William N. Mitchell was the paternal ancestor of a long line of prominent citizens, he served as Williamson County Clerk, Marion Postmaster, was the fourth and last person to serve as President of an incorporated Marion Board of Trustees before Marion started using the Mayoral form in 1874 and he helped organize and ran on the first ever Republican ticket in Williamson County, not to mention his involvement in the first Republican county newspaper.
The William N. Mitchell family is the epitome of the pioneer family of the early to middle 1800’s. Born throughout the East and South and moving into the Midwest where they intermarried with other stalwart pioneers, the parents stayed in place building the communities and serving its people. The children, about half of whom died before reaching adulthood, like their parents, intermarried often with their close neighbors.
The young men died of hard labor and wars; a woman often had two or more husbands in her lifetime. The women died of hard work and child birth, often leading to a man having 2 or 3 families living together at various times in his life.
The parents and a few of the children who survived stayed on in the community, the rest of the children continued the emigration west and usually did not see their parents and siblings again as they became the nuclei of new communities further west.
William Nazareth Mitchell was the son of William M. Mitchel and Elizabeth (Hunt) Mitchell of Tennessee. He was born April 18, 1813, near Lebanon in Wilson County, Tennessee. His father died when William was quite young and he was raised by an uncle, Nicholas Hunt. He was disinherited by this uncle when he was caught teaching the slaves to read the Bible.
William came to Franklin County, Illinois in 1829 to join his 2 older brothers, Zion and Zaduck and began teaching school at age 16. He later studied surveying and when Franklin County split in two and formed Williamson County in 1839, Mitchell ran the survey line between the south boundaries of Franklin County and the present north boundary of Williamson County.
William N. had three wives in his life. His first marriage was with Mary Waggoner Yost in 1835, together they had three children before she died ten years later in 1845. He then married Rachael Caroline Roberts, daughter of John Sutton Roberts, on April 6, 1847.
By 1850, William 36 and his second wife, Rachel 22, were living in Williamson County. They had 6 children at home, 3 by his first wife, Mary, and 3 by Rachael. The children were George L. 12, John G. 10, Elizabeth 8, Sarah 2 and Chloe 1. William was listed as a farmer.
In the 1860 census, the couple was still farming in Northern Precinct, now called Corinth Precinct, in the northeast corner of the county. Their son, George L. had left home and daughter, Sarah Caroline, apparently died sometime after the 1850 census. At this time they had 7 children at home. The children were John Z. 20, Ellen 18, Chloe 11, H.H. 9, James 7, Lucretia 4 and Willis A. 2. The family didn’t appear to be bad off financially, William claimed a land value of $2,500 and a personal estate of $1,500, a substantial sum for the times.
The Civil War started in 1861 and William N. enlisted on January 10, 1862 in Co. E, 60th Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry as a Captain, even though he was about 47 years old. It is suspected that William sold off his farm and moved his family into Marion before leaving for the war.
After the Civil War, the 1905 Souvenir history book (page 26), speaks of how W.N. Mitchell and 12 others like George Sisney and George W. Young, who were conspicuous in the army and during the war, were influenced by John A. Logan. On September 30, 1865, they got together in the back room of the drug store of Isaac M. Lewis on the south side of the square in an old frame building to organize the first Republican ticket that was ever placed before the people of Williamson County. Capt. Mitchell was nominated on the ticket running for County Clerk. Mitchell won the position and held it from 1865-1869.
While serving as County Clerk, his second wife, Rachael, died in 1866 in Marion, Illinois.
In 1866, the first Republican paper ever printed or published in the County was issued by an association that organized for the purpose of giving the Republicans in the County a newspaper or party organ. The original contributors to this enterprise were Captain George W. Sisney, Capt. William N. Mitchell, Capt. David G. Young, S.M. Mitchell, William M. Hindman, Jesse Bishop and George W. Young. The name given it was “Our Flag.” Lyman E. Knapp, a practical printer and Jesse Bishop were designated and installed as editors and publishers.
At some point, yet to be determined, William opened up a drug store called William N. Mitchell and Sons on the bottom floor of the courthouse building in the southeast corner of the square. His son James C. Mitchell was the son who was involved.
By 1870, having lost his second wife, William then married Emily McCoy White, widow of Col. John H. White, who had died heroically at the Battle of Fort Donelson with John A. Logan. Emily had been born in 1828 in Tennessee.
The same year, William took over as Marion Postmaster from his now step-son, Amzi F. White. He held this position from 1870 till his death.
The census of that year, listed William, 56, as Postmaster. His wife, Emily, was 40, 16 years his junior and the census listed the mix of children, three from William’s previous marriages and five from Emily’s. The children were James C. Mitchell, 19 a druggist clerk in his father’s pharmacy on the square, Lucretia Mitchell 14, Edward E. Mitchell 10, Amzi F. White 22, Lilly White 16, Minnie White 12, Lona White 10 and John White Jr. aged 9. The family claimed a real estate value of $3,000 and a personal estate of $1,500.
In 1873, William N. became the last president of the Marion board of trustees; Marion started the Mayoral system of government in 1874.
In 1874, Mitchell ran ads in the papers as a Notary Public and Police Magistrate with an office at the post office, which then was located in the courthouse in the southeast corner of the square, which would all burn down in June of the next year, 1875.
In 1877, John F. Lusk, a practical printer and writer, bought an interest in “The Monitor” from George W. Young, and remained connected with the paper something like two years, when he sold out to John H. Duncan and Edward E. Mitchell, William’s son. In 1886, Thomas J. Helton started a paper called “The Marion Independent,” published the same about one year, when it was bought by a stock company composed of Edward E. Mitchell, John H. Duncan. W.C.S. Rhea and Elder William H. Boles. This office was consolidated with “The Marion Monitor” in 1886, and the name changed to “The Leader,” with James P. Copeland editor and manager.
William died on December 30, 1879, and was buried in Corinth Zion Methodist Church Cemetery in Corinth Precinct, very likely only a stone’s throw from his old farm which family members had continued to occupy over time. His son Edward E. Mitchell finished out his term as Marion Postmaster and was replaced in 1880 by another family friend, James P. Copeland.
In 1880, Emily was living in Marion with two of her children by John White and Nettie, her daughter with William N. Mitchell.
Emily, died in 1895 and was buried next to her first husband, Col. John H. White, in Rose Hill cemetery in Marion.
(Federal Census Records; Memoirs of E.E. Mitchell; Research by Colleen Norman)
Notes on the children:
William N. had at least 14 children by his 3 wives. Several of them died before adulthood. He had three children with Mary Waggoner Yost Mitchell.
1) George L. Mitchell was born in 1838 in Franklin County. He married Malinda A. Swain in 1859. They migrated to Greenwood County, Kansas by 1870. Based on census records they did not appear to have had children.
2) John Yost Mitchell was born in 1839. He died in 1863 at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a part of the Chattanooga Campaign in the Civil War. He was 24 years old.
3) Elizabeth Ellen Mitchell married first John Binkley who died in 1862. Although he is not listed in the Illinois Muster Rolls, it is probable that he, too, died in the Civil War. Later she married Wyatt L. Starrett and they lived in Crab Orchard, IL. where she died in 1887. They had 4 children: William, born 1868; John, 1871; Miles, 1875; and Leona, 1879.
___________________________________________
William N. had six children born alive with Rachael Caroline Roberts Mitchell:
4) Sarah Caroline Mitchell died young between the 1850 and 1860 censuses.
5) Chloe H. Mitchell was born in 1850 in Corinth, Williamson County, Illinois. She married Robert Marion Hinchliff; he died in 1919 and is buried in Hinchcliff Cemetery in western Williamson County. He was the son of William and Esther Hinchcliff and brother of William H. Hinchcliff who married Chloe’s sister Lucretia. In 1900 Marion and Chloe were living in Eight Mile Precinct and were farmers. One daughter, Jessie was with them. In 1910 they lived in Carterville. He answered the question about his occupation, “own income.” Milo Erwin says that Robert is “educated, refined, a splendid musician, sociable, honest, and a gentleman from the ground up.” Miss Chloe Mitchell was a public school teacher in Marion in the 1870’s.
6) Hardy H. Mitchell who also died young in Williamson County was born in 1851.
7) James Cafield Mitchell was born in Corinth in 1852. He married Lillie D. White, the daughter of his step-mother Emily White Mitchell and John H. White. James was an officer in the Knights of Pythias in 1890. James and Lillie had: John, born 1874; Rose, 1876; Mabell, 1878; Verna, 1879; James, 1884; Frank, 1887; Dessie, 1888; and Everett, born in 1890. James worked in a drugstore in his younger years. He served as county clerk from 1886-1894 and was Mayor of Marion in 1891 and City Alderman in 1892. Later, he was a prominent banker in Marion. James died in 1927 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. See also, the post on James C. Mitchell.
One of James C.’s sons, Edward Everett married Margaret Helen Hartman and gave birth to another James C. Mitchell in 1925, who would go on to be a prominent Marion attorney.
8) Lucretia S. Mitchell was born in 1856 and married William H. Hinchcliff in 1884. According to Milo Erwin, the Hinchcliff family consisted of William, his wife and three sons: Vincent, Robert and William. “As a family, they are very intellectual and noted throughout this county for integrity and high social qualities.” Unlike Vincent, “Robert and William have never had anything to do or say in the Vendetta.”
9) Willis Allen Mitchell was born in 1857 and appeared only in the 1860 census records. He was not in the 1870 or 1880 census.
10) Edward Everett Mitchell was born in Corinth on November 11, 1858. He married Anna Belle Harrison in 1887. She was from Herrin’s Prairie and was the daughter of David R. and Elizabeth H. Harrison. He was born in 1858 and died in 1938 in Jackson County, Illinois. He held many positions in Carbondale, Chicago and Springfield. He held political appointments, bank positions up to president, state treasurer for Illinois, and mayor at Carbondale, secretary – treasurer for a private business. His first job was for his father in his drugstore in Marion.
He and Annabelle had 5 children: Julia, 1890; Edward R, 1893; Jane Elizabeth, 1895; Florence, 1897; and Annie F, born in 1900.
An interesting article appeared in Black Diamond, Vol. 56, Jan. 1, 1916. It appears that the coal interests were considering whether Edward E. had the qualifications for them to back him in a run for governor of Illinois. He was considered to be a receptive candidate. He was known to come from Williamson County where most of the coal in Illinois was mined.
He became county clerk of Williamson County, a post he held until 1883 when he moved to Chicago to take a political position of State Grain Inspector. He held this position for 10 years. In 1893 he became cashier of the First National Bank of Carbondale. He held this position for another 10 years until he was made president of the bank about 1903.
He was the first man to have a mine located on the Burlington Railroad. After he left the bank he became secretary-treasurer for the Chicago & Carterville Coal Co. Edward E.’s other positions were member of the state militia for 7 years, state treasurer for two years and Mayor of Carbondale for two years. Edward E. passed away on September 18, 1938 in Carbondale, Illinois.
_____________________________________________
William N. and Emily McCoy White Mitchell had one child, a daughter;
11) Lydia Antoinette “Nettie” Mitchell was born in 1871. She married H.D. Benedict, born in New York, a man several years older than she. In 1910 she and H.D. were living in the Bronx, New York. By 1920 she was a widow and living alone in an apartment in Manhattan. She was working as a secretary for a machinery company in 1920 and 1930. In 1945 she was living in Miami, Dade County, Florida where she died.
At least three more of William N. Mitchell’s children died at birth.