on which I now live is to be James Q. Daniel's at my death. And I acknowledge this to be my last will and testament all others being null and void in witness whereof I hereunto set my hand seal on this 1st day of Feb. one thousand eight hundred and fifty one.

                                                                                                                        Estridge Daniel (seal)
             Attest R. C. Porter
                       Estridge D. Hon

Codicil In addition to what has been named in the foregoing my last will and Testament I request that Shelby Daniel and James Q. Daniel should be the executors to settle my estate. In witness whereof, I set my hand and seal on this 2nd day of Feb.1851.

Attest R.C. Porter                                                                                 Estridge Daniel (seal)

State of Kentucky Sct. December Term 1852

A writing purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Estridge Daniel decd was this day produced in court and proven by the oaths of Reuben C. Porter and Estridge D Hon subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be Recorded. The codicil not being proven is continued until the next Term of this Court State of Kentucky Montgomery county court Sct. January Term 1853

A writing purporting to be the last Will and Testament and codicil to the same of Estridge Daniel decd was this day again produced in court and the codicil proven by the oath of R.C. Porter a subscribing witness thereto and ordered to be recorded

    Tax lists for Montgomery County survive, and it is possible to track the growth of Minerva's family in them. A slave first appears in the home of Estridge Daniel in 1830. This slave is listed as over 16 years of age. Additional slaves under the age of 16 appear in 1835, 1837, 1840, 1845, 1847 and 1850. The 1840 census of Montgomery County, Kentucky shows that Estridge Daniel had four slaves, two males under age ten, one female under age ten, and one female aged twenty-four to thirty-six. The ages fit what is known of Minerva and her children. The 1850 slave census of Montgomery County, Kentucky shows that Estridge Daniel owned six slaves. This included females aged 37, 11, and 8, and males aged 17, 15, and 1. The male age 15 is listed as a mulatto and the others are listed as black. This fits well with what is known of the family of Minerva Wright at this time. The female aged 37 is almost certainly Minerva, and the male aged 15 was likely Milford Daniels. Tax lists and census records suggest that Minerva's family remained intact, until around the time of the death of Estridge Daniel. Family tradition carried down by the descendants of Milford Daniels says that Milford had a brother that was separated from the rest of the family. The young males in the household of Estridge Daniel are likely brothers, sons of Minerva. This loosely fits with a story related in Sanford Daniel's obituary which says that Sanford and his parents were traded to a new master near Mexico, MO about 1859, when he was about one year old. More likely, Milford Daniels' and his family were given to James Q. Daniel when the slaves of Estridge Daniel were divided between his sons. James Quincy Daniel moved his family from Montgomery County, KY to a farm about 5 miles north of Mexico, MO in 1857 or 1858.

    These tax lists and census records do call into question the name of Milford’s father, who was identified as “Hiram” Daniel on his death certificate, and was apparently white. There was a Hiram Daniel living in Montgomery County, KY who could have been Milford’s father, but the Daniel family that Hiram was a member of was unrelated to, and lived some distance from, the Daniel family that Milford was associated with. It seems more likely that Milford’s father was perhaps Harvey Daniel (born 1813), son of Estridge and Mary Fox Daniel, if his father was a Daniel man. Estridge and Mary Daniel's sons Shelby (born 1808) and Isom (born 1817) are also possible candidates to be Milford's father. Shelby Daniel married about 1833 and was seated on his own land, so is less likely to be the father of Milford.

    This hypothesis is supported by the fact that two descendants of Milford Daniels' son, Sanford Daniels, have autosomal DNA matches to a descendant of James Quincy Daniel, a son of Estridge Daniel, both at Ancestry.com and one at 23andMe. Only one Sanford descendant has tested at 23andMe. The distance of the relationship ranges from 4th to 8th cousins. The estimation for a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) as Estridge Daniel is reasonable, since the distance from Estridge Daniel, is five generations for James Quincy Daniel's descendant and seven generations for the descendants of Sanford Daniels, who are siblings.

    There is a second set of autosomal DNA matches between another, more distant, white Daniel cousin of the descendant of James Quincy Daniel and both descendants of Sanford Daniels who have tested at Ancestry. That relationship  is estimated at 5th to 8th cousins. The DNA match between this second white Daniel man and the line of James Quincy Daniel has been proved using Y DNA testing. They do not have an autosomal DNA match at Ancestry and their connection is to a common ancestor at least three generations earlier than Estridge Daniel.

    There are only ten ancestors in common between the descendant of James Quincy Daniel and the descendant of Sanford Daniels at 23andMe. This is a very low number of common ancestors, probably because Sanford's descendant is approximately 1/3 European, 1/3 East Asian or Native American and 1/3 Sub-Saharan African and the descendant of James Quincy Daniel is of 99% European ancestry, according to 23andMe's calculations. This would likely severely limit the number of candidates to be the common ancestor between these cousins. Of these ten matches, two are easily identified as descendants of Isom Daniel, son of Estridge and Mary Fox Daniel. This could indicate that Isom Daniel may be Milford's father, but further analysis of the remaining eight matches is needed before making this assignment.

    To prove the actual nature of the connections between the descendants of Milford/Sanford Daniels and these Daniel men, however, a Y DNA test would be needed from a male Daniels descendant of Milford Daniels. Twenty Daniel men, descended from three sons of William Daniel 1680-1765 of Caroline County, VA, have already taken Y DNA tests and are participants in the Daniel Y DNA Project at Family Tree DNA. This testing would be beneficial to descendants of Milford Daniels since extensive ancestries have been proved for the lines of both Estridge Daniel and Hiram Daniel, two distinct and unrelated Daniel families who lived concurrently in Montgomery County, KY for many years. It is also possible that both Daniel lines might be eliminated as paternal ancestors of Milford Daniels. It is worth noting that in 2015, shortly after discussions with a male Daniels descendant of Milford Daniels about Y DNA testing took place, an anonymous Daniel man tested to 111 markers but did not join the Daniel Y DNA Project so his identity is not known. That man's results were nearly exact at 111 markers to all six of the Daniel men in the project who had tested to 111 markers, proving a 99% probability that their common direct male ancestor lived within 9 generations and a 90%  probability that ancestor lived within 6 generations. Since they were an anonymous participant, contact with them was not possible and matching for that kit was later disabled.

    Milford was still a resident of Kentucky in 1854 as the 1870 and 1880 McDonough County, IL census records report that his daughter Eliza was born there in that year. The birth places of his next two children, George W. (1855) and Sanford (1858), are also reported as Kentucky in the 1870 census and Sanford's birth place is given as Kentucky in censuses after 1870. Though George W. was deceased by 1880, Oakwood Cemetery records show that George W. was born in Montgomery County, KY and Sanford, is his own handwriting, gave his birth place as "Mongomery" County, KY in the application for his license to marry Emma Hamilton in 1924. This proves that Milford Daniels' family still resided in Montgomery County, Kentucky until the late 1850s, when Milford would have been in his mid twenties. The Montgomery County connection further supports the conclusion that Milford may have been a slave of Estridge Daniel, though this is not proved.

    There is no mention of slaves other than Minerva in the will of Estridge Daniel, which was written in 1851 and proved in 1852. There are few records of slave sales in Montgomery County records, so it is impossible to know how Estridge Daniel disposed of his slaves before his death, as none are mentioned in the probate records of his estate, except for Minerva.


Alicia Pearl Daniel Mayer

Alicia Pearl Daniel Mayer (age 18)


    Family traditions, passed down in the writings of Alicia Pearl Daniel Mayer 1885-1978 a granddaughter of James Quincy Daniel, say that Estridge Daniel made gifts of slaves to all of his sons before his death, which is how Minerva's family was probably separated and possibly reunited as their ownership was passed back and forth among the sons of Estridge Daniel. This supports the possibility that Milford was given to James Quincy Daniel, since James moved to Salt River Township, Audrain County, MO about 1857-58, and at least two of Milford and Dica's children, Amanda and James, were born[13] in Audrain County. James Quincy Daniel and his wife, Mariam Boone Wright, remained on the home farm of Estridge Daniel, after their marriage, to care for his parents in their old age. James inherited the home place when his father died. When James sold this property and relocated to Audrain County, MO, his mother, Mary Fox Daniel, accompanied them, taking Minerva along. Mary Fox Daniel died in 1863 on the Daniel family farm, six miles north of Mexico, MO. It is through information from the writings of Alicia Pearl Daniel Mayer, gained from interviews with elderly family members who had known Minerva, that the knowledge that Minerva and her family moved to Macomb, IL was preserved. Unfortunately, no mention of the names of Minerva's children are made in Mrs. Mayer's work. Mrs. Mayer was a genealogist and was one of the founders of the San Diego Genealogical Society in 1946. She interviewed many elderly Daniel relatives in Missouri and Kentucky. Her work is archived at the DeKalb County, MO Historical Society and San Diego Genealogical Society.


Sanford and Millie Danies and son Joseph Sr.

Sanford Daniels, wife Millie, a step daughter and Joseph Daniels Sr. (early 1920s)


At the age of 94 Sanford Daniels, Milford and Dica's son, related the following remarkable story to a Macomb newspaper:

"Daniels was born Dec. 18, 1860 in Kentucky. When he was about a year old his parents were traded to a new master near Mexico, Mo. Enroute there, he said, the group he was with met a slave trader who was transporting a group of colored people, chained together, to another part of the country. Daniels' father, Milford, was sold for $1500 to the trader, separating the family, he said. However, his mother's master became so concerned over the trade that he had someone ride in pursuit of the slave trader group later in the day and his father was bought back so he could accompany them on to Missouri."


Unfortunately, this account does not delve into the reasons why Milford was sold and then returned to this family group. The purchasing value of $1500 in 1860 was equivalent to about $43,000 in 2018 dollars, so there must have been compelling reasons behind these events.


Sanford Daniels' tombstone

Maysville, Ky?
    Sanford Daniels' tombstone, in Oakwood Cemetery, gives his place of birth as Maysville, KY, but Sanford, himself, gave his birthplace as Montgomery County, Kentucky on the application for his marriage license to Emma Hamilton, and other records also support Montgomery County, KY as his actual birthplace. Maysville is in Mason County, KY about 60 miles from where Minerva Wright and Milford Daniels resided, near Jeffersonville, KY. The book, Black Life in West Central Illinois by Felix Lionel Armfield notes about this tombstone that "His family placed a more modern tomb at his grave later in the 20th century" which implies that the current stone replaced an earlier marker. It would be interesting to know if the original marker also had this birthplace inscribed or if it was a mistake made by the family.




James Quincy Daniel        Mariam Boone Wright Daniel

James Quincy (ca 1875) and Mariam Boone Wright Daniel (1908)


    James Quincy Daniel, wife Mariam, their children, and Mary Fox Daniel are listed in the 1860 census of Audrain County, MO. James Quincy Daniel does not appear in the 1860 slave census of Audrain County, MO, but he was taxed there for slaves in 1861 and 1862, and was also taxed for slaves in Montgomery County, KY, so it may be that he was missed in the 1860 census or his slaves were with other family members. Several related families, including the Fox, Stephens and Wright families moved to Audrain County from Montgomery County and settled near one another. James Quincy Daniel was deeded[14] three slaves by John Donahue in Montgomery County, KY in 1858, possibly as part of the sale of the old home place to Donahue. Mary Fox Daniel was buried in 1863 on the family farm about six miles north of Mexico, MO. A large stone marked her grave but it disappeared sometime after 1936, when Alicia Pearl Daniel Mayer visited her grave. Milford Daniel is listed[15] in the 1863-65 draft registration records of Salt River Township, Audrain County, MO as 28 years old, colored, occupied as a farmer, born in Kentucky and owned by James Q. Daniel. This entry would seem to resolve his origins.

    It is interesting to note that Milford's wife, Dica, sometimes used the last name Stevens, and two of James Quincy Daniel's sisters married Jesse Stevens or Stephens. It is also interesting to note that Milford and Dica named a son Sanford and that one of Estridge Daniel's grandsons was named Santford Estridge Stephens[16] and was born about the same time Milford was born. There may also be some connection through the Wright family since James Quincy Daniel married Mariam Boone Wright and Milford’s mother Minerva married Edward Wright.

    Traditions carried down by the descendants of James Quincy Daniel relate that Minvera married a black preacher named Ned, and moved to Macomb, IL. These traditions were catalyst for the research and the resulting narrative presented here. These traditions do not conflict with accounts in various McDonough County sources where this family's residence there is reasonably well documented. Family records of the white Daniel family indicate that there was some contact between the two families for at least a couple of generations after the Civil War. It is worth noting that Milford's family name appears as Daniel, not Daniels, in early records in McDonough County. A transcription of records from the Macomb Journal, Macomb, IL for circa 1880-1910 which mention Milford Daniel's family may be found here.

    A preliminary attempt was made to trace the descendants of Milford and Dica Daniels, but completing this endeavor will be left to Milford's  descendants.

Milford and Dica Ann Stevens/Wyatt descendants are:

  1. Viney Daniels b. before 1854 and d. before 18703.

  2.  Eliza Daniels b. 1854 in Kentucky d. 1939 Indianapolis, IN.

  3. George W. Daniels b. about 1855 in Montgomery County, KY and d. August 1879 in Macomb, McDonough County, IL. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb.

  4. Sanford Daniels b. Dec 18, 1858 in Kentucky and died 5 Oct 1955.

  5. James M. Daniels b. abt 1862 in Audrain County, MO and d. Sept. 1880 in Macomb, IL and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.

  6. Amanda J. Daniels b. abt 1864 in Audrain County, MO and d. Apr 1890 in McDonough County, IL and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery, Macomb. She did not marry.

  7. Isabella J. Daniels b. Aug 1870 in IL and d. 1942 Seattle, WA.

  8. Oliver F. Daniels b. 12 Oct  1872 at Pennington Point, McDonough County, IL and d. 14 Mar 1923 in Macomb, McDonough County, IL and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery, in Macomb. His WWI Draft Registration card gives his birth year as 1872, while other records give it as 1873. He was married to Caroline Washington McGruder in 1911 in Macomb.

  9. Horace Daniels b. 12 Oct  1872 at Pennington Point, McDonough County, IL and d. before 1880.



  1. Viney Daniels was born before 1854 and died before 1870. The only mention of Viney in records is in the Oakwood Cemetery record of her brother George. All of the children of Milford Daniels are listed in this record, apparently in the order of their birth. Viney was likely the first child of Milford and Eliza Stevens Daniels. She does not appear in the 1870 cenus of McDonough County, and may have died before the Daniels family arrived there. Her formal name may have been Lavina.

  2. Eliza Daniels was born about 1855 in Montgomery County, Ky and died 28 August 1939 in Indianapolis, IN. She and her family are listed next to her father's household in that census. Eliza was married to William H. Hawkins on 26 October 1876 in Macomb, by C. S. Jacobs. Jacobs was the minister of the Second Church in Macomb. William was born about 1843 in Kentucky. William and Eliza were both listed as mulattos in the 1880 census. William's occupation was given as laborer. I have seen indications that William and Eliza may have moved to Chicago, though this is not proved. Eliza resided in Indianapolis later in life. Census and Oakwood Cemetery records give the names of some of their children. William and Eliza had:

          1. Nettie Hawkins b. about 1878 in Macomb, IL. Her name was given as Nellie in Oakwood Cemetery records where she was listed as a sister of Lizzie Hawkins.

          1. Annie Hawkins b. about 1879 in Macomb, IL. She appears in the 1880 census.

          2. George Hawkins b. between 1880 and 1887. He is mentioned as a sibling of Lizzie Hawkins in Oakwood Cemetery records.

          3. Lizzie Hawkins b. between 1880 and 1887 in McDonough County, IL and died in October 1887. She was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery on 9 October 1887.


  1. Sanford Daniels was b. 18 December 1858 in Montgomery County, Kentucky and d. 5 October 1955 in Macomb, IL. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb. He married three times. He married Millie Foster about 1880. He was working as a “day laborer” in 1900, and as a plasterer in 1910, 1920 and 1930, The 1910 census of Macomb reports that Millie had had five children and two of them were living in 1910. Sanford and Millie had:


          1. Willia M. b. 1888 d. before 1910

          2. Joseph b. December 1890

          3. Gladius b. March 1893 d. before 1910

          4. Roy b. April 1896

          5. Unknown




1Illinois, McDonough County, Death Certificate #31543, Milford Daniels, issued 8/25/1920.

2Illinois, McDonough County, The Macomb Journal, Vol. 29 No. 17, Thursday 24 January 1884, p. 5 col. 2.

3Illinois, McDonough County, Chancery Record Book K, page 262.

4Illinois, McDonough County, Oakwood Cemetery, Block WPF Lot 3.

5Illinois, McDonough County, Death Certificate #550132, Dica Daniels, issued 5/9/1925. Illinois, McDonough County, Macomb, Oakwood Cemetery records.

6Illinois, McDonough County, 1870 census, New Salem Twp., page 77, Liza Daniels. Illinois, Macomb, Oakwood Cemtery records, records of her children George and James she is named Eliza Ann Stevens. Illinois, McDonough County, marriage certificate Oliver F. Daniels and Carrie Washington, her name is given as Dican Steavens.

7Illinois, McDonough County, Macomb, Oakwood Cemetery records.

8Illinois, McDonough County, Death Certificate #31543, 1920.

9Missouri, Audrain County, No. 19 Men Subject to Draft 1863-65

10Illinois, McDonough County, 1870 census. Illinois, Macomb, Oakwood Cemetery record book.

11Illinois, McDonough County, Macomb, The Macomb Daily Journal, Vol. XXVII, No. 127, Monday, August 30, 1920, page 2, col 3-4.

12Kentucky, Montgomery County, Will Book E, pps 152-153.

13Oakwood Cemetery records.

14Kentucky, Montgomery County, Deed Book 26, page 296, 29 November 1858, John Donahue sells to James Quincy Daniel three slaves, Eliza age 18, her son Harry age 9 months, and a boy named Shelton aged 9 years, for an unspecified amount.

15Missouri, Audrain County, Civil War Draft Registration Book, Volume1, page 111.

16Santford Estridge Stephens married Frances Ficklin in Montgomery County, KY and moved to Springfield, IL. He later moved to Livingston County, MO where he died. He was born in 1833 about the same year that Milford Daniels was born.