Sarah was the older of the two girls. She was born 10 May 1814 in Armagh, Ireland - her (rather large) tombstone proclaims it proudly. (Some of the younger Bothwells did not like to be considered mere Irish, and called themselves Scots instead.) She emigrated with her siblings first to Canada, in the 1830s, then to Burlington, Vermont, then to Whiteside County, Illinois. In Whiteside County, she married Charles Pulford, who came to Illinois from England in 1840. They were married 7 March 1842 by EH Hazard in the Congregational Church newly formed by the Bothwells and others in Albany.
Sarah and Charles made their home in Savanna, Carroll County, Illinois. They eventually had 5 children, two girls and three boys:
Margaret A 1843 - 17 June 1864 - never married
Elizabeth 1845 - married ? Johnson
Samuel C 11 Dec 1846 - 8 Apr 1933 - married 1. Annette 2. Mary Jane
Charles W Oct 1849 - 24 Mar 1864
James Bothwell “Bot” 1851 - 1905 - married Lucinda Wiley
They are difficult to find in the censuses, because of the way their name is mangled. Here they are in the 1850 census:
1850 Illinois, Carroll, Savanna p. 363 (written 719) - 28 Sept
Pulfer, Charles 30 m cooper $450 Eng
Sarah 36 Ireland
Margaret 6 Ill
Elizabeth 5 “
Samuel 3 “
Charles 1 “
Jeremiah 22 cooper Eng
Jas 20 cooper Eng
(Jeremiah and James Pulford are Charles’s younger brothers.)
Another pioneer who arrived in 1840 from his native home in England was Charles Pulford, father of Bothwell and Samuel Pulford and the late Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson. He married Sarah Bothwell, a sister of Mrs Finke, and for years they lived in a stone house on the corner of Third Street where the Public Library now stands. Later in the forties, 1848, two other brothers arrived from England and after getting as far as Chicago they finished the remainder of the distance on foot. These two brothers were James and Jeremiah Pulford. Having reached a point somewhere near the corner where the Catholic Church now stands, they inquired of a man they met where they could find Savanna. He told them they were in Savanna, greatly to the joy of the foot weary travelers. All these families have descendants still living in Savanna.
Bowen, Alice M. The Story of Savanna (Savanna, Ill. [printed by the Times Journal, 1928]), p. 59 "Pioneers of 1840"
By 1860, James and Jeremiah Pulford had set up households of their own. Jeremiah married twice, first to Mary Johnson on 7 Jan 1853, second to Elizabeth Gallopin on 19 Nov 1857. (The first Mrs. Jeremiah died???).
1860 census - Illinois, Carroll Co - 1044 - 1616
(I got this from a book rather than from the real microfilm)
Pulford, Jeremiah 31 mw day laborer England
Elizabeth 28 Indiana
Elizabeth 8 Illinois
Emily 1
1870 Carroll Co - Borough of Savanna p. 229B - 143-143
Pulford Jeremiah 41 Machinist 800-200 England
Elizabeth 38 Ind
Elizabeth 17 Ill
Emily 11 Ill
Hattie 7 Ill
Eva 7/12 Ill
Savanna Township Cemetery
Lot 110 -
Pulford, Jeremiah 1829-1909
Elizabeth G wife 1832-1916
Charles McPherson 1852 - [10 Feb] 1937
Evelyn P wife 1869 - [13 Dec] 1948
Maggie dau
Pulford Sarah d/o J&E d 20 Nov 1861 aged 10 d
Thomas s/o J&E d 12 July 1858 aged 3 d
. . . and James had married Martha Jackson.
1860 Census - Illinois, Carroll Co - 1027 - 1470
Pulford, James 30 mw sawyer England
Martha 33 Ireland
Agnes 8 Illinois
Mary 7
Elizabeth 2
James 2m
Jackson, Sarah 55 fw Ireland
Savanna Township Cemetery
Lot 111 -
Pulford, James 26 July 1830-12 July 1909
Martha 31 Oct 1827 - 10 May 1916
unreadable stone -
2 children, no names, dates
By 1860 Charles and Sarah had had their final child, James Bothwell Pulford, known as “Bot,” born in 1851.
1860 census - Illinois, Carroll, Savanna - p. 1027
Pulford, Charles, 41 m w cooper England
Sarah, 46 Ireland
Margaret, 17 Illinois
Elizabeth 14 Ill
Samuel 13 Ill
Charles 11 Ill
James 9 Ill
Edward Mahora, 19 m w blacksmith Ireland
In 1864, they lost two of their children - Charles on 24 Mar 1864, and Margaret a few months later on 17 June 1864. By 1870 two of their other children were married, Elizabeth to George W. Johnson, and Samuel to Annette. Only the youngest remained at home.
1870 census - Illinois, Carroll, Borough of Savanna - 24 June 1870 - p.225
60-60 Rutford Charles 54 m w butcher 2300-1000 England
Sarah 52 Ireland
James 18 Illinois
Sarah died in 1872 (Feb 16) and is buried in the Savanna Township Cemetery (lot 10). Charles remarried in 1873 (Nov 16); his new wife was Mrs Rilla M (Gabrilla) Benedict, who was a milliner. Together they had two little boys. Arthur B (I believe the B stands for Bothwell) was born 27 Jun 1876 and died 27 Jul 1920. (buried in Savanna Township Cemetery). I don’t know what happened to George.
1880 Illinois - Carroll - Savanna - Im 1, p. 1 (568 stamp) ED19 SD2
Pulford, Charles mw 60 butcher England
Gabriella 44 wife milliner NY -
Arthur B 3 Il Ny Eng
Geo W 7/12 Nov Il Ny Eng
Benedict, Chas 20 stepson butcher NY -
(next page)
Benedict Fred 15 stepson at school Il Ny Ny
Eaton, Flora 22 boarder milliner Il Ny Ny
Charles died in 1887 (2 Oct) and was buried with Sarah in the Savanna Township Cemetery. Gabrilla lived at least until 1900. I haven’t found her in the census after that.
1900 Illinois - Carroll - Savanna - p. 214
Pulford, Gabriela Sep 1837 62 w Ny Vt Vt
Arthur son June 1876 23 s Il Eng Ny
George W son Oct 1879 20 s
7 roomers
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