Bevier-Gillett
Lineage
The children of Sarah (Bevier) Gillett comprise the:
Sixth Generation
By Alta Cecil Koch
36. Jane B. Gillett b. October 24, 1842 in New York. d. April
4, 1915 in Nebraska. She was married to Theodore Ridgeway in 1866, a very
colorful and adventuresome man, (refer to note #8) who died November 29, 1877.
During her married life, Jane lived at Pomeroy, Iowa, and after her husband's
death she returned to her mother's home in LaFayette. She occupied a part of her
mother's house and provided for herself and her two children by doing practical
nursing. She cared for her mother in her later years, and after the mother's
death, she and her two children moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in order to be close
to her only sister, Sarah (Gillett) Cecil. In the several pictures among family
members, she appears as an extremely beautiful person. (refer to note #9 about
her children).
According to the Gillett Bible her children were: George
Ridgeway, b. April 22, 1868; Teola May Ridgeway, b. April 23, 1870, d. March 11,
1942.
37. Abraham D. Gillett b. December 21, 1845, d. November 13,
1869. There is very little record of this man. He was unmarried and died of
typhoid fever. His tombstone, in Lafayette, Illinois, was too weathered to read
without using every trick (rubbing, shadow, etc) but was finally deciphered:
"Beloved youth we'll miss, We weep and mourn, O're the early grave, May we
trust in Jesus love, To meet with him in Heaven above." I assume Abraham
came to LaFayette with his mother in 1865, but there is no obituary for him
among the family keepsakes. There is only one known photograph of this son. His
name was probably pronounced "Abram" (two syllables, and his sister
Sarah wrote it that way in the family Bible. However, his mother always wrote it
"Abraham" in the family records she kept.
38. Sarah S. J. E. Gillett b. September 18, 1850 at
Ellenville, New York. Died February 7. 1926 at Lincoln, Nebraska. On
December 24, 1879, she married Alexander Russell Cecil, son of William B. and
Isabella (Russell) Cecil of Cornelia (close to Warrensburg) Missouri. He was
born March 26, 1848 in Davidson County, North Carolina and died March 28, 1929
at Lincoln, Nebraska. They had one son, Reuben Edgar Cecil, b. March 25, 1883
and d. September 14, 1982. Sarah was called "sis" in the family, and
the story goes that she was allowed to name herself when she was old enough to
select a name and was simply called, "sis" until that time. Of course
the habit of about eight years stuck, and she was always "Aunt Sis" to
her niece and nephew. When Sarah named herself, she chose to call herself Sarah
for her mother, Silas for her father, Johanna (either for a cousin or for her
great grandfather Johannes), and Elizabeth for an aunt (her mother's sister). It
seems indicative of a family so warm and loving that a little girl wanted to
name herself after just everybody. She was in her early teens when her father
died and her mother moved to Illinois.
Sarah was a creative person, generous,
loving and she had a temper that flared occasionally. I can remember her lifting
her skirts to a schottische or jig when the "Edison" records were
played. Very attractive, her auburn hair and flashing dark eyes bespoke her
temperament and spirit. She was active until her last illness, when double
pneumonia and heart failure proved too much for this hardy, courageous person.
She and her husband are buried in Wyuka Cemetery, Lincoln, Nebraska where a
stone is placed in their memory. Sarah's niece, Teola Ridgeway, is buried beside
them.
The child of Sarah Gillett Cecil comprises the:
Seventh Generation
39. Reuben Edgar Cecil b. March 25, 1883 in LaFayette,
Illinois at his grandmother's home and d. September 14, 1982 at his daughter
Teola Wilson's home in Johnson County, Nebraska.
His parents moved to Aurora,
Nebraska in 1884 and then to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1885 where he lived for most
of his life. He lived at 3021 N Street until December, 1904 when he and his
parents bought a large country home at 5305 O Street. He married Edith Lutitia
Derr, daughter of John H. and Alice (Gates) Derr of Tecumseh, Nebraska on June
18, 1908. Edith was born December 27, 1885 at her parent's farm home about six
miles w.s.w. of Tecumseh, Nebraska. There, she grew up and there she was
married. Reuben and Edith lived at 5305 O Street until 1954 when the enveloping
city made maintaining such a large place in the city an intolerable burden.
Reuben Cecil had lived in this home for 50 years, and there raised two
daughters: Alta, born October 21, 1910; and Teola Marion, born February 17,
1919. In 1954, Reuben and Edith moved to a lovely brick home at 3801 S 40th,
Lincoln, Nebraska. Reuben Cecil had a very keen and inventive mind, and though
he went very little beyond grade school in formal education, he was extremely
well educated in the fields of his interest. When he was 18 (1901) he built a
car, the third in the city of Lincoln. He designed the motor and had it cast. He
designed and constructed all the other parts, and drove this little marvel for
seven years. Restored in 1958 and in running order, Reuben Cecil enjoyed driving
it in parades and exhibiting it at anniversary celebrations. According to the
record book Reuben kept at the time he was constructing the car, he started work
on it on January 24, 1901. He still had that record book as well as the wooden
patterns for the engine.
Before his retirement, Reuben was a machinist and tool
and die maker. His many hobbies included antique motor vehicles (about which he
was an authority), antique clocks, (of which there was quite a collection), and
the study of astronomy and the physical sciences. With Edith he enjoyed
collecting antiques of all sorts. In appearance, Reuben was tall, slender,
blonde, and with the same outstanding appearance and poise that marked the
generations before him. Edith (Derr) Cecil died April 12, 1965. Both are buried
in Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Photo above: Kent C. Wilson, director of Gage County Historical Society
Museum in Beatrice, NE, with the "1902 Cecil" car built by Reuben
Cecil (his grandfather) when he was 17 years old. It still runs and is occasionally
used in parades. Kent dresses as a conductor because the museum is in a RR depot
(with additions). A fine museum!
The children of Reuben Edgar Cecil comprise the:
Eighth Generation
40. Alta Cecil b. October 21, 1910 at her maternal
grandparent's home near Tecumseh, Nebraska. She resided at her parent's home,
5305 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska until April 30, 1935, when she married George
David Koch of Winside, Nebraska, the eldest son of David and Martha (Miller)
Koch. He was born December 2, 1902 and died September 19, 1972. He is buried in
Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana. Alta's interests are in the arts
- music, painting, and literature. An interest in American history has no doubt
been the moving factor in her pursuit of genealogy, which study and research has
led to the production of this booklet, among others, pertaining to her family
tree. She is actively involved in many organizations pertaining to history. She
is active in the First Congregational Church and was honored as one of the
nation's outstanding women. She in interested in nature study and her hobbies
are of the creative variety. Interested in antiques, she collects a fair amount
of furniture and glassware, and her husband shared in that interest. Her
husband, Dr. G. David Koch, earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of
Nebraska in 1939 and taught geography and meteorology on the university level.
He came to Indiana State Teacher's College at Terre Haute, Indiana on the
science staff in 1939 and saw the school grow into it's present status as
Indiana State University. He was chairman of the Science Department from 1954 to
1961, when he asked to be relieved of that responsibility. Hobby interests
included drama (where he received honors), gardening, philately, and the above
mentioned antiques, (steins in particular). He served as president of several
service organizations. Alta and David had two daughters: Alice Margaret, born
September 7, 1942; and Lois Alta, born June 30, 1946. These girls grew up in the
house their parents built in 1942. It stands in a 3 1/2 acre tract of
magnificent woodland about 7 miles west and south of the city of Terre Haute,
Indiana on the Robinson Road. David, Alta and the girls took many long trips,
exploring these United States of ours.
Alta is tall, slender and blond. David
was tall, of sturdy build and blond.
41. Teola Marion Cecil b. February 17, 1919 at the home of her
parents at 5305 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska. On March 24, 1940, she married
Arthur Woodrow Wilson, son of John and Lillian (Price) Wilson. He was born
August 4, 1912 at Franklin, Nebraska and lived there until he was twelve years
of age when his parents moved to College View, (adjacent to Lincoln) Nebraska.
Teola aimed for a university degree in nursing and had achieved three years
toward it when she left school to be married. Teola's interests in the creative
arts are manifest in her home, a large and lovely country home, often the center
of family and community gatherings. She in an expert gardener. Devoted to her
family, she is also active in church and community affairs and she and her
husband have been honored by being chosen to serve on the Douglas County
Extension Council in recognition for their service to their community, They are
active Farm Bureau Members, Arthur Wilson completed a two year Agricultural
Course at the University of Nebraska and has farmed since then. Teola and Arthur
own and operate a 320 acre crop and livestock farm 8 miles north-east of
Tecumseh, Nebraska on Graf Road. The busy life on a large farm and raising four
sons leaves little time for hobbies, but interests include craft work,
refinishing antique furniture, and collecting some antiques. Teola and Arthur
have four sons: John Dennis, b. February 7, 1942; Jay Raymond, b. February 9,
1946; Kent Cecil, b. July 8, 1948; and David Lee, b. December 6, 1951. For the
years between 1946 and 1962, the Wilsons owned and operated a farm between
Valley and Waterloo, Nebraska. Teola is a bit above medium height, has chestnut
hair and lovely smoky green eyes. Arthur is medium height, slim and dark
complected.
Group photo above: Back row: Lois Bee, Kent Wilson; Middle row: Alta Koch,
Teola Wilson, John Wilson; Front row: Alice Hanson, Jay Wilson (Lois and Alice
are Alta's daughters; Kent, John and Jay are 3 of Teola's 4 sons)
