IGI checked Aug 1995: verified dates.
Source Illinois 1850 census and "Fulton County Heritage" by Fulton County
Historical and Genealogical Society, published by Curtis Media Corp of Dallas
Texas, 1988.
The ages of the children were probably about 5 years off according to the 1850
census. This fact is known due to the exact birth dates of John William and
Mary Jane Kidd.
Ordinance work done by Edward E. Wiggins.
The following history was written by Seth W. Leeds, grandson-in-law to William
S. Kidd and is found in "Fulton County Heritage".
William S. Kidd was a full-blood Cherokee Indian, born in Scotland County,
North Carolina about 1814/1817, but living in Kentucky with his wife, Frances
(Fanny) Green Kidd and family. One of their daughters, Mary Jane, was born 18
January 1836 in Green County, Kentucky.
The Cherokees were one of the most advanced tribes of the native Americans.
Their great chief, Sequoyah, had given them an alphabet of their own, and they
practiced democratic self-government and owned vast plantations.
The Cherokees and other Indian tribes were in the way of the westward advance
of the energetic American republic. Then, the rumors of gold in the Indian
lands gave President Andrew Jackson an excuse for his version of a solution to
the Indian problem -- rounding up the entire nation and then sending them West,
under the supervision of the United States Army. Often this was at the point
of a bayonet.
This cruel, forced march from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky,
in the middle of winter, was called by the Indians "The Trail Where They
Cried", but today it is called "The Trail of Tears". Almost one-third of them
died on that cruel march. They were taken to what became known as Indian
Territory. In 1907 this became part of the State of Oklahoma.
William S. Kidd and his family hid out in the hills from the soldiers, and
made their way north, settling in Waterford, Fulton, Illinois. They traveled
mostly at night. This was in 1839 when Mary Jane was three years old.
Note by Patricia Wiggins Tracy, great-great-great-granddaughter of William S.
Kidd. I believe that since William and his family were basically in hiding for
the rest of their lives, that this is part of the reason why the census records
of Illinois do not reflect the true birthplaces of William or any of his family.
Also, nothing is known of the early lives of William or his wife Fanny.
Marriage to second wife, Margaret J. Powell 27 Jul 1854 in Fulton County,
Illinois 977.348 V2j.
Source Illinois 1850 census and "Fulton County Heritage" by Fulton County
Historical and Genealogical Society, published by Curtis Media Corp of Dallas
Texas, 1988.
The ages of the children were probably about 5 years off according to the 1850
census. This fact is known due to the exact birth dates of John William and
Mary Jane Kidd.
The following history was written by Seth W. Leeds, grandson-in-law to William
S. Kidd and is found in "Fulton County Heritage".
William S. Kidd was a full-blood Cherokee Indian, born in Scotland County,
North Carolina about 1814/1817, but living in Kentucky with his wife, Frances
(Fanny) Green Kidd and family. One of their daughters, Mary Jane, was born 18
January 1836 in Green County, Kentucky.
The Cherokees were one of the most advanced tribes of the native Americans.
Their great chief, Sequoyah, had given them an alphabet of their own, and they
practiced democratic self-government and owned vast plantations.
The Cherokees and other Indian tribes were in the way of the westward advance
of the energetic American republic. Then, the rumors of gold in the Indian
lands gave President Andrew Jackson an excuse for his version of a solution to
the Indian problem -- rounding up the entire nation and then sending them West,
under the supervision of the United States Army. Often this was at the point
of a bayonet.
This cruel, forced march from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky,
in the middle of winter, was called by the Indians "The Trail Where They
Cried", but today it is called "The Trail of Tears". Almost one-third of them
died on that cruel march. They were taken to what became known as Indian
Territory. In 1907 this became part of the State of Oklahoma.
William S. Kidd and his family hid out in the hills from the soldiers, and
made their way north, settling in Waterford, Fulton, Illinois. They traveled
mostly at night. This was in 1839 when Mary Jane was three years old.
Note by Patricia Wiggins Tracy, great-great-great-granddaughter of William S.
Kidd. I believe that since William and his family were basically in hiding for
the rest of their lives, that this is part of the reason why the census records
of Illinois do not reflect the true birthplaces of William or any of his family.
Also, nothing is known of the early lives of William or h
