Pioneers of Early Naperville, Illinois
Sarah Cornelia Ellis Sabin
Albert S. Sabin
In the years since I've been interested in the genealogy of my family, I think I've become more of a community historian than a genealogist.    I am in heaven when I find a diary, a letter, an old photograph, that tells the story of a community of early Americans!

I love learning about every day life:  What did they do for work and entertainment?  Who were their friends and their heroes?  What events made an impact on their communities and their families?  What were their personal joys and tragedies?

For this reason, I try to divide my genealogy into community groups.  This group includes the Sabin and Ellis families of New England, and the Cunningham family of East Tennessee, related only by marriage but each family becoming an integral part of Naperville history.  I have only included the generations who were involved in this migration to Naperville, Illinois.  They sold their land in 1874 and moved to a farm near Gilman, Iroquois County, Illinois.  Sometime in the very late 1800's the Sabins moved to Hinsdale, Illinois, where other family members of the Gates, Babcock, and Ditzler families lived.  Here is a link to Naperville History, including early photographs and maps.  I think this is the Sabin farm in Naperville.  If you are interested in more detailed genealogical information, these families have been  traced back to their earliest days in this country, and I have links to their family trees below.

Direct Ancestors are in Bold Type.  Links are provided to Biographies, Obituaries, Diaries, and other information that I hope will help to bring these people to life.

This is a work in progress, and I'm gradually adding more biographical information  and photographs.  I am immensely grateful to the many cousins who contributed photographs of these families.

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 Sylvanus Sabin & Marcy Stanton
ADAMS*CAGWIN*ELLIS*HOWARD*JONES*SABIN*STANTON
SMITH*THOMAS*VAUGHN
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1   Sylvanus Sabin b: July 20, 1783 in Monson, Hampden Co., MA, a descendant of William and Mary Sabin who appeared in the town records of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1640.  Sylvanus and Marcy Stanton Sabin migrated from Wyoming County, NY to  Naperville, Illinois in 1833.   Sylvanus Sabin  d: September 04, 1838 in Naperville, Illinois & is buried in Naperville Cemetery; Mentioned in the 1857 History of DuPage County, IL as an early settler of Naperville and Commissioner of Roads.  Based on the dates and locations of the Sabin daughters' marriages, it is probable that the Sabin family migrated to Naperville in 1833.

  +Marcy Stanton b: May 03, 1788 in Hartland, Windsor Co, VT m: May 1810 in Middlebury, Wyoming Co, New York;  d: November 10, 1874   in Naperville, Illinois & is buried in Naperville Cemetery.   Father: Phineas Stanton, II  Mother: Esther Gallup. The Stantons and Gallups were  founders of the town of Stonington, Connecticut in 1644.  The families migrated to Hartland, VT in 1788. Marcy Stanton Sabin

........ 2   Alira Sabin b: March 1812 in New York  d: May 14, 1835 in DuPage County, Naperville, Illinois
............  +Hezekiah Smith  m: January 01, 1834 in DuPage County, Illinois ; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
........ 2   Martha Sabin b: February 26, 1814 in Attica, Wyoming County, N.Y.  d: December 13, 1891
              in Joliet,  Will  County, Illinois
............  +Alexander Hamilton Howard b: in Alexander, Genesse County, N.Y. m: February 06, 1833
                in Alexander, Genesse County, N.Y.  Alexander Howard was the first Post Master of Naperville,
                and the family home and first post office, called PawPaw, is preserved in the Naper Settlement.
........ 2   Lucy Sabin b: July 03, 1818  d: November 27, 1888  (where buried?)
............  +Adial Jones   (I believe this is the A.S. Jones who had the plow company in Naperville).
........ 2   Albert S. Sabin b: October 20, 1821 in Wyoming County, NY.   The family moved to Naperville, Illinois in 1833,
              from Naperville to Gilman, Illinois in 1874, and to Hinsdale in the 1880s?   It is a mystery that Albert Sabin and
              Sarah Ellis  married in Bath, Ohio in 1852 (recorded in the family Bible), when the Sabins had been in Illinois for
              almost twenty years.  It's probable that Sarah visited her older sister, Susan Eliza Ellis, in Naperville around 1851,
              and met her future husband there.   He  d: April 13, 1903  in  Hinsdale, Illinois and is buried in the Naperville
              Cemetery.
............  +Sarah Cornelia Ellis b: May 10, 1832 in Bath, Ohio; Father: Nathan Ellis Mother: Sarah Thayer;
                m: September 1852 in Bath, Ohio; d: 1907  Hinsdale, Illinois; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
 

.................. 3   Guy Ellis Sabin b: October 12, 1853 in Naperville, Illinois ;  attended  Northwestern   (now  North Central) College in Naperville  1871-1874, and as in the first class after the collage relocated to Naperville.  He kept a daily diary during those  years.  He worked with the Chicago  law firm of Samuel Kerr  in Chicago, and Nannie returned home to Jonesboro, TN after she graduated in 1875.  They married in 1876, and for several years lived in the Great Lakes region.    He and  Nannie moved to her hometown of Jonesboro, Tennessee in late 1887.  Tragically, he died  September 05, 1888 in a fire while acting as Chief of the volunteer fire department of  Jonesboro, Tennessee.  He was not quite 35.   He is buried Old Jonesboro Cemetery. Obituary. Guy Ellis Sabin
.
.................... +Nannie Leila Sevier b: 1856 in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the only daughter of one early Jonesborough, Tennessee physician,  and the granddaughter of another.  She lived with her great uncle, Rev. Dr. John Whitfield Cunningham, and his wife (her paternal aunt), Elizabeth Sevier Cunningham, in Naperville while attending Northwestern College.  Dr. Cunningham was minister of the Congregational Church in Naperville at the time. Nannie graduated from Northwestern College in Naperville, IL in 1875.  Love letters between her and Guy Sabin tell of their intentions of marrying in this Country's Centennial year, and they were married  September 13, 1876 in Jonesboro, Tennessee; Nannie died : January 01, 1935 in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina ;  Father: Dr. William Robertson Sevier ; Mother: Martha Ellen Cunningham.; Buried Maplelawn Cemetery, Jonesborough, TN. Nannie Leila Sevier

................... 3   Mary Colt Sabin b: November 28, 1855 in Naperville, Illinois  d: May 04, 1936; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
                         Never married.   Mary wrote her EARLY RECOLLECTIONS of her childhood in Naperville, Illinois.
................... 3   Carrie Sabin b: May 01, 1858 in Naperville, Illinois  d: April 08, 1862 in Naperville, Illinois;
                         Buried Naperville Cemetery.
................... 3   Jessie May Sabin b: May 25, 1865 in Naperville, Illinois  d: August 28, 1886 in Gilman, Illinois;
                         Buried Naperville Cemetery.
................... 3   Fannie Effie Sabin b: September 06, 1870 in Naperville, Illinois  d: January 10, 1943
                        in Jonesboro, Tennessee;  never married; Her professional name was Frances Ellis Sabin.  She taught
                        Latin at several universities, including Columbia University in New York,  and authored two Latin textbooks.
                        Fannie is buried in Maplelawn Cemetery in Jonesborough, TN but has a marker in the Sabin plot of the
                        Naperville Cemetery.
................... 3   Daisy Belle Sabin b: March 13, 1873 in Naperville, Illinois; Died 1949; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
........ 2   Statira Sabin b: February 23, 1824 in New York  d: 1897 in Nevada or California.
............  +Hamden Aubrey  Cagwin b: 1810 in Verona, Oneida County, NY m: October 20, 1842 in
                DuPage County, Naperville, Illinois d: 1895 Carson City, Nevada.  Father: Thomas Cagwin
                Mother:  Eunice Joslyn;    The following are their surviving children:
...................3     Hamden Eldorado Cagwin, b. December 25, 1850 (came to be known as the Hermit of Echo Lake)
...................3      Jessie May Cagwin, b. February 19, 1854, d. November 29, 1879
...................3     George W. Cagwin, b. January 1, 1857;
...................3     Cyrus Cagwin, died young
...................3     Francis S. Cagwin, b. April 1, 1861 in Placerville, CA.
........ 2   Mary Sabin b: September 11, 1826 in New York  d: May 31, 1851 in Illinois (where buried?)
............  +Cyrus Adams  m: November 28, 1849 in DuPage County, Naperville, Illinois d: in Illinois
........ 2   Caroline Sabin b: March 16, 1829
............  +Silas O. Vaughn  m: September 11, 1850 in DuPage County, Naperville, Illinois.  (S.O. Vaughn is listed
                 as one of the early settlers of Naperville, so he is presumed to have been much older than Caroline...or
                 perhaps this is S.O. Vaughn, Jr.?) . Date of death and place of burial unknown.
................... 3   Edward Vaughn b: July 29, 1854 (mentioned in the Guy Sabin diaries)
................... 3   William Vaughn b: Abt 1857
................... 3   Albert S. Vaughn b: 1861
................... 3   Julia Vaughn b: 1865  d: 1866

Other Sabin-Stanton family members who migrated to Northern Illinois:

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 Nathan Ellis & Sarah Thayer
AUSTILL* BABCOCK* BENTLEY* COLT* DALEY *DOLE* DOTY* ELLIS* GATES MITCHELL* MUNSON* POOLE* SABIN *SIEBERT* SMITH *THAYER
   __________________________________________________________________________

Nathan Ellis

Sarah Thayer Ellis
Photos of Original Oil Portraits, Courtesy of W. D. Gates, II & Linda Gates

 1   Nathan Ellis b: April 08, 1786 in Massachusetts    d: February 08, 1860 in Illinois.  The first of the Ellis family to migrate from Summit County,  Ohio to Naperville, Illinois, was Susan Eliza Ellis and her husband, Dr. Barber Bentley who appear in the 1850 census of Naperville.
.... +Sarah Thayer b: November 25, 1786 in Orange, Franklin County, Massachusetts m: February 28, 1809 in Orange, Franklin County,  Massachusetts Father: Joel Thayer Mother: Susannah Cheney d: March 31, 1879 in Gilman, Iroquois Co, IL; Buried in Naperville Cemetery.
........ 2   Eliza Ellis b: February 04, 1810    d: June 05, 1814
........ 2   Nathan Ellis b: December 06, 1811    d: February 12, 1848, Summit County, Ohio.; two sons died young.
...........  +Cynthia Dole  m: January 30, 1836
........ 2   Emeline Ellis b: March 12, 1814    d: June 29, 1863
............  +Ashley Colt  m: April 22, 1839 in Bath, Ohio
.......................3   Mary R. Colt b: September 25, 1841
..........................  +James C. Rogers b: July 16, 1841;  marriage bond: May 3, 1865, Will Co, IL;
                              m. May 6, Cook Co., IL  -  Worked at Chicago Trade Center; Lived in Oak Park; d. 1927
..............................4   Ashley Colt Rogers b: December 5, 1868
..............................4   Ellen "Nellie" Douglas Rogers b: July 31, 1871; m. William Greene Atwood June 7, 1905,
                                   Oak Park, IL.
..............................4   Susan Ann Rogers b: August 16, 1875, Chicago, IL; d. January 23, 1962, Oak Park, Illinois;
                                   Married Frank Wright Thomas
......... 2   Emerancy Ellis b: March 23, 1816 in Bath, Ohio; d. May 29, 1899; buried Naperville Cemetery.
............  +Franklin B. Smith  m: July 23, 1839 in Bath Township, Summit Co, Ohio
.......... ............3   Gertrude Smith b: October 17, 1841;  Gertrude was an early resident of Magnolia Springs, Alabama,
                            a resort community near the Gulf Coast.  Along with her half brothers, she was a founder of the
                            Episcopal Church in Magnolia Springs. Gertrude and her mother lived their last years in Hinsdale, IL.
                            Buried in the Naperville Cemetery.
............  *2nd Husband of Emerancy Ellis:
.............  +Lyman Babcock b: Abt 1820 m: January 13, 1851  Note:  this family  owned a farm in West Lyons (LaGrange),
                 Cook Co, IL.  Lyman Babcock was  married first to a Phoebe Ann in Bath, Ohio, and had three daughters:
                 Helen, Celia (who married Elias Ditzler), and Phoebe. He is said to have left his children with his parents, joining the
                 Gold Rush in California.  On his return to Ohio, he married widow Emerancy. He died  May 13, 1869. 
                 Celia is mentioned in the diaries of Hannah Ditzler Alspaugh and Guy Ellis Sabin.  Lyman Babcock is buried in the Naperville Cemetery.
........................3   Charles F. Babcock b: December 23, 1851
............................ +Sarah Daley  m: July 10, 1877
................................4   Guy F. Babcock b: May 18, 1878
................................4   Lyle Ellis Babcock b: 1880
.................................4  Emerancy Babcock b: March 1883
.................................4  Earl Babcock b: November 1885
.................................4  Gertrude Babcock b: March 1888
........................3   Fred Lyman Babcock b: November 05, 1853 in Illinois
.............................  +Addie Mitchell  m: February 25, 1880
..................................4  Sarah Alice Babcock b: December 16, 1880
..................................4  Lyman Babcock b: April 02, 1882
..................................4  Charles Irwin Babcock  b. December 04, 1884
..................................4  Maud Ellis Babcock b.February 02, 1894

.........................3   Ida May Babcock b: July 22, 1857 West Lyons (LaGrange) Illinois ; died Jan. 26, 1946. Buried Naperville Cemetery.
...........................  +William D. Gates  m: September 19, 1877 (William D. Gates founded the American Terra Cotta Company and TECO Pottery in Crystal Lake,
                                Illinois. They were divorced when their children were young.
...................................4   William Paul Gates b: March 12, 1879
...................................4    Ellis Day Gates b: October 11, 1880    d: 1923
......................... ........ .......+Jennie Fee Austill b: October 1882 ; d: February 1948
............................................. ..5   Ellis Day Gates II b: May 1905
............................................... 5   Jennie Fee Gates b: 1906
............................................... 5   Ora Ervin Gates
...................................4   Margaret Gates b: October 06, 1882
.......................... ........4   Neil Hurlbut Gates b: November 23, 1884
...................................4   Major Earl Gates b: April 01, 1886
........... 2   Julia Ann Ellis b: February 23, 1819    d: January 10, 1845
...............  +Dr. William B. Munson  m: August 1839
.............. ...... 3   Franklin Ellis Munson b: Abt 1841    d: Abt 1845
..................... 3   Charlotte Munson b: February 09, 1844
...............   ........ +Edwin Poole  m: October 17, 1866 Father: Mother:
....................................4  Mildred Ellis Poole b: December 25, 1871
............................... ....4  Alice Zillia Poole b: April 23, 1878
.......... 2   Susan Eliza Ellis b: May 23, 1821    d: January 09, 1872 in Algonquin, IL; buried in Naperville Cemetery
.............  +Dr. Barber Bentley  m: 1844
.................... 3   Ellis E. Bentley b: 1843; With the 15th Illinois Regiment, Company B; died at Fort Dickering, TN,
                          Sept. 22, 1864; buried  in Naperville Cemetery
.................... 3   Julia Ann Bentley b: 1845
........................  +David H. Doty  m: April 25, 1862 in McHenry Co, Illinois.
............ ......................... 4   Ellis Doty b: February 1865
...................................... 4   VanDyne Doty b: May 1882
.................... 3   Virginia Bentley b: 1848
........................  +Sumner E. Gates  m: Feb. 14, 1871 in McHenry Co, Illinois
...................................... 4   Susan Gates b: February 1872    d: 1873
...................................... 4   Simon Gates     d: 1874
................... 3   Georgia Bentley b: 1850
.......................  +Samuel Seebert  m: November 18, 1869 (according to Illinois marriage records, marriage was
                         November 24, 1870 in McHenry Co, IL)
............. ....................... 4   Bertha Siebert b: 1871
................... 3   Kate R.  Bentley b: 1855
                         +Charles T. Montauye (sp?); Nov. 19, 1874, McHenry Co, Illinois.
..........   Sarah Cornelia Ellis b: May 10, 1832 in Bath, Summit Co, Ohio    d: May 31, 1907 in  Hinsdale,  Illinois; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
                See above for descendants.
 
 

Other Ellis-Thayer family member who migrated to Northern Illinois:
Savel Thayer, brother of Sarah Thayer Ellis- Winnebago County, Illinois


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John Whitfield Cunningham & Elizabeth Sevier
CASTLE*CUNNINGHAM*KNICKERBOCKER*PORTER*RHEA*SEVIER
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 1   Rev. John Whitfield Cunningham b: 1805 in Washington County, Tennessee  d: February 08, 1874 in Naperville, Illinois.  Was an ordained Presbyterian Minister who served many churches in N. Indiana and Illinois.  His last church was the First Congregational Church of Naperville, Illinois. Buried Naperville Cemetery.
..  +Elizabeth Sevier b: October 13, 1809 in Greene County, Tennessee m: October 20, 1831 in Greene County, Tennessee d: June 14, 1882 in Naperville, Illinois Father: Valentine Sevier ; Mother: Nancy Dinwiddie; Buried Naperville Cemetery.
....... 2   Nancy Jane Cunningham b: 1834 in Jonesborough, TN;  d: Oct. 21, 1909 in Minneapolis, MN
...........  +Herman  W. Knickerbocker  m: July 26, 1877 in Naperville, Illinois
....... 2   Katherine Mitchell "Kate" Cunningham b: 1835 in Jonesborough, TN;  d: 1916 in Fort Scott, Kansas
...........  +Cheney Moses Castle b: April 11, 1829 in Jericho, VT m: January 25, 1882 in Naperville,
              Illinois d: Aug. 6, 1916 Ft. Scott, KS.  Buried  in  Naperville Cemetery, Illinois.  Cheney Castle had been
             married twice  before to two daughters of Joseph Naper.  Kate Cunningham taught school in
             Naperville for many years.
....... 2   John Cunningham b: Abt 1840  d: in 1867 in Naperville, IL
....... 2   Lucy Isabel Cunningham b: 1845 in Jonesboro, Tennessee  d: Feb 7, 1909 in Fort Scott, Kansas
...........  +Rev. William C. Porter b: May 11, 1834 in Jersey;  m: Nov. 27, 1866, Naperville, IL.  He was
              an ordained Presbyterian minister and pastored a church in Ft. Scott, KS for over 30 yrs.
              Father: Rev. Jonathon Porter
................ 3   Alice Porter, b. April 1, 1872; d. 1916 in Ft. Scott, KS. Buried Naperville Cemetery, Illinois.
................ 3   Caroline Porter
................ 3   Lucy Porter
................ 3   John William Porter
....... 2   Jane I. Cunningham; died young?

Other Cunningham-Sevier family members in Northern Illinois:
Rev Samuel Rhea and Sally Foster Rhea- Chicago
Nannie Leila Sevier- Naperville (my great-grandmother was related to this family through her mother and her father.  Rev. John W. Cunningham was her mother's uncle.  His wife, Elizabeth Sevier, was her father's older sister.

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Note:  I am very interested in finding living descendants of these families.  Although all of the families originally migrated to Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois, some eventually settled in Will, Kane, Cook, DeKalb, Winnebago, McHenry and Iroquois Counties.
Pat Sabin


SABIN - ELLIS Family Tree at RootsWeb's WorldConnect:
Sabin, Ellis, and Related Families of MA & CT Who Migrated to Northern Illinois

East Tennessee Pioneers
DuPage County Illinois History