Buckner Family - Clark County IL

Buckner Family Line Traced to North Carolina
The Buckners of Crawford County trace their unbroken line back to Jesse Buckner of Chatham County, N. C.

He was one of seven brothers, who migrated from Virginia and settled in the western part of this State.  He found life too wild and bloody, so he left the western region and settled near Silver City, Chatham County, about 1780.

A history of the Early Baptists in North Carolina, tells of his aid in establishing the Baptist Church in that state.  It is recorded that he preached on the Haw River Circuit in 1790 and in 1793 he helped to establish a church in Rowan County at the forks of the Yadkin.

Jesse Buckner was married to Mary Pyle, they had seven sons and five duaghters.  So far is known, Elisha Buckner is the only one of Jesse's sons who moved west.  He married Sarah Steele, daughter of Thomas Steele, a Revolutionary Militia man of North Carolina.  It is not known definitely, when he came to Illinois.  Records inthe county courthouse at Robinson show that Elisha Buckner, January 20, 1818, acquired land in Crawford County.  This tract is located southwest from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a part of the farm now owned by Charles Wheeler fo West York.

Elisha and Sarah had the following children, as far as we know:  Henry married Martha Evans; Nancy Anna married Robert Bailiff; John married Margaret Decker; William married Nancy Evans; Elisha married Julia Hendy; and Andrew.

In 1815, following the birth of his last son, Andrew, Elisha made a trip to North Carolina on horsback to visit his aged father.  In February, 1826, as he was preparing to return to his family, he was suddenly stricken and died.  He was buried in the family burial ground on his father's farm, near Silver City, in Chatham County, N. C.  His father died soon after and his will was probated in May 1826.

Sarah Steele Buckner, after the death of Elisha, came to live with her son, John in Crawford County, according to the History records at the time Elisha went to see his father, they were living in Indiana.  Then Sarah remained in Indiana until 1827 when she and her unmarried children came to Crawford County and settled about two miles west of West York.  She died and is buried in Bailiff.  Her tombstone reads:  Sarah, daughter of Thomas Steele, wife of Elisha Buckner, died September 22, 1845, age 66 years.

Each one of these families of the Buckners had large families ranging from five to ten children and too numerous to mention in this column.  The following surnames connected with the Buckners are:  Miller, Osburn, Canady, Bradbury, Bell, Lindley, Blizzard, Fasig, Roe, Plank, Radar, Howerton, Hills, Cox, Maxwell, Guyer, Hagar, Bagshaw, Reynolds, and Newlin.

As the years went by, many more names connected to this family can be researched in our library.  It is not a published book, but information researched by descendants of the line and sent into the library to help others find that lost ancestor.


Family Index
Return to Clark County, Illinois Homepage