Bilyeu, John H.

Born: 1803-11-10 Kentucky

Flourished: 1829-1840 Sangamon County, Illinois

Bilyeu grew up in Tennessee, and there he married Elizabeth Workman. In 1829, he moved with his family to Sangamon County, Illinois, where Bilyeu was a farmer and a blacksmith. The Bilyeus moved to Missouri from 1832 to 1838, and then returned to western Sangamon County, but by 1850, they lived in Christian County, where John owned $2,000 worth of real estate. By 1860, he had increased his holdings to $12,000 worth of real estate and $1,650 worth of personal property.

U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Sangamon County, IL, 47; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 119; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Sangamon County (Chicago: Munsell, 1912), 2:1048; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Christian County, IL, 150; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Christian County, IL, 194.