Dale C. Maley: Three War of 1812 veterans called Fairbury home

The 13 American colonies initiated the Revolutionary War against Great Britain over their objection to Parliament's taxation policies and lack of colonial representation. The Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783.

Just 29 years after the Revolutionary War ended, our new country became embroiled in its first significant war. In 1803, France and Britain went to war against each other. To prevent neutral America from trading with the French, the British blockaded American ports using the Royal Navy. Britain forced American merchant sailors to join the Royal Navy to man all the ships needed for the blockade.

Britain also supplied arms to Native Americans who raided European-American settlers on the American frontier. These raids hindered the expansion of the United States and provoked American resentment against the British.

Because of these actions, President Madison signed the first declaration of war against the British in 1812.

Modern Americans were taught about two significant events from the War of 1812. The first event was the British Army burning down the White House. Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, saved the classic portrait of George Washington before the British burned the White House in 1814.

The second significant event was Andrew Jackson winning the Battle of New Orleans. This tremendous military victory made Andrew Jackson nationally famous, and he later became the seventh President of the United States. A peace treaty — Treaty of Ghent — was signed in December 1814, ending the War of 1812. Because news traveled so slowly in that era, the Battle of New Orleans (Jan. 8, 1815) was technically fought after the War had ended, although the treaty officially took effect in February 1815.

Starting in 1847, Congress passed several new laws that granted land to the veterans of the War of 1812. The amount of land varied between 40 and 160 acres. Many veterans did not want to move to their land location, so they sold their land patents to farmers or speculators. These land patents were used to pay for land purchased from the federal government.

Three Fairbury men were veterans of the War of 1812. The first man was William McDowell. His family was the second one to move to the Fairbury area. The McDowells settled on Indian Creek about three miles north of Fairbury in 1832. They later established the village of Avoca, which included a church, a cemetery, a hotel and several stores. Only the Avoca Cemetery remains as a reminder of this village.

William McDowell was a veteran of the War of 1812. He served from Scioto County, Ohio, in Captain John H. Lindsey's Company under John Ferguson's Regiment in the Ohio Militia. William's company payroll records show he was paid eight dollars a month. William served in July, August and September of 1814.

Unfortunately, William McDowell died in 1834, just two years after his family arrived in Illinois. Under the 1850 land grant law passed by Congress, the widow of William McDowell, Sarah McDowell, was issued his land warrant.

In October of 1999, descendants of William McDowell arranged a special ceremony to honor his service in the War of 1812. The United States Daughters of 1812 helped to coordinate this special event.

Making up the color guard for this ceremony were several members of the Illinois Rangers, an 1812-era re-enactment group with Carroll Lanahan, a relative of Livingston County residents, among its members. This group from the Edwardsville area participated in re-enactments throughout the Midwest. The Illinois Rangers were first employed by the U.S. military when Illinois was part of the Northwest Territory. Their job was to keep settlers safe from harm.

According to people who attended the 1999 ceremony, it was an exciting event to witness. The War of 1812 re-enactors were dressed in colorful period uniforms. When they fired their guns in a salute to William McDowell, the small Avoca cemetery was filled with the black smoke from the fired gunpowder weapons.

The second Fairbury area War of 1812 veteran was Joseph Ray. He was born in 1795 in Pennsylvania. In 1814, Joseph was a private in the War of 1812 for the Pennsylvania Militia. In 1854, he was granted 80 acres in Champaign County. Joseph elected to sell his land grant to Robert H. Ives.

In the 1880 U.S. Census, Joseph was an 85-year-old widower living on Chestnut Street in Fairbury. Three of his children lived with him, including Rachael Ray, Viola Ray and James Ray.

In the 1896 era, the custom was to publicly read the names of all veterans who were buried in Graceland Cemetery on Memorial Day. The Blade published this list, and the name of Joseph Ray was read as a veteran of the War of 1812. Joseph was buried in an unmarked grave in Graceland Cemetery sometime between 1880 and 1896. Unfortunately, a fire many years ago destroyed some early cemetery records, so his grave location is unknown.

Another War of 1812 veteran whose name was read on July 4, 1896, was John Woodruff. He was born in 1786 in New Jersey, and his wife was Abigail Woodruff. He served in the New Jersey Militia under Captain Henry Freas.

By the 1860 U.S. Census, John Woodruff and his wife were farming in Avoca Township, north of Fairbury. Abigail Woodruff died in 1874, and John Woodruff died in 1880. Both John and Abigail have marked graves in Graceland Cemetery. Their graves are in the oldest section along South Seventh Street. Unfortunately, we have no newspaper archives old enough to include their obituaries.

These three Fairbury-area men served in America's first significant military conflict, the War of 1812 with Britain. All three men eventually moved to the Fairbury area and were buried in the Avoca and Graceland cemeteries.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Dale C. Maley: Three War of 1812 veterans called Fairbury home