Van Gundy Family Tree


Angeline "Ann" PURVIS [Parents] was born in 1839 in Shelby Co, IL.

Ann was probably Thomas' step-daughter rather than a natural child. If so, perhaps she married one of his sons, thus the name Ann Purvis, to whom her 2 children were born.

She had the following children:

  M i Alec Purvis.
  M ii Richard "Dick" Purvis was born in Nov 1861. He died on 26 Jun 1862 in Moultrie Co, IL. He was buried in Daugherty Cem, Moultrie Co, IL.

James PURVIS [Parents] was born in 1837 in Shelby Co, IL. He died in 1906 in Chariton Co, MO. He was buried in Lakeside Cem, Cariton Co, MO, near Sumner. He married Wilmuth E (Purvis).

James moved to MO with brothers, John and Thomas.

Cemetery records have his birth year as 1837, a problem for this set of parents.

Wilmuth E (Purvis) was born in 1831. She died in 1915 in Chariton Co, MO. She was buried in Lakeside Cem, Cariton Co, MO, near Sumner. She married James PURVIS.


Thomas PURVIS [Parents] was born on 16 Apr 1844 in Moultrie Co, IL. He died on 31 Aug 1925 in Sumner, MO. He married Nancy Jackson on 27 Aug 1872 in Cunningham, MO.

Residences & events:

1856 Chariton Co, MO. He moved with his brothers, John and James.

1/20/1862 Enlisting for Civil War duty, he joined Co A 9th MO Militia Cav, and headed for battle.

8/6/1862 Kirksville, Mo. He was wounded in a skirmish "with a lot of long haired gentry sometimes called chivalry, fighting to destroy the Union," as he later described the Confederate troops under the direction of Gen Porter.

9/1864 Rocheport, MO. He suffered another injury, this time breaking his shoulder when his horse fell on him during a charge "at high speed" against the rebel force.

Cunningham, Chariton Co, MO. Returning to the war, he turned to farming.

1886-1892 Dade Co, MO. Apparently he was looking for better circumstances but they didn't prove to be, so he returned back to Chariton.

Nancy Jackson.Nancy married Thomas PURVIS on 27 Aug 1872 in Cunningham, MO.

They had the following children:

  F i Miranda PURVIS was born on 1 Jun 1875 in Chariton Co, MO.
  F ii Lottie Mae PURVIS was born on 24 May 1877 in Chariton Co, MO.
  M iii Newton PURVIS was born on 10 Mar 1879 in Chariton Co, MO.
  M iv Toby PURVIS was born on 10 Jul 1883 in Chariton Co, MO.
  M v Aaron PURVIS was born on 10 May 1885 in Chariton Co, MO.
  M vi Burt PURVIS was born on 5 Jun 1889 in Dade Co, MO.
  M vii Walter PURVIS was born on 27 Feb 1891 in Dade Co, MO.
  M viii Montie PURVIS was born on 20 Jun 1895 in Chariton Co, MO.

John G PURVIS [Parents] was born in 1842 in Shelby Co, IL. He died on 8 Mar 1885 in Greene Co, MO. He married Female (Purvis).

Residences & events:

12/30/1850 Moultrie Co, IL, where his name was recorded on a deed.

1/13/1851 He was again involved in a land transfer by warranty deed.

1857 Chariton Co, MO. John and his two brothers, James and Thomas, moved west.

8/4/1862 To aid in the Civil War efforts, he enlisted in Co A 2nd MO Cav.

8/1864 Bentonville, Ark. While on a scouting mission he was wounded in an encounter with the Confederate cavalry by buckshot fired "at pretty close quarters," as he said later in a pension application.

8/3/1865 He received a discharge and returned home to farm.

1880 - 1885 Caddo, Stephens Co, Tx. He shifted his residence several times between Caddo and MO.

Female (Purvis) was born in 1854 in OH. She married John G PURVIS.

They had the following children:

  F i Mary PURVIS was born in 1872.

Alexander "Alec" Purvis [Parents] was born on 12 Jun 1842 in Shelby Co, IL. He died on 22 Sep 1909 in Moultrie Co, IL. He was buried in Greenhill Cem, Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. He married Maranda Freeman on 23 Oct 1862 in Moultrie Co, IL, by Lewis R Jones, MG.

Other marriages:
Osborne, Caroline

Maranda Freeman was born in 1847 in IL. She married Alexander "Alec" Purvis on 23 Oct 1862 in Moultrie Co, IL, by Lewis R Jones, MG.

They had the following children:

  M i Francis Alby Purvis was born in Aug 1863 in IL.
  F ii V Ann Purvis was born in 1865 in IL.

Alexander "Alec" Purvis [Parents] was born on 12 Jun 1842 in Shelby Co, IL. He died on 22 Sep 1909 in Moultrie Co, IL. He was buried in Greenhill Cem, Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. He married Caroline Osborne on 25 Sep 1878 in Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL.

Other marriages:
Freeman, Maranda

Caroline Osborne was born on 6 Sep 1844 in OH. She died on 13 Sep 1916 in Moultrie Co, IL. She was buried in Greenhill Cem, Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. She married Alexander "Alec" Purvis on 25 Sep 1878 in Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL.

In the 1910 census, she was a widow living next door to son, Walter, while the other son, Arthur, lived down the road.

They had the following children:

  M i Walter A Purvis was born in Jun 1879.
  M ii Arthur Purvis was born in Jul 1881.

Lawrence Ginn PURVIS [Parents] was born on 16 Nov 1836 in E Nelson Twp, Shelby Co, IL. He died on 11 Jul 1929 in Doniphan Co, KS. He married Rebecca Jane Hanning on 11 Nov 1869 in Richardson Co, NE. Lawrence resided.

Residences & events:

Shelby Co, IL

1863 Minerville, CA, where he was living after crossing the plains.

2/15/1863 San Francisco, CA. The Union Army recruited him to serve in Co E 2nd Mass Cav, a battalion donated by CA to Massachusetts so that state could meet its quotas. There they were merged with the 2nd Mass Cav and served in the eastern theater of the war.

7/1/1865 Washington, DC. He received his discharge from the army.

IA Following the war he headed west again, staying there awhile.

Richardson Co, NE, was the next stop.

1882 Holt Co, MO and St Joseph, MO, were also temporary abodes. He became a bee keeper by occupation during this time.

1893 Paonia, Delta Co, CO.

1894 Oklahoma City, OK.

1895 St Joseph, MO

1904 Elwood, KS, was the final home after living all over the US.

Rebecca Jane Hanning.Rebecca married Lawrence Ginn PURVIS on 11 Nov 1869 in Richardson Co, NE.

They had the following children:

  M i Albert Owen PURVIS was born on 27 Dec 1871. He died in infancy.
  F ii Lizzie Estella PURVIS was born on 13 Feb 1873.
  F iii Anna Prudence PURVIS was born on 21 Nov 1874.
  M iv Melvin Ellis PURVIS was born on 29 Mar 1877.
  F v Edna Mae PURVIS was born on 30 Aug 1879.
  M vi Charles Henry PURVIS was born on 28 Sep 1881. He died on 5 Oct 1909.
  M vii Ira PURVIS was born on 15 Jan 1884.
  M viii Louis Longstroth\Logan PURVIS was born on 15 Jul 1887.
  F ix Josephine June PURVIS was born on 4 Jun 1891.
  M x Francis Earl PURVIS was born on 3 Oct 1894.

Thomas W BRACKEN [Parents] was born in 1830 in Sangamon Co, IL. He married Sophia (Bracken) about 1858 in IL.

Residences & events:

1860 Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. At census time Thomas was a farmer with personal property = $300. Living with him, his wife, and their infant daughter, were Thomas' brothers, Robert and John, while 4 doors down was uncle, George Purvis.

Sophia (Bracken) was born in 1839 in IL. She married Thomas W BRACKEN about 1858 in IL.

They had the following children:

  F i Mary BRACKEN was born in Nov 1859 in IL.

Robert "Bob" BRACKEN [Parents] was born in 1839 in Shelby Co, IL. He married Emoline (Bracken) about 1861.

Residences & events:

1860 Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. At census time he and brother, John, were living with their brother, Thomas, and his new family.

Bob served in the Civil War with Co C 126th Reg, IL Vol. He was mentioned often among the McPheeters family letters:

1/5/1863 Enoch Purvis included a note to Bob in a letter to the one of the McPheeters boys. "this is to you and Robert Bracken. you must both write to me as soon as you can.
Dear Friend. well bob I would like to see you but as it is it must be. if you was here now you could take a ride over the nobe for the snow is 4 in deep. do you remember our girl that we was going to see last fall. (she was a cousin to you) if you do pleas send her name and posoffice address for I believe Iwill write her a letter just for fun. if you could you mite send her an introduction to me. if you will do so I will pay you for your trouble as much as you charge. Write soon."

1/10/1864 Duvalls Bluff, Ark. "Bracken are with Perry & I (Rankin McPheeters) to night."

5/4/1864 De Valls Bluff, Ark. "The health of the Co is improveing. Bracken and Martin are going about."

6/22/1864 De Valls Bluff, Ark. "Bracken and Perry are all in good health."

11/2/1864 Pine Bluff, Ark. "Bracken and Gennett both have chills yet."

12/30/1864 Pine Bluff, Ark. "Gillham, Martin, Bracken & Jones are all as fat as hoges and are as lazy as a New foundland Pup."

Emoline (Bracken) was born in 1841 in IN. She married Robert "Bob" BRACKEN about 1861.

They had the following children:

  M i Lincoln Flemings BRACKEN was born in 1861 in IL.

John R BRACKEN [Parents] was born in 1840 in Shelby Co, IL. He died on 29 Aug 1941. He married Nancy BOLIN.

Residences & events:

1870 Jonathan Creek Twp, Moultrie Co, IL. At census time John and Nancy had 2 children and her aged mother living with them. He was a farmer with property = $1600/500, next door was the William Bolin family, also Nancy's relatives.

8/13/1879 John and Nancy donated the ground surrounding the burial plot of Nancy's family for the "Bolin" Cemetery. The deed states:

"The grantors, John C. Bracken and Nancy Bracken, his wife, of the County of Moultrie and State of Illinois for and in consideration of One Dollars, in hand paid, convey and warrant to the Lineal Descendants of James and Nancy Bolin, and to Nancy Bolin of the County of Moultrie, State of Illinois the following described real estate to be used as a family burying ground only.....it contains one acre and sixteen square rods."

Some of the family, most of them Purvises, built a mausoleum in 1913. Six people were buried there when it began to leak and by 1969 all had been reinterred in Jonathan Creek cemetery.

1922 Sullivan, Moultrie Co, IL. He attended the Powell family reunion, probably as a family friend and again in 1927 & 1928.

His death occurred on the day of the Powell family reunion which he always attended.

Nancy BOLIN.Nancy married John R BRACKEN.

They had the following children:

  M i James R "Jimmy" BRACKEN was born in 1863. He died in 1943.
  M ii Henry Emmett BRACKEN was born in 1868 in IL.
  F iii Della BRACKEN.
  M iv John BRACKEN.

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