Chapter 6 Dr. Joel Grammer - Faculty and TA Directory

John I?...Reverend John...Jacob...Dr. Joel
11. Joel Douglas GRAMMER
born October 1859 Dr. Joel and Lydia (SIDES) GRAMMER Jackson County, Illinois
married
died after 1880 Nevada?
12. Calvin M. GRAMMER
born July 1861 Dr. Joel and Lydia (SIDES) GRAMMER Carson City, Nevada?
married (died childhood)
died by October 17, 1863 Carson City, Nevada
“Dr. Grammer is believed to have been a son of John Grammer of Union County...” 20 This
statement, however, may not be true, leaving Dr. Joel’s parentage in doubt. First, let’s look at facts
that have bearing on Dr. Joel’s parentage:
• He was born in Kentucky, per census records. However, I have found no Kentucky
transactions for Dr. Joel as a young man.
• I have found no Southern Illinois transactions for Dr. Joel prior to age 37. If he were in
Southern Illinois as a young man, he was certainly keeping a low profile.
• His second and third children were born in Alabama, per census records. (The birthplace of
his oldest child, Talitha, is unknown.) I have not yet found any Alabama transactions for Dr.
Joel. However, Alabama is an awful state for research, and even then, there are many records
that I have not yet checked.
• Dr. Joel was in Graves County, Kentucky by 1830.
• He migrated to Southern Illinois around 1839.
• His first wife and her parents were in Madison County, Alabama, in the very eary 1800s. Her
family moved to Graves County, Kentcky between 1820 and 1830. One uncle moved into
Southern Illinois sometime around then, too.
Next, let’s look at some parentage possibilities:
• Son of William of Southern Illinois – highly unlikely. Dr. Joel gave permission for his
daughter Tiletha to marry William’s proven son Aaron. 21 Had Dr. Joel and Aaron both been
sons of William, then Dr. Joel would have been giving permission for his daughter to marry
her uncle, which would have been unlikely, at best. It is possible, however, that Tiletha was
Dr. Joel’s stepdaughter from an early marriage, which would make this marriage a possibility.
• Legitimate son of Senator John of Southern Illinois – highly unlikely. Neither Dr. Joel nor
any of his descendants (and they were numerous) are listed as heirs in the 1865 partition of
Senator John’s estate, therefore he could not have been a legitimate son of Senator John.
Although the History of Carbondale states that Dr. Joel was born in Ohio County, Kentucky,
which is where Senator John may have been briefly about the time of Dr. Joel’s birth, I
strongly suspect that this birthplace “fact” is not from original birth records but instead is
20 Wright, page 214.
21 Union County marriage records.
Prepared by Penny McIntire (815)652-4237 5-4
7312 South Lowden Road penny@pennymcintire.com last updated January 1, 2004
Oregon, Illinois 61061-9737 www.pennymcintire.com