Five Generations of People
Mrs. Amy Markwell the Oldest of the Group, Only Eighty-Two
They Come From Old Kentucky Stock
The Markwell Family Came to Menard County, in 1846, Settling Near Greenview.

During a recent visit of Mrs. Amy Markwell of Cleveland, Kansas, among relatives and old acquaintances of Menard county, the five generation group, which appears on this page was secured for The Observer.

A Remarkable Group.
The interesting group in composed of mother, grandchild, two great grandchildren, and two great great grandchildren, the representatives being Mrs. Amy Markwell, Mrs. A.J. Bradley, Mr. A.J. Bradley, Mr. Roy Bradley, Mrs. Homer Hughes, Donald Bradley and Verenena Hughes, all of whom reside near Petersburg, excepting Mrs. Markwell

Came to Menard County in 1846.
Grandma Markwell was born June 13, 1825, in Fleming county Kentucky, near Wyoming. At the early age of fourteen she was united in marriage with Alexander G. Markwell. Seven years later, 1846, attracted by the stories of the beauty and richness of the "Far West", they came to Illinois settling in Menard county, near the present site of Greenview.

The first house occupied by them was an old log house, later replaced by the more modern structure recently vacated by Hon. Homer J. Tice. In 1847 they moved upon a farm now belonging to the Smoot estate, where Mrs. Markwell continued to reside for forty-one years, and where her husband died in 1857.

In 1886, Grandma Markwell, following the footsteps of her sons again immigrated westward, settling in the "Sun Flower State" near Cleveland, where she still resides with her son.

Eighty Living Descendants.
Mrs. Markwell's family consists of six children, four of whom are still living. She can boast of eighty known living descendants, six children, thirty-seven grand children, thirty-three great grandchildren and four great great grand children.

Mrs. Markwell is a remarkable woman. Her memory is excellent, she is a fluent talker and nothing delights her more than repeating stories of early history of Menard county. She is a member of the Methodist church and reads her Bible daily, as well as current literature. She left for her home in company with her son and his wife on Wednesday, October 10.

Submitted by:Matthew