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Sarah Melissa (Martin) Worrall, the second child of Ambrose and Phebe (Stewart) Martin, was born 1 February 1834 in Athens Co., Ohio. When Sarah was 2˝ years old, her family moved to the area of Camargo, Illinois, which was then Coles County but is now in Douglas County. The 1860 census shows 16-year-old Sarah along with her parents and five siblings in New Albany Precinct of Coles County.. On 8 February 1854, Sarah married James P. Worrall in Coles County. He had been born 24 Feb 1830 in Clark County, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Hannah Elizabeth (Canfield) Worrall. The 1860 census shows Sarah and James in Camargo township (T15, R9) of Douglas County, with their first two children. James’s occupation there is given as wagon maker, although subsequent censuses describe him as a farmer (1875, 1880, 1885), and a gardener (1900). On 15 August 1862, with the Civil War raging, James enlisted in the Illinois 79th Infantry, Company E, which participated in several noteworthy battles and campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. On 10 January 1865, James was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, a military reserve organization created to allow infirm or partially disabled soldiers to perform light duty. Available records do not specify why that transfer was made. James presumably returned home once the war ended in the spring of 1865. James and Sarah had three children that we know of, the first two born in Illinois and the third, much later, in Kansas:
About 1868–69, according to a great-granddaughter, the Worralls moved to Jackson County, Kansas, but I have not found documentation to confirm this. The 1870 census shows them living in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. By 1872, they had moved on to Chase County, Kansas, as James’s name appears on a petition issued by a group of Chase County Republicans that year (Chase County Leader, 25 Oct 1872, p. 3). Also, their daughter Annie was married in Chase County in February 1874. The Kansas state census of 1875 and the 1880 U.S. census both show James and Sarah in Toledo Township of Chase County with their son Ambrose and daughter Mary Jane. Additionally, the 1880 census includes and Ambrose’s wife Mattie. In June 1882, the Chase County Leader reported that James had purchased an abandoned town site (Agnes City) in Lyon County, Kansas, and was plowing it up for farmland. The Kansas state census of 1885 shows James and Sarah in Agnes City, Lyon County, Kansas, along with their daughter Mary Jane, son Ambrose (then widowed), and Ambrose’s daughter “Annie” (Mary Anna Worrall). In addition to farming, James also established a retail store in Lyon County. In February 1887, a local newspaper reported “The store of J. P. Worrall, at Bushong, was burglarized this week of jewelry, cutlery and groceries” (The Americus Ledger, 11 Feb 1887, p.·1). That burglary was not the only misfortune visited upon James’s store. From The Emporia Democrat of 23 Nov 1887 (p. 3): J. P. Worrall & Co’s. store burned to the ground last night, with all of its contents. It appears that the store was robbed first and then set on fire, as the door was open and the lock broken when the fire was first discovered. The tracks of a wagon were visable [sic.] in front of the store the next morning. The store building and stock of goods were insured in the State Insurance Co. of Des Moines, Iowa. Whether they will pay the loss or not, can not be ascertained at present. Subsequent newspaper stories clarified that the insurance company paid James in full for his losses. Sarah and James remained in Lyon County through at least 1891, when their youngest daughter, Mary Jane, was married there. By 1894, though, local papers were referring to James as “J. P. Worrall of Council Grove,” and the 1900 census confirms that James and Sarah were in Council Grove, Morris County, Kansas, along with their granddaughter, Mary Anna (daughter of son Ambrose and his first wife, Mattie, who had died in 1884). Sarah passed away in Council Grove 28 April 1901. The Council Grove Republican carried an obituary for her, and she was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Council Grove. James lived on another 8 years. Local newspapers made occasional mentions of him visiting his son Ambrose in Lyons County and his daughter Mary Jane in Oklahoma. He passed away in Council Grove on 24 May 1909. The Morris County Advance carried a lengthy obituary, and he was buried next to Sarah at Greenwood Cemetery. If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about James and Sarah Worrall or their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below:
Thanks,
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