We will never know for sure when John moved to
Illinois though we can approximate the date from records at our disposal. John was in Missouri at least until August
1840 when he signed for Mary Jane to marry Jacob Dooley.[1] We can place him in Hancock County in
Illinois by 26 May 1841. His children
had already left Missouri and moved to Illinois. Eliza Ann and Dominicus left Missouri in the
early spring of 1839. It wasn’t recorded
when William actually left Missouri. If
he left at the same time as Eliza Ann and Dominicus isn’t known. William was in Illinois by 26 May 1839 when he
was in Quincy and appointed as one of the seventy messengers to the nations by
Joseph Young, chairman of the Council of seventy.[2]
John
was probably now between a rock and a hard spot. He had avoided the persecutions in Ohio and
Missouri and would have probably preferred to stay in Missouri. Unfortunately, being a Northerner he probably
felt uncomfortable staying in Missouri.
Add to this that the rest of the family was moving to Illinois and there
were then several good reasons to move.
With these developments happening Hannah probably put pressure on him to
move to Illinois and be with the family.
The fact that the family had settled in the far southern part of Hancock
County may have encouraged John to move in hopes that the family was far enough
from Nauvoo that any persecution would be less likely there.
The
Carters had moved to an area in Walker Township that was to become Yelrome. Today we know Yelrome or Morleyville as Tioga, Illinois. Early
Yelrome was described as follows:
 |
| Morley Settlement Sign (north east of original settlement) |
 |
| Yelrome (Morleyville) Today |
“Yelrome,
or Morley’s Settlement, was located twenty-five miles south of Nauvoo and
approximately three miles north of Lima.
Although Lima is technically in Adams County, it was so close to the
Hancock County settlements that for all intents and purposes it can be included
with them. Indeed, Lima, when combined
with the minor colonies of Yelrome and Bear Creek, was one of the two major LDS
colonies in Hancock County. It was also
referred to by Joseph Smith as one of the ‘spokes on the wheel.’
Isaac
Morley was the first member of the Church to settle in the area that was later
to be called Yelrome. Seeking refuge in
Illinois after being driven from Missouri in 1839, the Morleys purchased a
partially completed cabin, which they furnished and made suitable for a
home. A few other Saints joined them,
and Yelrome began to grow.
…The
small town where Yelrome once was located is called Tioga, a name that may also
have LDS origins, since one of the early Latter-day Saints who lived there was
Alpheus Cutler from Tioga County, Pennsylvania.”[3]
John’s
life in Hancock County is poorly documented other than in the government
records he left behind. John first
obtained land from his son, William.
This land was first purchased by William (of Hancock County) from
William C Wilson and his wife Rosana (of Adams County) on 27 October 1840 for
$179.37. The land was described as Part
East/2 Northeast Section 31 Township 3 North Range 8 West. The legal Description was: Beginning Southeast corner Joshua Vance line
on East/2 of the Northeast/4 Section 31; running East 71 ¾ Rods; North 50 Rods;
West 71 ¾ Rods; South 50 Rods to beginning, being 22.765 acres.[4] This exact piece of land was then sold to
John Carter on 26 May 1841 for $250.[5]
 |
| Walker Township Sections 31 - 32 Red shape is approximately John's first land purchase |
This land in was the
eastern half of the northeast quarter in Section 31 of Township 3 (Walker
Township) in Hancock County. That placed
the land adjoining Section 32 of the same Township 3. Section 32 was known as Yelrome. The actual community was located to the east
of John’s property not much further than a stone’s throw. Finally after some five years, the Carter
family was getting reunited. It is
reported that John’s granddaughter, Mrs. Dora Bolt had copies of John’s tax
receipts for 1842 and 1843 in Hancock County.
This would be in agreement with the fact that John did have land in
Hancock County during that time. It is interesting that it was then on 15 May
1843 that John finally recorded the Missouri deed of sale as previously noted.
His 40 acres of Missouri land had brought him $400 ($10 per acre). His $250 purchase of 22.765 acres in Hancock
County cost him about $10.98 per acre – basically a wash in cost.
It is assumed that John was still actively
farming in spite of his advanced age of 59 or so when he purchased his 22+
acres from his son, William. The last
child to marry, Richard Harrison Carter, may have still been living with John
and Hannah but after his marriage, 29 Nov 1840, to Hannah Parker, he probably
moved out as his children were born over the county line in Lima beginning in
1841.[6] Even though Richard had been baptized for
several years he appears to have stayed with his father and mother until he got
married. It is possible in part that it
was for him that John and Hannah had moved to Illinois.
[1]
Ancestry.com. Missouri
Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database
on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives.
Microfilm. Marriage date – 27 Aug 1840 –
Monroe Co., Missouri. (NOTE: John had to give permission for her to
marry.)
[2]
Leora Carter Scharrer; Life of William F. Carter, op. cit.
[3] Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nauvoo Family History and Property
Identification Department; Reference Book for Nauvoo Family History and
Property Identification Department, published by Nauvoo Restoration
Incorporated May 1, 1990, p. 21-22 (FHL – 977.343/N1/K2r).
[4] Hancock
County, Illinois Deeds, Book I, p. 227 – 228 (FHL Film 954,598). Transcription
found in Susan Eaton Black, et. al., Property Transactions in Nauvoo, Hancock
County, Illinois and Surrounding Communities (1839 – 1859), Vol. II C-F, p.
749.)
[5] Hancock
County, Illinois, Deeds, Book I, p. 300 – 301 (FHL Film 954598). Transcription
in Susan Eaton Black op. cit.
[6] Jordan
Dodd, Liahona Research, comp. Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (Family History Library Film
#0954117).
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