Warrensburg, Illinois

The town of Warrensburg is beautifully situated on section 14, on the line of the Pekin and Decatur Railroad, about nine miles north-west of Decatur. It was laid out by Messrs. Warren and Durfee, soon after the construction of the railroad. The town was named in honor of Mr. Warren, one of the original proprietors. John Ritchie erected the first dwelling-house. The first store was kept by Samuel Ritchie, just north of the present limits. The postoffice was established in 1871, with R. Schrader as post- master. Jonas Hawood kept the first hotel. Samuel Ritchie was also the first blacksmith.

Passage source: History of Macon County, Illinois : with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1880.

Who is now engaged in the practice of his profession at Warrensburg, was born at Portsmouth, Scioto county, Ohio, on the 13th of April, 1839. The family from which he is descended was of Irish origin. It is said that his great-great-grandfather lived in Ireland and was educated for the Catholic priesthood. Renouncing the Romish faith he left Ireland and came to Jamestown, Virginia. The family name had been " McDempsey," which he changed to the present form of Demsey. Dr. Demsey's grandfather, whose name was Samson Demsey, moved to Ohio shortly after the opening of the present century. He was then young and unmarried. He taught school for several years. He married Sarah Nevin, who was also of Irish descent. She was born in Virginia, but when six or eight years old had come to Ohio with her father, who was one of the early settlers of the state. Samson Demsey was a man who stood well in the community in which he lived. He was a democrat, and took an active part in politics. He was chosen to several positions of trust and honor. He served as circuit clerk, and for a number of terms was a member of the Ohio legislature. He had five sons. The oldest, C. P. Demsey, practiced law at Cincinnati for a long number of years. The youngest, Adam Demsey, was a soldier in the Mexican war and settled in Indiana, where he died. The second wras John N. Demsey, father of the subject of this biography.

Passage source: History of Macon County, Illinois : with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1880.

He returned to Macon county in 1865, and began the study of medicine at Decatur, with Drs. W. J. Chenoweth and S. T. Trowbridge. In the fall of 1866 he entered Rush Medical College, at Chicago, at which he subsequently attended a second course of lectures,. and from which he graduated. He began practice with his father in 1867. In January, 1868, he went to Cass county, Missouri, where he practiced his professsion till 1875, when he came back to Macon county, located at Warrensburg, and has since been engaged in active practice as a physician. He has also carried on the drug business, since 1876. His first marriage was in January, 1868, to Eliza A. Gouge, a native of Macon county. She died on the 31st of May, 1872. His second marriage took place in March, 1873, to Clarinda Gates, who was born in Monroe county, Ohio. She was then a resident of Cass county, Missouri, to which place her father had moved from Ohio. He has three children, one by his first and two by his second marriage. He is a republican in politics.

Passage source: History of Macon County, Illinois : with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Illini Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.