William Day I & Sarah Jane Tyson
William Day I & Sarah Jane Tyson
| 1812 - 1898 | 1809 - c1866 |
William Day was born on 26 December 1812 in Over Parish,
Cambridgeshire,
England. He was the son of Reason Day II and Ann Cooper.
In the 1830's he left England and came to Lockport, Niagara County, New
York. William married the young widow Sarah Jane Tyson in Lockport. Her
maiden name was Tyson and she married William Tyson about 1830 in England.
She had 3 Tyson sons, William, Jr.born 1832 , Matthew born 1834 and Thomas
born 1836 in New York.
William and Jane Tyson Day lived in Lockport, New York until 1851 when they decided to move to Tazewell County, Illinois. William and Matthew Tyson, his stepsons had made the move to Illinois in 1850. When the Tyson brothers left New York they had $116.00 in gold which they sewed into the lining of their coats. At the end of the trip in Illinois they still had $100.00 of the money.
The first record I found of a land purchase by William Day was in 1857. It was 160 acres 1 mile west and ½ mile south of Delavan, Illinois. He later bought more land in town and in his old age resided on the north side of Delavan.
Sarah Jane Day died after the 1860 census. Some say about 1866. Research continues on the correct date of her death. Tombstones were set in Prairie Rest Cemetery in Delavan, Illinois in the 1960's by William & Jean Day of Danville, Indiana. The original cemetery lot belonged to William, but when his brother Joseph died he shared the lot with that Day family. Then later he purchased lots in the front and new part of the cemetery.
Joseph Day, brother of William was still in Over Parish, Cambridgeshire, England in the 1851 census. He later came to Buffalo, New York, then to San Jose, Illinois which is 5 miles from Delavan, then eventually he moved to Delavan. His 3 oldest children show on the 1851 census. They were George Day born 1844, Cooper Day born 1846 and Charles Day born 1849. All are buried at Prairie Rest Cemetery in Delavan, Illinois.
The children of William Day and Sarah Jane Tyson were:
1. Samuel Day born 1838 in Lockport, New York.
More later.
2. Mary Ann Day born March 1842 in Lockport,
New York. She married Simon P. Hite in 1857 in Delavan. She died on 24
February 1859 when her first child was born. This daughter later married
a Barker and lived in Chicago, Illinois in 1898 and is named in the will
of William Day. She lived at 380 Calmont Ave., Chicago, Illinois.
3. Reason Day was born 30 April 1844 in Lockport, New
York. He married Olivia Ahlbun in 1872 in Delavan, Illinois. He moved to
Kansas, then back to Delavan and then back to Brantford, Kansas. Reason
died 26 April 1887 in Brantford, Kansas. His children were:
1. Ida E. Day--married
a Hyland
2. William H. Day
3. Lucy E. Day ,
who lived in San Jose, California in 1963.
4. Myrtle Day lived
in Brantford , Kansas in 1963.
5. Edward Day lived
in Brantford, Kansas in 1963.
6. Ruth E. Day lived
in Brantford, Kansas in 1963.
4. Sarah Jane Day was born in January 1847
in Lockport, New York. She died 1 June 1861 in Delavan, Illinois. She is
buried in the old part of Prairie Rest Cemetery and had a tomb stone in
1975.
5. Elizabeth Day was born in January 1850
in Lockport, New York. She died 13 January 1854 in Delavan, Illinois. She
has a tombstone.
After Sarah Jane Tyson Day's death in the 1860's William Day married the Widow Margaret Armstrong Dawson. They married on 3 March 1869 in Delavan. She had 2 Dawson children. This marriage was not so good. The story goes that when William started somewhere that Margaret would holler and beat at the horses until they were out of reach.
In 1880 William Day bought town lots and built a house there for himself and Margaret. Margaret died in 1896 and is buried in the new part of Prairie Rest Cemetery. The story is that Margaret's father was one of the founders of the Methodist religion in Ireland and was a quite well to do man. William Day erected a huge stone on the lots where Margaret is buried. her name and dates are inscribed on it. At the funeral William Day asked his grandson George Day whether he thought the funeral was good enough for Margaret. George replied that " it couldn't be nicer." William replied back " Well, if it's good enough for the devil it's good enough for her."
William Day died on 8 September 1898. He had outlived
all his children. He only had 2 grandsons who came back from Missouri before
he died to help him. They were the sons of his son Samuel Day. Their names
were: William Henry Day and George Franklin Day, the only children of Samuel
Day. All the children of his son Reason Day lived in Brantford, Kansas.
William was buried on one of the new lots he had purchased. No one had
ever had his name etched on the large stone that said " DAY". His Great
Great Grandson William Henry Day of Danville, Indiana set a small stone
to his grave and had his name and dates etched on the large one in 1963.