Descendants of Jacob Keckley, Sr. - Hometowns
​Where did Jeff and Peggy Kackley live & die?
​At Capon Bridge, Hampshire County, VA and Coles County, IL.
Google Maps showing Coles County and Diona, Illinois.
Hamilton Jefferson (Jeff) and Margaret (Peggy) Kackley, nee Parish, were the first of my direct line paternal ancestors to strike out westward from Virginia. They moved to Coles County, Illinois in 1856 in a covered wagon, according to family histories. By that point, they were age 42 and 39 with 9 children. I wonder what inspired or motivated them to take that leap at that point in life. Were they encouraged by others who went before? Did they hear or read about a government land program that sounded like a good deal?

Jeff was the tenth of eleven children born to Christine and Abraham. He was born in 1814 in Hampshire County, VA (now WV) and died in about 1863 in Coles County, IL. Jeff and Peggy married in 1835 and had 10 children. In the August 1850 census, he was listed as a shoemaker in Hampshire County with real estate worth $500. Jeff and Peggy's household included 8 children, ages 1 to 14 and Christina, Jeff's mother, age 75. Jeff's father, Abraham, had died in 1849.

A history of Coles County published in 1879 lists H.A., J.W. and Pierce Kackley as taxpayers and farmers in Hutton Township, with the latter two listed as residents near the Diona Post Office. As these are the 3 youngest sons of Jeff and Peggy, I'll place the family home in Diona, Il. as well.

Peggy's exact birth and death dates are unknown, perhaps about 1817-1860. She had her tenth and last child in 1859 in Illinois. On Sept. 28, 1863, Jeff married again, to Amanda Cory. So, Peggy presumably died between 1859 and 1863, leaving Jeff with several children to raise. But when Jeff died in 1863 at age 49, there were still an unmarried daughter, age 17, and four sons, ages 7 to 16, in the household. One of those sons, John W. Lane Kackley, was my ancestor.

​​Where did John and Lida (Lydia?) Kackley live?
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The information on this page was primarily compiled from: Jacob's House (Cackley/Kackley/Keckley Families), (A History of the Descendants of Jacob Keckley, Sr. (1701-1788) of Frederick County, Virginia), written and compiled by Elizabeth Faith Kackley Qualls, 1990, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore.