Thomas Jefferson Frazee was born on June 2, 1840 in Plainfield, New Jersey to his parents, Carolyn (Bilyeu) and Jonathan Frazee. In 1852 as a young boy, he and his family came west in a covered wagon to Jerseyville, IL and then on to Green Valley to homestead a farm one mile east and one mile south of the town. His father, Jonathan, had persuaded Carolyn to move west with the promise of a home just like the one she was leaving behind. Materials for the home were shipped by boat from the East via the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers so he could construct the exact duplicate home for his family. Thomas Jefferson grew up with three other siblings, two older sisters, Mary and Almeda, and a younger brother Cornelius.
With the start of the Civil War, the call came from President Lincoln for more troops to help preserve the Union. On August 8, 1862, Thomas Jefferson Frazee enlisted in Company B, 73rd Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry at Devalvan. His military record states he performed in a credible manner, never missing a roll call until he was captured and taken prisoner of war. He was captured during the Battle of Chattenooga and spent eight months in the infamous Andersonville Prison near the Tennessee and Georgia border. He and two other soldiers from his unit were among the few men who survived the horrible conditions of the prison for that length oftime.Each prisoner was given a small amount of shelled corn, a metal cup or can, and some unsanitary water for their daily rations. Having been raised on farms, the three men knew that their bodies weren't like the chickens or other animals and couldn't digest the hard corn. They realized that the prisoners who ate the corn in tact were dying with intense pain from apparent stomach and intestinal problems, and those not eating it were dying from malnutrition and starvation. So, the three men took time to use rocks to crush their corn and then mixed it with water. They put the mixture in the metal containers and heated it in the edge of the fires kept burning day and night for heat and light for the prisoners. They cooked and boiled it until it became a porridge-type mixture which was able to be digested by their bodies. As the war neared an end the Uion overtook the Confederate prison, freeing those who had endured. Thomas Jefferson and some of the other surviving prisoners became part of Gen. Sherman's troops as they made their infamous March to the Sea, which eventually brought about the end of the war.
Thomas Jefferson then returned home to Green Valley to work with his father as a farmer, toolmaker, and
blacksmith. On Feb. 20, 1866, he married Hannah Watts and they made their home south of Green Valley on the farm that later was owned by Herb and Beth Frazee and today is owned by Larry Payne. They were the parents of four children: Lillian, a spinster school teacher; Minnie, a spinster music teacher; and Charles and Walter, both farmers.
Thomas Jefferson was a charter director and member of the Delavan Mutual Fire Insurance Company founded in 1875. He and Hannah eventually moved to the farm later owned by Walter and Howard Frazee and now by Marcella Harms.
Thmas Jefferson Frazee died on July 10, 1901 at the age of sixty-one. Survivors today include six great-grandchildren.
Source: Tazewell County, IL Genealogical and Historical Society.
With the start of the Civil War, the call came from President Lincoln for more troops to help preserve the Union. On August 8, 1862, Thomas Jefferson Frazee enlisted in Company B, 73rd Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry at Devalvan. His military record states he performed in a credible manner, never missing a roll call until he was captured and taken prisoner of war. He was captured during the Battle of Chattenooga and spent eight months in the infamous Andersonville Prison near the Tennessee and Georgia border. He and two other soldiers from his unit were among the few men who survived the horrible conditions of the prison for that length oftime.Each prisoner was given a small amount of shelled corn, a metal cup or can, and some unsanitary water for their daily rations. Having been raised on farms, the three men knew that their bodies weren't like the chickens or other animals and couldn't digest the hard corn. They realized that the prisoners who ate the corn in tact were dying with intense pain from apparent stomach and intestinal problems, and those not eating it were dying from malnutrition and starvation. So, the three men took time to use rocks to crush their corn and then mixed it with water. They put the mixture in the metal containers and heated it in the edge of the fires kept burning day and night for heat and light for the prisoners. They cooked and boiled it until it became a porridge-type mixture which was able to be digested by their bodies. As the war neared an end the Uion overtook the Confederate prison, freeing those who had endured. Thomas Jefferson and some of the other surviving prisoners became part of Gen. Sherman's troops as they made their infamous March to the Sea, which eventually brought about the end of the war.
Thomas Jefferson then returned home to Green Valley to work with his father as a farmer, toolmaker, and
blacksmith. On Feb. 20, 1866, he married Hannah Watts and they made their home south of Green Valley on the farm that later was owned by Herb and Beth Frazee and today is owned by Larry Payne. They were the parents of four children: Lillian, a spinster school teacher; Minnie, a spinster music teacher; and Charles and Walter, both farmers.
Thomas Jefferson was a charter director and member of the Delavan Mutual Fire Insurance Company founded in 1875. He and Hannah eventually moved to the farm later owned by Walter and Howard Frazee and now by Marcella Harms.
Thmas Jefferson Frazee died on July 10, 1901 at the age of sixty-one. Survivors today include six great-grandchildren.
Source: Tazewell County, IL Genealogical and Historical Society.
Thomas Jefferson Frazee was born on June 2, 1840 in Plainfield, New Jersey to his parents, Carolyn (Bilyeu) and Jonathan Frazee. In 1852 as a young boy, he and his family came west in a covered wagon to Jerseyville, IL and then on to Green Valley to homestead a farm one mile east and one mile south of the town. His father, Jonathan, had persuaded Carolyn to move west with the promise of a home just like the one she was leaving behind. Materials for the home were shipped by boat from the East via the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers so he could construct the exact duplicate home for his family. Thomas Jefferson grew up with three other siblings, two older sisters, Mary and Almeda, and a younger brother Cornelius.
With the start of the Civil War, the call came from President Lincoln for more troops to help preserve the Union. On August 8, 1862, Thomas Jefferson Frazee enlisted in Company B, 73rd Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry at Devalvan. His military record states he performed in a credible manner, never missing a roll call until he was captured and taken prisoner of war. He was captured during the Battle of Chattenooga and spent eight months in the infamous Andersonville Prison near the Tennessee and Georgia border. He and two other soldiers from his unit were among the few men who survived the horrible conditions of the prison for that length oftime.Each prisoner was given a small amount of shelled corn, a metal cup or can, and some unsanitary water for their daily rations. Having been raised on farms, the three men knew that their bodies weren't like the chickens or other animals and couldn't digest the hard corn. They realized that the prisoners who ate the corn in tact were dying with intense pain from apparent stomach and intestinal problems, and those not eating it were dying from malnutrition and starvation. So, the three men took time to use rocks to crush their corn and then mixed it with water. They put the mixture in the metal containers and heated it in the edge of the fires kept burning day and night for heat and light for the prisoners. They cooked and boiled it until it became a porridge-type mixture which was able to be digested by their bodies. As the war neared an end the Uion overtook the Confederate prison, freeing those who had endured. Thomas Jefferson and some of the other surviving prisoners became part of Gen. Sherman's troops as they made their infamous March to the Sea, which eventually brought about the end of the war.
Thomas Jefferson then returned home to Green Valley to work with his father as a farmer, toolmaker, and
blacksmith. On Feb. 20, 1866, he married Hannah Watts and they made their home south of Green Valley on the farm that later was owned by Herb and Beth Frazee and today is owned by Larry Payne. They were the parents of four children: Lillian, a spinster school teacher; Minnie, a spinster music teacher; and Charles and Walter, both farmers.
Thomas Jefferson was a charter director and member of the Delavan Mutual Fire Insurance Company founded in 1875. He and Hannah eventually moved to the farm later owned by Walter and Howard Frazee and now by Marcella Harms.
Thmas Jefferson Frazee died on July 10, 1901 at the age of sixty-one. Survivors today include six great-grandchildren.
Source: Tazewell County, IL Genealogical and Historical Society.
With the start of the Civil War, the call came from President Lincoln for more troops to help preserve the Union. On August 8, 1862, Thomas Jefferson Frazee enlisted in Company B, 73rd Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry at Devalvan. His military record states he performed in a credible manner, never missing a roll call until he was captured and taken prisoner of war. He was captured during the Battle of Chattenooga and spent eight months in the infamous Andersonville Prison near the Tennessee and Georgia border. He and two other soldiers from his unit were among the few men who survived the horrible conditions of the prison for that length oftime.Each prisoner was given a small amount of shelled corn, a metal cup or can, and some unsanitary water for their daily rations. Having been raised on farms, the three men knew that their bodies weren't like the chickens or other animals and couldn't digest the hard corn. They realized that the prisoners who ate the corn in tact were dying with intense pain from apparent stomach and intestinal problems, and those not eating it were dying from malnutrition and starvation. So, the three men took time to use rocks to crush their corn and then mixed it with water. They put the mixture in the metal containers and heated it in the edge of the fires kept burning day and night for heat and light for the prisoners. They cooked and boiled it until it became a porridge-type mixture which was able to be digested by their bodies. As the war neared an end the Uion overtook the Confederate prison, freeing those who had endured. Thomas Jefferson and some of the other surviving prisoners became part of Gen. Sherman's troops as they made their infamous March to the Sea, which eventually brought about the end of the war.
Thomas Jefferson then returned home to Green Valley to work with his father as a farmer, toolmaker, and
blacksmith. On Feb. 20, 1866, he married Hannah Watts and they made their home south of Green Valley on the farm that later was owned by Herb and Beth Frazee and today is owned by Larry Payne. They were the parents of four children: Lillian, a spinster school teacher; Minnie, a spinster music teacher; and Charles and Walter, both farmers.
Thomas Jefferson was a charter director and member of the Delavan Mutual Fire Insurance Company founded in 1875. He and Hannah eventually moved to the farm later owned by Walter and Howard Frazee and now by Marcella Harms.
Thmas Jefferson Frazee died on July 10, 1901 at the age of sixty-one. Survivors today include six great-grandchildren.
Source: Tazewell County, IL Genealogical and Historical Society.
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