A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
From: Commemorative Biographical and Historical Record of Kane County, Illinois. Chicago: Beers, Leggett and Company, 1888. pp. 570-71:
Mrs. James S. Hampton, one of the two surviving children of Grandma Miller's union with Simeon Barnum, was born in Potsdam, Saint Lawrence Co., N. Y., July 15, 1825. She came to Chicago in 1837, and in 1847 married Harry J. Drake, by whom she became the mother of two children; Belle D., now Mrs. L. D. Seaton of Aurora, and Mary A., now Mrs. H. G. Smith, of Chicago. In 1855 Mr. Drake passed away, and, in 1884, Mrs. Drake married James S. Hampton. She is a member of the W. C. T. U.
The event of the season in Saint Charles was the celebration of Mrs. Asenath Miller's centennial birthday, at the house of her daughter, Mrs. J. S. Hampton, Friday, August 12, 1887. The day was magnificent, and it seemed as if nearly everybody in the city and surrounding county was present. It is estimated that 500 or 600 people paid their respects to the centenarian during the day. Grandma Miller was born in Brimfield, Mass., August 12, 1787. Her father's family removed to Cherry Valley, N. Y., when she was a few months old. She was married on the 10th of June, 1804, to Simeon Barnum, by whom she was the mother of seven children, only two of whom are living. In 1805 they removed to Shoreham, Vt., and in 1808 or 1809 they came to Potsdam, Saint Lawrence Co., N. Y., where Mr. Barnum died June 17, 1825. In 1827 she married Frederick Miller, in Potsdam, and in 1837 they came to Illinois, and settled on a farm in Campton Township, in 1838. By this second marriage she had two children; Simeon Miller, of Rogers Park, and Edwin Miller, of Chicago. The family lived in Campton until 1867, when they removed to Onondaga, Ingham Co., Mich., where Mr. Miller died in September, 1869, aged ninety-two years. He was a pioneer and prominent citizen of Kane County for almost thirty years. Since the death of her second husband Mrs. Miller has remained a widow, and, with the exception of a few years spent in Michigan, has made her home in Ohio and Illinois. She was born two years before Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States, in the same year in which the constitution was adopted, and has lived through all the twenty administrations of the Republic, from Washington to Cleveland. She is most remarkably preserved, both physically and mentally, retaining all her faculties almost unimpaired. Since her ninety-fifth year she has made with her own hands several beautiful silk and worsted quilts, and can be found at almost any time busily engaged with needle and silk at her handiwork. Mrs. Miller passed through the ordeal of handshaking and congratulations with her accustomed equanimity, and had a pleasant greeting for each and all. Though somewhat wearied, she was out the next morning as lively as ever. She is certainly a most remarkable woman, and her kinsfolk have an undoubted right to be proud of her and her history.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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