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Below is a family biography included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published by Donnelley, Gassette & Loyd in 1879.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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BRACE, THADDEUS W. farmer and stock raiser, Sec. 22, P.O. Carrollton; among the wealthier agriculturists of Greene County, who have borne an active part in the stirring scenes of Western life, when to be a farmer or pioneer meant to do without the luxuries of life, and to be fitted to endure the many privations incidental to a Western settlement. Mr. Brace is a native of the State of New York, born in 1820. In 1828, Leonard Brace, the head of the family, a native of New York State, who married Miss Julia Eldred, determined to cast his fortunes in the far west; hearing many glowing accounts of Illinois, of its fertility and resources, he set out for his future home, where the family were to play an important part in the growth and development of Greene County. Floating down the Monongahela River, the little party of emigrants landed at Pittsburgh; from this smoky city, taking passage down the Ohio to a point not learned, they eventually, by taking passage on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, arrived at their future home in Greene County. During the Summer, before the family were fairly settled on the broad prairies of Illinois, the husband and father passed to that bourne from whence no traveler ever returns. Mrs. Brace found herself at this period the possessor of 200 acres, costing $1,000, paid for, in quarters. The family, then consisting of four children, were enabled to some extent to carry on the farm. Mrs. Brace is still living, a true type of the Western women whose noble traits of character have found a worthy notice by the more famous poetical and prose writers. Thaddeus, whose fortunes we now follow, well remembers the early pioneers and their simple mode of living, when all were on an equal footing, and linsey woolsey the order of the day. January 12, 1852, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Robley, a daughter of Richard Robley, who settled in Greene County as early as 1821. By this marriage three children were born: Alva O., Ella, and Clara. Owing to limited space in this large volume, we are necessarily obliged to be somewhat brief in these our records for futurity. Mr. Brace may truly said to be a representative farmer, who has watched the growth of this county from its earliest date to its present greatness.

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This family biography is one of 744 biographies included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published in 1879.  View the complete description here: The History of Greene County, Illinois

View additional Greene County, Illinois family biographies here: Greene County, Illinois Biographies

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