Deel Family History & Genealogy

Adam Deel b. 1780 d. 1848

Is it “Deel” or “Deal”?

I have found many documents that used the spelling of the family name as “Deal”. But, I have come to believe that the correct spelling is in fact “Deel”.
From Adam Deel’s Last Will and Testament, a handwritten document, upon close inspection by me, it does in fact appear to be “Deel”.
On an early(1840) map of Marion Township, the 80 acres of land owned by Adam Deel is marked as “A. Deal”. The Ohio Land Record Document # 4334, for Adam Deel’s property in Marion County, Ohio is as “Deel”.
The Civil War records of Adam Deel’s two grandsons, Abraham and Isaiah are as “Deel’
The signatures and documents of Isaiah Deel, in Kansas are clear in the spelling, “Deel”. I am left to believe that the use of the name “Deal”, in early documents was in fact unintentional clerical errors.

It is believed that Adam Deel was born in Pennsylvania, however I do not have documentation of that. The earliest documentation I have at this time is an Ohio land record showing that he bought 80 acres of land in Marion County Ohio, in either 1820 or 1830. This land is in Marion township and is located within the present day city limits of Marion, Ohio. (Ohio Land Record, document # 4334)
Adam Deel was married to Rose A. (maiden name Unknown, marriage date Unknown). Together they had 6 children. From the 1830 US Census only the head of household is named. It is entirely possible that the 2 eldest children listed below, could in fact be hired help, not at all uncommon to be listed with the family. I am inclined to believe this to be the case, as Isaac was mentioned in Adam’s will to receive ½ of the family farm, a procedure normally reserved to the eldest son.
From the 1830 US Census for Marion Township, Marion County Ohio:
Age Est. Age
Adam 50-60 b. 1780 d. 1848
Rose A. 50-60 b. 1776 d. unknown
Daughter 20-30 b. abt. 1805 d. unknown
Son 15-20 b. abt 1811 d. unknown
Isaac 10-15 b. 1816 d. 1854
Daughter 10-15 b. abt 1817 d. unknown
Benjamin 5-10 b. 1823 d. unknown
Son under 5 b. abt 1826 d. unknown
In Adam Deel’s last Will and Testament, he left 40 acres of his land to his wife(Rose), and 40 acres to his son Isaac, with instructions for Isaac to till the land of his wife as long as she lives. Benjamin is mentioned as receiving personal items from his father. Those are the only two siblings mentioned in that document.

Site of the gravesite for Adam Deel 1780-1848
PLEASANT LIBERTY CEMETERY
This cemetery is located in Section 2 of Pleasant Township south of County Road 136 (Marion-Cardington Rd.), and .2 miles east of State Route 423, containing 1.5 acres. Located on a hill and surrounded by an iron fence this cemetery has quite a few stones that are weathered and unreadable. It was originally called the Liberty Graveyard. Samuel Snyder sold land for this graveyard on April 17,1844, and again on October 6, 1857. Then S. E. Hain sold additional land on August 25, 1891. The Liberty Graveyard Trustees deeded the cemetery land to the Pleasant Township Trustees on June 29, 1907.

Isaac Deel b. 13 Jan 1816 – d. 23 Oct 1854

Isaac Deel married Elizabeth Cope(b. 1815 d. unknown),on Dec 29, 1836. Isaac and Elizabeth had 7 children born of this union:

Mary Ann Deel b. 1837 d. 1886
Adam Deel b. 1839 d. ?
Abram/Abraham Deel b. 1841 d 1916
Elizabeth Deel b. 1843 d. ?
Susan Deel b. 1845 d. ?
Isaiah Deel b. 1847 d. 1903
Elijah Deel b. 1849 d. ?

Elizabeth Cope is a 3rd gr.grandaughter of Oliver Cope. Oliver Cope was one of many persons whom came to America with William Penn the founder of Pennsylvania, after much religious persecution in Europe.

I believe that Isaac Deel was one of those “ Circuit-riding preachers”, described in the article above. There is a very good possibility that his father, Adam Deel may have been one as well. What is known, is that Isaac Deel organized a United Brethern Church in 1849, in Otego, Fayette County, Illinois. This of course was done while maintaining a residence in Marion County Ohio. That is a distance of 365 miles, if he took a direct route. After getting the church organized he must have gone back to Marion County and moved the family to Fayette County Illinois, sometime between 1850-1854. Isaac Deel died on Oct 23, 1854, and is buried in the Sidener Cemetery in St. Elmo, Illinois, just 6 ½ miles from Otego, where he organized the church.
It is not known by me at this time, what became of all the family members from Marion County Ohio after 1850. I have no record of the death of Rose A. Deel, Isaac and Benjamin’s mother. That she would have made the trip to Fayette County Illinois with the other family members is not known. On the next page I have given an accounting of the of the Deel family that I do have documentation for.

Mary Ann Deel - b. 1 Oct 1837 - d. 28 Sept 1886

On 13 Aug 1857, Mary Ann Deel married John Joseph Reese (b. 3 July 1836 d. 5 July 1897). Together they had 9 children:
Richard Wilson (26 Sept 1858 – 7 Dec 1935)
Ida Aurillia (13 April 1861 – 31 Jan 1897)
Ester Lucy (31 Aug 1863 – 15 Oct 1864)
Lovina Elmira (21 Aug 1865 – 22 Feb 1936)
Mary Catherine ( born 1867, died in infancy)
Barbary Olive (13 June 1868 – 17 Jan 1934)
Geneva Oral (19 Mar 1871 – 26 Aug 1952)
Louisa Alice (4 Dec 1874 – 2 Oct 1875)
Elmer Franklin (11 May 1878 – 16 Feb 1960).
John Joseph Reese was also born in Marion, Marion County, Ohio. He was the 5th child of James Reese I, and Mary Norris Reese. Before John was of school age, the family moved to Fayette County Illinois. The 1870 Census for Fayette County, shows on page 3, John Reese, age 34; his wife Mary, age 33; son Richard, age 11; daughter Ida, age 9; daughter Louisa, age 5 and daughter Barbara(Barbary), age 2.
The family then moved to Oklahoma, where John was a local preacher for the United Brethern Church in Lincoln and the surrounding counties in Oklahoma. They had a homestead among the Cherokee Nation. John served in this capacity until his death on July 5, 1897. He is buried about 6 mile northwest of Chandler, Oklahoma. His wife, Mary Ann having died earlier on Sept 28, 1886. She is also buried in Oklahoma.
Levi Reese, a younger brother of John Joseph Reese was killed during the Civil War, at the “Battle of Shiloh” in Tennessee.

Abraham (Abram) Deel 1841 – 1916

Abraham Deel, the 3rd child born to Isaac and Elizabeth Deel in Marion County Ohio in 1841. The 1860 Census for Fayette County, Cumberland (now Otego) Township, on page 76, shows him at age 19, living on the farm of David Washburn and his wife, Sarah and son Bryon, age 9 mo.
On Dec 31, 1861, according to military records, Abraham joined the 7th Illinois US Cavalry, Company “F”, at Birds Point, Missouri. Why he traveled 160 miles south to join is not understood at this point. Also what is not understood is the fact that his muster in date at Memphis, Tennessee was not until July 30, 1863, nearly 18 mo., after he joined in Birds Point. He was involved in the conflict until the war ended and he was mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee on Nov. 4, 1865.
After the war ended, Abraham returned to Fayette County where on May 9, 1866 he married Lavina Kelly, age 19. Lavina is shown as being born in Ireland. The ceremony was officiated by J.W. Phillips M.G.. On the 1870 Census for Fayette County, Otego Township, shows that Abraham, age 28, Lavina, age 22 and their daughter Ellen, age 2. They are living on their farm valued at $2,000, with personal assets of $500.
The next Census report for 1880, is confusing to me. It is the 1880 Census for Avena Village, Avena Township, Fayette County Illinois.
On it, it only lists Lavina Deel, age 32; Lucy Ellen, age 12; Elmore, age 10 and Mary E., age 8. No mention is made of Abraham, the father of Lucy Ellen. Had the family separated? Or was this just another example of the inept record keeping of the times??
Records show that Lavina Deel died in Decatur, Illinois on Feb 12, 1912. Decatur is about 67 miles north of her residence in 1880 at Avena, Illinois.
Abraham never left the area, and probably continued to farm his land until his death on June 13, 1916. He is buried in the Sidener Cemetery in St. Elmo, as is his father, Isaac.

Benjamin Deel – (1823 - ??)

Not much has been found on Benjamin Deel, son of Adam Deel and Rose A. Deel. He is the younger brother of Isaac Deel. I suspect that he also came west to Fayette County Illinois, with his brother, Isaac and family.
The marriage records show that Benjamin Deel married Marinda L. McCaslin on Sept. 19, 1864. Marriage performed by Eli Barton, M.G..
No other records are available at this time.

Isaiah Deel 1847-1903

Isaiah Deel Came to Fayette County Illinois as a young boy with his family in the mid 1800’s, probably around 1852. The first record I have of him in Fayette County is the 1860 Census for Wheatland Township on page 94. Dated July 8, 1860.
There he is listed as a “farm hand”, age 13, on the farm of Geo. Sidener and his wife, Mary (Polly). Also listed are other employees: Martha Stigall, age 20; Margaret Lott, age 13 and Patrick Kelly, age 18, (The older brother of Lavina Kelley, future wife of Abraham Deel, both Patrick and Lavina being born in Ireland).
On Dec. 31, 1863, at age 17, Isaiah Deel joined the 14th Illinois US Cavalry, Company “F”, at Vandalia, Illinois. While his unit was engaged in battle at Madisonville, Tennessee, Isaiah contracted Typhoid fever. He would spend several months in the military hospital before rejoining his unit just prior to the end of the war. Isaiah would suffer from the effects of that fever for the remaining years of his life. He was mustered out of the military at Pulaski, Tennessee on July 31, 1865.
At this time, I do not have any records of Isaiah’s life betweenthe time he was mustered out of the military in 1865 and when he arrived in Kansas. It is almost certain that he would have gone back to Fayette County Illinois, but records to show that are not available at this time.
About 1870-1875, he arrived in Kansas and settled in the area around Florence, Kansas. He bought 80 acres of farm land near Burns, Kansas on Jan. 21, 1885, in what was known as the “Pleasant Valley Community”. He was elected to serve on the school board in 1890. Myrtle “Riggs” Cox, who is my grandmother’s sister, wrote this about Isaiah Deel. “As I remember Mr. Deel from my childhood, he was a fine, upright Christian man, liked by all who knew him.” She also stated that he was a direct descendant of the Pennsylvania Dutch Quakers.
He married Clarissa “Clarie” Middleton, on August 8, 1877. They had eight children. Orville Rufus Deel (my grandfather) b.July 31,1878, d. Mar 17, 1936.
Inise Genevieve Deel b. 1879 d. 1952
Grace May Deel b. 1880 d. 1954
Mary Olive Deel b. Nov 24,1881 d. 1962
Lucy Deel b. Jan 4, 1885 d. Feb 23, 1886
Cora E. Deel b. Mar 1886 d. Aug 14, 1903
Myra Jane Deel b. 1889 d. May 3, 1906
Sarah Elizabeth Deel b. 1891 d. ?
Isaiah Deel died Sept. 6. 1903 and is buried in theWonsevu Cemetery at Burns, Kansas.