In Search Of ... John Niece

John Niece was my great-grandfather. I have seen several variants of his name, including Neice and Neace. Neece eventually became the predominant spelling in the family, but I continue to use either Niece or Neice in my family tree for John because that's how it is spelled in the oldest records I have found for him.

This is one of the reasons I jumped into genealogy at such a young age:

Tombstone of John Neice

William Price Cemetery, looking southeast

Per his tombstone, John served in Company C of the 143rd Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. Finding out that my father's grandfather served in the Civil War captured my young imagination and spurred a lifelong interest.

The problem is that my family had little information about John Niece, aside from a few dates and places. To reconstruct who he was, I had to do my own research.

The earliest record I have found for John Niece is the 1850 census record of his family. The James Niece household was living in the Beck's Creek District of Shelby County, IL at that time:

1850 Census Record of James Niece

 This is in agreement with John's death certificate (which lists him as John Long Neice):

Death Certificate of John Niece

From these two records, we can determine that John's mother was Rebeckah Brown. The birth dates, however, are inconsistent, the census suggesting birth around 1835 while the death certificate states 1829. While I have been unable to locate John's census records for 1860 and 1870, his 1880 census record also suggests around 1835.

1880 Census Record of John Niece

The information contained in the 1880 census has been corroborated by multiple family sources and other documents, so I am satisfied that this is indeed my great-grandfather's family.

Another valuable source of information has been the Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls for Illinois. They list 3 entries for Neice from Oconee: John, James, and William. These agree in name and age with the sons of James Niece shown on the 1850 census.

This lays the groundwork for further research into who my great-grandfather was.