The Profitt Family

I've been having fun lately doing some deeper research into my family. Four years ago I drove a few hundred miles to Foosland, Illinois and visited the grave of Henry Profitt Cornelius, my third great grandfather (Henry Profitt Cornelius > Jesse Profitt Cornelius > William Seborn Cornelius > Floyd Cornelius, Sr. > Floyde Cornelius, Jr.). Since then, I discovered the grave of Henry's father, John Cornelius (1776 - 1857), who is buried in the Cornelius Family Cemetery in Christian County, Kentucky.

John's wife (our fourth great grandmother) is Martha "Patcey" Profitt Cornelius (1790 - 1876) and is the obvious origin for Henry and Jesse's middle names. Using Google, I found an interesting website for the Profitt family which traces their origins farther back.

Warning, you might want to take an Advil right now!

Martha “Patcey” Profitt was born in Goochland County, Virginia and was apparently the only child of Jesse S. Profitt (1766 - 1839) and his first wife, Mary Mollie Moseley (1768 - 1857). Jesse and Mary apparently divorced or otherwise split as he married another Mary (Mary Jane Bryant) in 1807!

Jesse Profitt was the third child of William Profitt (1738 - 1812) and his wife, Sarah Thurston (1743 - 1780). Like Martha, Jesse was born in Goochland County, Virginia.

Going even farther back, William was born in St. James, Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia. He was the son of Silvester Profitt/Prophet (1698 - 1767) and Alice Pleasants (1698 – 1771).

Silvester, my seventh great grandfather, is apparently the patriarch of the American Profitt (or Prophet) family as he was born in Eassie, County Angus, Scotland and was the son of James or John Prophet. Silvester arrived in America in 1716.

Note: The surname is spelled three different ways – Proffitt, Profitt and Prophet. I am not sure which is the “correct” spelling. For consistency purposes, I am using “Profitt”.

The American Civil War

One hundred and fifty years ago this morning, April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began with the shelling of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. By the time the war ended in April 1865, approximately 620,000 Americans were dead.

In many cases, the war pitted families against each other and brother against brother.

My family was no exception.

The earliest recorded Cornelius immigrant in America was Aaron Cornelius, captain of the English privateer ship, Canary Bird, in the service of the English Crown  in 1639. His place of residence was Flushing, Long Island, which was chartered to the English settlers in 1645 by the Dutch West India Company. Aaron was married and had at least five children. He died in Flushing on February 28, 1695 and his will is on record there.Although his oldest son John returned to England with his family, the others remained in the area and many descendants of this Cornelius line live in America today.

The next earliest record found of a Cornelius arrival in America was John Cornelius who arrived from Holland and settled in Maryland sometime prior to 1651. John and his wife Mary moved to Virginia where a will dated April 14, 1656 bequeathed all of his property to his wife. They had no known children and it is impossible to follow this line.

My immigrant ancestor, Rowland Cornelius, arrived from Holland in 1665 and settled first in Virginia and then moved to Maryland. He returned to Virginia around 1690 and purchased 50 acres of land at the head of Nantepolsen Creek in Lancaster County in August 1697. He purchased the land for the sum of three thousand pounds of tobacco! Rowland lived there until his death in 1727. Although Rowland did not leave a will (thus listing his children), there is documentary evidence that he had five sons (the oldest also named Rowland who is referred to in family documentation as "Rowland #2") who remained in Virginia. He married a woman named Rebecca and they had nine children. Rowland #2 passed away sometime in 1765.

Rowland #2's sixth child was William Cornelius was born in Spotsylvania County in 1732 and passed away in 1801 . William moved around a great deal and eventually located in the Carolinas. He had nine children with three children born in South Carolina. His seventh child, John Cornelius, was born May 20, 1776 in South Carolina and died April 18, 1857. John is my 4th great grandfather. John eventually settled in Christian County, Kentucky and married Patcey Profitt and they had eight children. John and Patcey are buried in Kentucky.

John's oldest child was Henry Profitt Cornelius who was born in 1806 and died in 1895. Henry was married twice -- first to Mary Ann Quisenberry who passed away in 1845 -- and he then married her cousin Catherine Quisenberry. In total, Henry fathered 18 children! Henry moved to Champaign County, Illinois and is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Foosland, Illinois.

Henry’s eight child (with Mary Ann) was Jesse Profitt Cornelius who was born in 1840 and died in 1885. In 1879, he and his wife Mary Ann Spencer, moved to Kansas. Jesse’s oldest child was my great grandfather William Seborn Cornelius.

As the families moved from Virginia and the Carolinas and headed west, a number of family members moved north. By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, members of the Cornelius family lived in the North and in the South and in the border state of Kentucky. There is documentary (and anecdotal) evidence that family members fought on both sides.

My Kentucky ancestors apparently leaned to the South. A tombstone of a family member named John Wilkes Cornelius appears in the Christian County Cemetery.

The war separated the country and the effects are still felt 150 years later.

William C. Cornelius

William C. Cornelius is my 5th great grandfather. He was born circa 1732 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. William and his wife (it’s not clear about her identity) had nine children although there is a possibility that he may have had additional children. William’s 7th known child was my 4th great grandfather, John Cornelius. William died in 1801 in Lincoln County, North Carolina.

In re-reading a portion of my Uncle Jay’s Cornelius Roots and Shoots book, I found some disturbing information about William’s final resting place:

It is known that there was a small, old Cornelius family cemetery located near the old home place along the Catawba River. When a dam was being constructed to form Lake Norman on the Catawba, it became necessary that this old cemetery be moved to higher ground. It is reported that the remains of only those that were located and identified by headstones were disinterred and moved to the Rehobeth Methodist Church Cemetery in Catawba County, a few miles away. The others, unknown and unmarked, were left and soon covered by the waters of Lake Norman. William and his wife and perhaps others were apparently in unmarked graves at the time and so it must be assumed they are still there under about 100 feet of water.

Marlene Cornelius

I received sad news recently that the wife of my second cousin, Dennis Cornelius, passed away in October. Dennis’s wife’s name was Marlene and she had battled cancer for a long time. Here is her story.

Dennis is the son of Ford and Lou Cornelius (Ford and my dad were first cousins). He lives in Rockford, Illinois and is the only Cornelius relative that I know of who lives close to me.

USS Admiral Hugh Rodman

In going through some of my dad’s papers the other day, I found a couple of yellowed newspaper clippings containing news about my father’s return to the States after the war ended. According to the newspaper accounts, he returned to New York on the Navy transport vessel USS Admiral Hugh Rodman.

Although the newspaper clippings are not dated, it appears he left Okinawa on April 19, 1946. It is not clear when the Rodman actually arrived in New York.

Dad began his tour of duty when he left the United States on February 14, 1945 and was in Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands and arrived on Okinawa on June 7, 1945 where he was stationed for the remainder of the war. After the Japanese surrender, he spent a few days in Tokyo in November 1945.

Here is a photo I found in Wikipedia that I saved on my Flickr site:

The history of the Rodman is interesting. It was named after Admiral Hugh Rodman (1859 – 1940) -- a naval officer who was at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. He was later Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) in July 1919 and retired from the service in 1923. The ship itself was launched in February 1945 and was commissioned in July 1945. It served in the Navy for a year and then was recommissioned as an Army vessel (the USAT General Maurice Rose) in August 1946. The ship was eventually decommissioned in June 1970 and was scrapped in 1997.

Short biography of Henry P. Cornelius

Last summer I posted about my visit to the gravesite of my third great grandfather, Henry P. Cornelius. Today I was going through some of my father’s mementos and found a photocopy that my uncle Eldon sent him that contained a short biography of Henry. The book was entitled: Portrait and Biographical Album Champaign County, Illinois. It contains “…full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county.” [Note: I guess if you were not included in the book, you must not be very important!] The book was published in 1887 by Chapman Brothers of Chicago. This is what the book says about Henry:

During the early settlement of Central Illinois there came from Kentucky a hardy band of pioneers. That state not only took the lead as to the time of sending its sturdy sons and devoted daughters to settle in the beautiful woodlands which skirted the broad prairies of this section, but in the number of its pioneers it excels all other states. It was characteristic Kentucky hospitality that won for the pioneers such an enduring reputation in this respect, and made life on the frontier happy. We have as our subject one of these veteran Kentucky pioneers who, although not an early settler of Champaign County, is a pioneer of this part of the state. He now lives in Brown Township, where he is the proprietor of a good homestead of Section 16, and employs the greater part of his time superintending the cultivation of 160 acres of improved land. He took up his abode here in 1882, and although not classed among the pioneers of this township, has by his age, experience and most excellent personal qualities, secured the respect and esteem of all who know him. His head has been whitened by the frosts of eighty-one winters, yet he possesses in a marked degree the energy of character which distinguishes him in his youth. Mr. Cornelius was born within seven miles of Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky on March 16, 1806, and is the son of John and Martha (Profitt) Cornelius, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia. After marriage they commenced their life together in Christian County, Kentucky where they reared a family and spent the remainder of their days. The children of the parental family who grew up on the farm in the above county were eight, four of whom are now living. The subject of our sketch removed to Tazewell County, Illinois in 1836 and lived there over forty-five years. He first located in Hittle’s Grove Township, where he lived until the spring of 1877, and from there removed to Minier, where he lived five years, and thence removed to Brown Township, this county, locating upon his present farm. Mr. Cornelius was first married, in his native county in Kentucky, July 17, 1828, to Miss Mary Quissenberry, who was of Southern birth and parentage, her father and mother being natives of Virginia, of which she was also a native. Of this marriage there were born nine children, whom they named as follows: John H.; Edward, deceased; Nancy A.; Gustavus, deceased; Agnes, deceased; Lin; Jesse, deceased; Mary and Levi. The wife and mother, while the family were living in Hittle’s Grove Township, folded her hands for her final rest in 1845. The second wife of our subject, to whom he was married in McLean County, Illinois, in July, 1847, was Miss Catherine Quissenberry, also a native of Christian County, Kentucky, born July 20, 1826. Mrs. Catherine Cornelius became the mother of eight children, all of whom are living, namely, Ann, James, Charles, Millard, Laura, George M., Ida and Julia. Mr. Cornelius is greatly opposed to the manufacture and sale of spirituous liquors, and in voting upholds the principles of the Republican Party.

You just don’t find writing like this anymore! By the way, I bolded the name of Henry's son Jesse Cornelius who was my second great grandfather.

The Cornelius Family Farm

For years and years, there has been a photograph hanging in our finished basement. It’s an aerial photo taken of my grandparents’ farm in Perkins County, Nebraska sometime in the late ‘50s or very early ‘60s.. The farm site was originally settled by my great grandfather, William Seborn Cornelius, in 1910. He settled a total of three farms in the area. In about 1918, he turned over the farms to his three sons—one of which was my grandfather. My grandparents were married April 4, 1922 and settled on one of the other farms located about 3/4 of a mile north of this farm. My dad was born there on February 8, 1924 and his younger sister, Elaine, a year later on August 12, 1925.

I’m not certain of the date, but my grandparents and the two kids moved to this farm and it is the farm on which my dad spent his boyhood. The rest of my father’s siblings were born on this farm beginning with Eldon on November 1, 1927.

My grandparents ran the farm through the mid-‘60s, but my grandfather started cutting back on his farming once the boys grew up and married. My uncle Lowell was the last of the boys to get married in 1957.

As a young boy, I would look forward to summer vacation when we would visit my grandparents and spend days walking all over the farmland. For a kid from the city suburbs, it was a treat to go out to the country and play. My favorite building was the hog house because it had a low slanted roof and I could climb on to the roof and look south for miles and miles. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of seeing my grandparents and all my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Here is the original black and white photo.

For fun, I also “aged” the photo by applying a sepia tint.

In 1965, my grandmother suffered a stroke and my grandfather turned over the farming to his sons and spent his remaining days caring for my grandmother and for the house. He passed away in August 1968 and my grandmother in March 1969.

After their deaths, the farm remained in the family, but the house and buildings were rented out to tenants. Sadly--over time—the condition of the buildings deteriorated and the decision was made to burn down most of the structures. Today, only the granary is still there. Because of my dad’s declining health, he never saw how the farm looked. The two photos below were taken in January 2002 after he passed away and we buried him in Madrid.

This is the granary and is the only original farm structure still on-site.

This is approximately where the barn and the chicken house stood.

After my dad passed away, I brought the photo over to my house and displayed it in my den. The original frame was starting to show it’s age and so I removed it from the frame to eventually put it in a nicer frame. Since I had it out, my brother-in-law arranged to have it scanned by a commercial scanner (the original photo is 11 x 14) and so now I have a digital copy.

Happily, the land still remains in the family and my cousins farm the land. Hopefully it will always remain in the Cornelius family.

Here’s a Google Map inset showing the location:

View Larger Map

Class of 1942

I recently came across a class photo for my father’s high school. He graduated in 1942 from Madrid High School. Dad is in the top row, third from the right.

William Seborn and Cassie Evans Cornelius

Here are photos of my great grandparents -- William S. and Cassie Evans Cornelius -- courtesy of my Uncle Eldon. The photo of my grandmother states it was taken in 1920. I assume the photo of my grandfather was taken around the same time.

William was a grandson of Henry Profitt Cornelius.

Henry Profitt Cornelius

[Update: August 10, 2009] There seems to be some uncertainty regarding the correct spelling of Henry's middle name. The name is actually his mother's maiden name and her records show the spelling as Proffitt.  As I wrote below, one of Henry's sons was named Jesse with the same middle name. Today I found Jesse's gravesite and it also shows his middle name spelled as Proffitt. I am going to assume this spelling is the correct spelling as opposed to what Henry's record shows. Incidentally, I received photos of the gravesite of Henry's parents -- John and Patcey.

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I had a fun day today. I fulfilled a long-held desire to take a short trip back in time and visit the gravesite of my third great grandfather. His name was Henry Profitt Cornelius
Henry was born on March 16, 1806 in Christian County, Kentucky and was the oldest of eight children. He was first married to Mary Ann Quisenberry in 1828. They had ten children together with the eighth child being my second great grandfather, Jesse Profitt Cornelius. (“Profitt” was Henry’s mother’s maiden name and was used these two times as a middle name.) Mary Ann passed away in 1845 and is buried in the Hittle Grove Cemetery, Tazewell County, Illinois. Henry married Mary Ann’s cousin, Catherine Quisenberry, in 1847 and they had eight more children together. Thus, Henry fathered 18 children!
Henry passed away at the ripe old age of 89 on August 29, 1895. Catherine passed away in 1902. They are buried together in Mt. Hope Cemetery near Foosland, Illinois.
I became aware of Henry’s existence when I read about him in my Uncle Jay’s Roots and Shoots book. It became somewhat of an obsession for me to find Foosland and to find Henry’s grave. In fact, Dad and I talked a number of times about driving down to find the location, but his declining health made the trip unlikely.
I’m on a four-week sabbatical from work and I decided this morning to make the trip. I packed a cooler of water and energy drinks and made the trip to Foosland. Actually, it’s not a bad drive at all and certainly one we should have made years earlier. The town is “off the beaten path” and it took several turns before I found the county road leading to it. It took even more time to locate the cemetery. I had to ask some locals to point me in the right direction.
But I found it!
Foosland is located northwest of Champaign which is home to the University of Illinois. I thought my father’s hometown of Madrid was small, but I believe Foosland is even smaller. It’s accessible by county roads only.
The cemetery is very well maintained. It took me about an hour to find his tombstone. Since they both passed away over 100 years ago, I was fearful of not finding the grave at all or finding a tombstone that was weather-worn or in very poor condition. To my relief and surprise, their tombstone is in excellent condition.
Here are some photos that I took. I thought of Dad today as I was sitting at the tombstone.