[Genealogy] Buried Along the Quincy Road By the People, Notebook, Lessons from Ira
Michael John Neill
mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Sun Aug 23 07:30:08 CDT 2026
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23 August 2026
** Buried Along the Quincy Road By the People
** Notebook Class
** Genealogy Lessons from Ira Sargent
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Buried Along the Quincy Road By the People
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Harm Habben died at the age of eighteen in Bentley, Hancock County,
Illinois. After battling pneumonia for eight days, Harm died in the early
afternoon of 17 March 1880. The German native likely didn’t die in the
village of Bentley proper, although that is the location given on the death
certificate and that’s close to to where he likely did die.
Harm likely died at home and while I don’t know exactly where the family
lived in 1880, I suspect it was a few miles from Basco, Illinois–probably
loosely between Basco and Bentley. That’s where various members of Harm’s
family lived.
Of course I will record Bentley as the place of death as that’s what the
death certificate says and I’ll site the death certificate as the source of
that location.
There’s no date of burial on this death certificate and the place of burial
is somewhat vague as well:
Near Quincy road in Harmony Town
The reference to “Harmony Town” is actually to Harmony Township. The Quincy
Road is still referred to that by a few locals (who seem to get older as
time moves on) and was the former road that was used to travel from
Carthage, Illinois, to Quincy, Illinois. The death certificate makes it
sound as if Harm is buried in a small farm plot or merely along side the
road. He was buried in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery–which is somewhat between
Bentley and Basco, Illinois, and south of Carthage, Illinois. The cemetery
and the church are located in Harmony Township. The death certificate is
not wrong about the location–just not as precise as one would like.
In my database when I refer to where Harm is buried–I do not cite his death
certificate since it doesn’t technically say he’s buried in the Immanuel
Cemetery. I can’t cite it for a date of burial either–since one is not
listed. I cite my actual visit to the cemetery and the picture I have of
his tombstone for documentation of his place of burial.
It may seem technical, but one should not suggest that a document includes
information that it does not. The burial location listed for Harm is
discussed in my notes for him as that location is consistent with his known
place of burial.
And the undertaker?
That’s not the People Funeral Home. The reference indicated that locals in
the area saw to the funeral arrangements. Harm had immediate and extended
family in the area and there were quite a few fellow Ostfriesen immigrants
who were near neighbors. They were likely the ones to saw to the
preparation of the body and burial.
-------------------------------------
Notebook for Genealogy--a Four Week Class
-------------------------------------
View this page as an email.
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/>
*Due to requests, we've added a set of classes on Tuesday mornings--see
below.*
Notebook for Genealogy–A Four Session Pick Your Own Problem Course
With Michael John Neill
Our focus is on being practical, exhibiting sound genealogy methodology,
and demonstrating responsible use of Notebook (Google’s suite of AI tools)
in genealogy research. This course is for those who would like guidance and
suggestions in how to use Notebook and have a place to get feedback and
additional direction.
*What is Notebook?*
NotebookLM (often simply Notebook) is Google’s suite of AI-driven tools to
analyze data from files and information you provide it. .
Notebook uses sources of your choosing, not what it found online. You
upload your own materials—including PDF files, text files, Google Docs,
slides, or web links—and the AI creates a private workspace built
exclusively around that data. You can upload any genealogy information to
it tht you wish , but it is recommended that only deceased people be
included and that you not upload DNA information on living people.
Capabilities
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Answers with Citations: When you ask questions or search your uploaded
files, every response includes citations to your uploaded documents,
allowing you to double-check sources.
-
Synthesis & Content Creation: Notebook automatically generates concise
summaries, outlines main themes, and identifies connections or conflicts
across dozens of sources at once. You do need to validate its summaries and
conclusions.
-
Audio-visual Outputs: Beyond text answers, Notebook can create study
guides, briefing documents, timeline charts, slide decks, podcast
interviews, and videos based on your content. Even if you never share the
created materials, just viewing them and interacting with them may give you
some insight into your genealogical problem.
Course Prerequisites & Required Materials You should have digital records
for one ancestor or a father-mother-children family, including every extant
record available.
-
Format: PDF or JPG for images; PDF, Word, or raw text for transcriptions.
-
Preparation: Be familiar with the specific ancestral research problem
you plan to work on to get the most from Notebook LM and AI concepts.
Gather all materials between registration and the start of class.
Course Format & Zoom Sessions
-
Pre-Recorded Lectures: Students will view two hours of presentations
before group sessions begin.
-
Live Zoom Sessions: Held on Sunday nights (and recorded for later
viewing). Sessions combine live demonstrations by Michael working through a
set of family records alongside group discussions where students share
prompts, results, challenges, and questions.
Class Focus & Weekly Assignments
-
Weekly Assignments: One assignment per week focused on Notebook's media
outputs using your own research problem.
-
Scope: The course focuses on mastering the tools and capabilities of
Notebook rather than providing individual research advice, making it
accessible to participants working on problems from any region.
Community Discussion & Communication
-
Private Google Group: Used for asynchronous discussion, peer
interaction, Q&A, and prompt sharing outside of live sessions.
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Email Requirement: A Gmail account is strongly recommended. Accounts
with AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail frequently experience delivery issues with
group emails.
Take the class live on Sunday Night or Tuesday Mornings!
*Tuesday Sessions--10 AM Eastern Time--stilll available*
*Important Dates*
- *1 September:* Pre-recorded lectures become available for download,
and the private Google Group opens.
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September, 22 September, 29 September, and 13 October. Time: 10 am US
Central Daylight Time.
*Registration & Tuition*-
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------------------------------
Genealogy Lessons from Ira Sargent
-----------------------------
If ever there was an ancestor who was full of genealogical lessons, it’s
Ira Sargent.
Born in the early 1840s, probably near Darlington, Ontario, Canada, he was
actually named William Ira Sargent. For quite some time early in my
research I was unaware that Ira was his middle name and that his first name
was William.
By the mid-1840s, Ira, his parents, and his sisters are living in Winnebago
County, Illinois.
In the late 1840s Ira’s father either died or took off. A number of print
genealogies repeat the same place and time frame for his death. One cannot
conclude that the date and place of death is correct merely because it was
repeated numerous times. Ira’s daughter Emmar suggested in her own Civil
War widow’s pension application that her father may have simply run off.
By 1850, Ira’s mother has married again and Ira and his siblings are
enumerated in the 1850 census while living in Winnebago County, Illinois.
They are enumerated with their step-father’s list name. By 1860 Ira’s
mother has died and they are living with their step-father in Christian
County, Missouri. They are again enumerated with their step-father’s last
name.
In the mid-1850s the family spent a few years in Union County, Iowa. Ira’s
oldest sister married while the family lived there and she did not join
them in Christian County, Missouri. When the Civil War heated up, Ira’s
step-father (a native of Canada himself) took his two children (Ira’s
half-siblings) and returned to Canada where he died.
Ira and his two younger sisters headed back to Union County, Iowa, where
their married sister still lived. Eventually Ira and his younger sisters
met their future spouses and married in or near Union County. Ira married
Ellen Butler in 1870–a few months after the federal census in which he
can’t be located was taken.
He married under the name of William I. Sargent.
By 1880, Ira and Ellen have made their way to Warsaw, Hancock County,
Illinois, where they are enumerated in the census with their two small
daughters.
By the mid-to-late 1880s, Ellen is out of the picture. Ira’s children are
living with foster parents in southwestern Hancock County, Illinois. Ira
married again in 1888 and has another daughter with his second wife. The
first wife is rarely mentioned.
Ira works as a day laborer or farm hand until the early 1900s. From
approximately 1906 until his death in 1916 he is institutionalized in
various Illinois state hospitals. His relationship with his second wife and
some of his children is apparently strained and he doesn’t pass on any
family stories.
- Ira is mentioned in the 1895 family genealogy as an unnamed son in his
family’s portion of the text. Hard to find when you do not know the names
of his parents.
- Ira’s death certificate has no named parents.
- Ira’s two marriage records provide no parental information.
- Ira’s death notice in the local newspaper simply indicated that a
county resident of the state hospital had died.
- Ira had no tombstone. His body was donated to medical science by the
hospital after his death.
- Ira is enumerated with his step-father’s name in several records.
Before the step-father’s name (Asa Landon) was known finding Ira was
difficult.
- Neither of Ira’s parents left a probate or estate record.
- Ira is living in a different county in every census enumeration
between 1850 and 1910. He cannot be located in 1870.
I’ve written about Ira before. While it was frustrating to not find him in
certain records, his early life was in a constant state of flux and by
around the age of ten both his parents were dead and he was living with his
step-father. From what is known about his mother and father’s families it
is apparent that none of them lived close enough to take Ira and or his
siblings into their own home.
Your ancestor did not always intentionally leave behind few details of his
life. Sometimes that is just the way their life played out.
Current offerings:
-
Notebook AI–four week class
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/12/notebook-for-genealogy-four-week-class/>
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Metes and Bounds AI–one hour webinar
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/08/16/using-ai-for-metes-and-bounds-deed-analysis/>
Upcoming Trips:
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Midwest Genealogy Center–Independence, Missouri
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/>--October
2026
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Library of Virginia
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/>--March
2027--make deposit and pay balance later
Ready-to-Go Webinars–download immediate:
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<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-childrens-stories-from-genealogy-information/>
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Creating Families from pre-1850 Census Records
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/creating-families-from-pre-1850-census-records/>
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DeedMapper webinars
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Farming Ancestor webinars–landowner and non-landowner versions
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/rooting-around-for-farmers-and-tenants-and-laborers/>
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------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com-
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