Person talk:David Dial (2)

Brick Wall [23 November 2012]

My grandmother has done most of the research on David Dial. Here is what she wrote about him:

Very little is known of David Dial, our earliest ancestor in America, and absolutely nothing is known about his wife.  Not even her name.  We do know that she bore eight children between the years 1804-1825 in Tennessee and that they all grew to adulthood and married.  We don’t know if there were other children who may have died young.  

My mother, Della B. Dial, corresponded with every Dial she could discover trying to tie them to some other Dials but was never able to.  We know of two other Dials that came to America from England about the same time David may have come and thought perhaps they were brothers, but have not been able to make any connection.  In fact, one person told Mother that they may have left England for political reasons and changed their name.  So we may not be Dials after all.

This is what we do know:

David Dial came to Perry County, Illinois early and a history of this county, regarding the township of Paradise Prairie, which is in the east central part of the county states:

"Paradise. . . the earliest permanent settlement in what is now Paradise Precinct was made in the year 1827.  The earliest settler was probably DAVID DIAL, who came from Tennessee with his wife and six children, two boys and four girls.  He squatted and built a cabin on section 28, on the edge of the timber."  		 (McDonnough’s History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, 1883, p. 367)

We have also discovered, in the 1830 Census of Perry County, the following:

David Dial		Males		1 (5-10)	1 (15-20) 	1 (50-60)
			Females	        2 (10-15)	2 (15-20)	1 (40-50)

This is all that was listed in the 1830 Census.  No names, other than the head of household, and only the number of males and females of certain ages.  Not much but enough to lead to marriage records, which, fortunately, Perry County Illinois did record.  From them we learn the boy’s names are William and John.  The girls are Elizabeth, Jane, Sarah and Hester Ann.  

The 1830 Census also listed the names of the Dial’s neighbors, who would also become relatives.  These people formed a close-knit socio-economic unit as well as the backbone for the Hard Shell Baptist Church with its chapel and Primitive Baptist Cemetery.  This is where most of these early leaders and their immediate descendants worshipped and are buried.

Probate records show that David Dial died on or about the 23 July 1846.  His wife had preceded him in death.  We don’t know where they are buried.  I have had relatives go back to Illinois and search through cemeteries, but, unfortunately, most of the markers, if there ever were any, are broken or no longer readable.

On familyhistory.org, the 1840 census returns a hit for David at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XHBD-X4H, but the image is unreadable. I am definitely an amateur genealogist, and I don't know where else to look.

Ideally, I would love to find either David's wife's name, or his birthplace, birthdate, and parents.--Jdfoote1 23:08, 22 November 2012 (EST)

Primitive Baptists [28 November 2012]

Hi, JD

Got more than a few of these in my ancestry, as well. You might want to try contacting people at The Primitive Baptist Library of Carthage, Illinois. Drilling down on that page will get you to Perry County, Illinois, with information on "NINE MILE (DuQuoin)(1829)", including Dial among the surnames. If you're lucky, the minutes might include a list of founding members, which (really lucky) might include a first name for his wife. And the names of the other founding members would probably be relatives or at least neighbors before they came, if that is any help in terms of backtracking.

Won't give you direct answers, but could inch you a bit closer.

Good luck, --GayelKnott 21:28, 23 November 2012 (EST)

PS -- if by any really lucky chance, it shows his membership as "by letter", it means that he came from another Primitive Baptist Church, and if you could locate where other members came from (even if not David himself), you might want to start looking at Baptist Churches there. --GayelKnott 21:37, 23 November 2012 (EST)

Thanks so much! That is great information - I have emailed the folks at that site - hopefully I can find something. -- Jdfoote1 09:32, 25 November 2012 (EST)

So, the records from 1827-1844 are MIA, and David doesn't show up on the records that are extant. I'm a willing researcher, if anyone can offer any other suggestions on where to look -- Jdfoote1 20:58, 27 November 2012 (EST)

Sorry that didn't work. --GayelKnott 18:36, 28 November 2012 (EST)

Brickwall Idea [5 March 2013]

• Try to obtain the death and marriage records for each of his children
• maybe look through old newspapers, if you have a subscription to something like genealogybank.com
• You may want to see if any of his kids have record of a pension from the Civil War. It looks like most of them would have been approaching an older age at that time, but you never know. That's how I finally discovered the last name of one of my brickwalls - from her Mother's Pension. Cheers,Obstinatesnooper 15:59, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Thanks very much for the suggestions! I'll get started. I don't have a subscription to any newspaper sites. Would anyone be willing to look for David for me? -- Jdfoote1 20:30, 4 March 2013 (EST)