James Hartwell Duncan, five term Marion alderman, three term county sheriff and Marion merchant, was born in 1840, the son of George W. Duncan (1817-1878) and Rosey A. Henson (1812-xxxx). James appears to have favored his middle name of Hartwell.
In the 1850 census, his parents, George and Rosey, had 7 children, 10 years of age and under: James H., 10; Mary A. and Nancy J., twins, 8; Elizabeth F., 6; Viola, 5.; Narcissa, 2; and George W., who was only a few months old. They were living in Williamson County, Illinois.
Ten years later, in 1860, the parental Duncan family had 7 children at home: James H., 20; Mary Ann, 18; Elizabeth F., 16; Viola, 14; Narcissa, 12; Franklin P., 7 and Thomas J., 3. They were living near Bainbridge, a village just west of Marion .
Our subject, Hartwell Duncan, ran Duncan House, a hotel-boarding house, in 1865.
On February 6, 1865, James Duncan shot and killed Isham Cannedy in a drugstore on the west side of the public square in Marion. The wound was in the left side of the belly, a mortal wound the depth of 6 inches and breadth of 1 inch. Cannedy only languished 10 minutes. It was stated that, “Logan McKean did willfully incite, move, procure and counsel Duncan to said murder. Duncan was tried and acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
He bought 160 acres of land in section 36 Township 9 Range 1E. This was railroad land which is under Crab Orchard Lake today. The land was given to the railroads to sell and make money to be used in building the railroad tracks and facilities for the trains across the country.
Hartwell married Ellen Rebecca Simmons on May 14, 1868. She was born on January 1, 1843.
In the 1870 census, James Hartwell was 30, Rebecca was 20 and they were living in East Marion. Their first child, Earnest, was then 1 year old and Hartwell was a trader and had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal property at $300.
Hartwell Duncan was elected sheriff of Williamson County in 1878 and was re-elected twice and served until 1886. Prior to 1882, sheriff’s terms were two years. In 1882, this was changed to a four year term and officers were not allowed to succeed themselves. From 1882 to 1886, William H. Bundy served as Deputy Sheriff under Hartwell Duncan.
James Hartwell Duncan was involved in the Bloody Vendetta. On the 25th of December, 1875 James H. Duncan, assisted by W. M. Davis and J. V. Grider, the plans having been previously arranged by Duncan – ran in on James Norris, accused of killing William Spence and George Sisney, at Mr. Poteetes, at a ball, five miles southwest of Marion. Norris was the most notorious and dreaded of all the assassins in the Bloody Vendetta. Sisney had tried for a year to have him arrested. Duncan brought Norris to Marion and put him in the same cell with Marshall Crain.
According to an Egyptian Press news release, “On April 27, 1876 Hartwell Duncan, one of the men who captured James Norris, left Monday for Springfield to collect the $400 reward.”
Narcissa Waggoner, swore against “Big Jep”, one of the accused murderers during the vendetta. She had boarded him and Spence at the same time they had their difficulty. Narcissa was a daughter of George Duncan, a respectable citizen of the county, the wife of Carroll Waggoner and sister to James H. Duncan, the sheriff. Narcissa was described as, “a woman about 30 years old and a woman of strong intellect. Her testimony was clear, consistent, and conclusive.”
Testimony taken during the Vendetta trials in 1875 stated, “Mrs. Waggoner told her brother, James H. Duncan of Marion, who the guilty parties were. Mr. Duncan is a man about thirty six years old, very intelligent, firm as a rock, and a man of remarkable courage. He went to a friend and told him he knew who killed Spence and he intended to have them brought to justice and he wanted a man to help execute his plans. His friend advised him to get Benjamin F. Lowe of Marion. Lowe agreed to go into it. Sam Music was the first man to be arrested. He confessed to the murders of William Spence and George Sisney. “As a note, Benjamin Lowe, was a gambler and tavern owner. He operated a tavern on the north side of the square in Marion back in the very early days.
James H. Duncan was elected as an Alderman for the city of Marion in 1876 and elected again in 1884 and 1885, all terms under Mayor James C. Jackson serving his first three terms.
In October of 1876, Hartwell and his family left for the centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The exposition was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the United States. Attending this event would have been a huge deal for a small town family from Marion in this time period. Travel would have been accomplished by a combination of steamboat up the Ohio River and completed by train.
A local newspaper dated January 30, 1877 indicated that, “The co-partnership of J. H. Duncan and R. M. Hundley known as J. H. Duncan and Co. ceased to exist. Little is currently known of this business or its location.
A couple of months later, on March 29, 1877, an ad in the Marion paper proclaimed that J.H. Duncan, 1 mile southwest of Marion had for sale a steam, saw, and gristmill and a distillery plus 5 acres of land with 4 tenement houses and a never failing well of soft water.
Also in 1877, Duncan buggy whipped Mahala Vineyard, a notorious Marion prostitute. The whipping occurred on the east side of the square on a Friday evening. Hartwell paid a $5 fine, for what he called “the privilege and satisfaction”.
Hartwell’s father George M. Duncan who lived 5 miles southwest of Marion died suddenly of paralysis of the brain at the end of January in 1878. He left his wife, 3 sons and 5 daughters. Hartwell was on his way from New York and was telegraphed and arrived in time to attend the funeral. His mother died on November 5, 1889, at nearly 80 years of age.
In the election of 1878, Democrat James H. Duncan defeated William J. Caplinger, Republican by a majority of 78 votes in the race for county sheriff.
In 1880 Hartwell and Ellen had 6 children under 11: Earnest, 11; Leena, 9; Vinnie, 7; Robbie, 6; Gracie, 2; and Birdie 1. He was sheriff of the county.
In 1888 Duncan put a notice in the paper that he had bought Mr. Oglesby’s interest in the mill at Pulley’s Mill and was now the sole proprietor.
Harwell was elected again as city alderman in 1894 under the administration of Mayor James M. Westbrook and again the next year, in 1895, under Mayor John H. Burnett.
James Hartwell Duncan died in El Paso, Texas in December of 1901. The body was brought back to Marion for burial. The notice of the funeral appeared in the December 20, 1901 paper. His wife Ellen Rebecca Duncan died at the Mayfield Sanitarium in St Louis, Missouri. She had under gone a critical operation to remove a tumor a week before she died on July 24, 1899.
Notes on the Children:
Earnest Duncan was born in 1869. He got in a fight which resulted in the death of George White, the younger of two boys he attacked. The doctor amputated his arm and he died within hours.
On Nov. 18, 1892 notice was given that an application would be presented to Gov. Joseph W. Fifer for a pardon of Earnest Duncan, convicted of manslaughter, at the April term, 1890. It was signed by James H. Duncan. Obviously he was pardoned because in the 1900 census Earnest and his wife Laura were living in South Bend, Indiana. In 1920 he was living in Detroit, Michigan.
Leena Duncan Sultzer was born in 1871. She married John W. Sultzer Nov. 26, 1896. They lived in St Louis, Missouri.
Vennie Duncan Powell was born in 1873. She married Thomas B. Powell Sept. 23, 1896. They lived in Vienna in Johnson County, Illinois. In Sept. of 1914 their 14 year old grandson Hartwell Powell accidentally shot himself and died almost instantly.
Robert G. Duncan was born in 1874.
Gracie Duncan Mitchell was born in 1878 and died in 1966 in Marion, Illinois. John C. Mitchell and Grace Duncan were married on Mar 22, 1897. They had two children Lucille and Lillie.
Birdie Duncan was born in 1879.
Cyrene Duncan (Cyrene and Birdie may be the same person.)
Willie Duncan
(Sources: Federal Census Records; Pioneer Folks and Places; compiled by Colleen Norman)