Journey to the Past

This week my 82 year old Dad and I took a day trip to Olney, IL in Richland County. Dad's grandparents had lived in Olney (as did his parents for a brief time, before coming to Peoria). Some of his father's siblings had remained in Olney for years, although no one is left there now. We went to Ebenezer Cemetery and found the grave sites of his grandparents and their children who had died young.

Then we found the actual home where Moses and Lydia Adamson had lived until their deaths. I was surprised that the house was still standing, but it appeared to be in good shape.

It is rather unusual for anyone to be alive today that can say that their grandfather or great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, but Dad and I can. Moses and Lydia spaced their children out over 23 years, with my grandfather being second to the youngest, thus a generation was skipped.

Moses Thompson Adamson was born March 29, 1838 in Edwards County Illinois, the second of seven children born to Aaron W. and Martha Thompson Adamson. His father, Aaron, died around 1850 when Moses was 12. His mother, Martha, remarried to Joseph Hedrick in 1851 and the family settled in Richland County, Illinois.

In September of 1861, Moses joined the 38^th IL Infantry, Co. I. In December 1862, Moses was taken prisoner at Stone River and was taken to Libby Prison in Richmond, VA. His time in the prison appeared to affect the rest of his life. He married Lydia Ann Bullard in Richland County IL in April of 1863. In September of 1863, he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamanga. He was honorably discharged in October of 1864, and returned to Olney, Illinois, where he and Lydia remained until their deaths.

By the time Moses was discharged from the service, he and Lydia had a 2 month old son. They went on to have 12 children, then took in another child in their older years (around 1900). Six of their twelve children died before reaching adulthood.

Moses died in 1917, at age 79; Lydia died in 1935 at the age of 90. Both are buried at Ebenezer Cemetery in Olney, Illinois.