Silas came from a long line of very devout Baptists. His father was a deacon, and his grandfather was a preacher. When Silas was a young man, a large group of Seventh-Day Baptists left New York State and migrated to southern New Jersey. They settled near the Harris family and all of their Baptist friends and family. There was quite a bit of tension between the people of these two religions. The main difference was that the Baptists observed Sunday as Sabbath, and the Seventh-Day Baptists observed Saturday as Sabbath.
Remarkably, Silas (a Baptist) fell in love with Annaritta (a Seventh-Day). This must have been quite a scandal, back then...sort of a Romeo and Juliet scenario. After they got married, each of their families probably pressured them, as to how they were going to raise their children...either Baptist or Seventh-Day. After Silas and Annaritta had their third child Sarah, they left New Jersey and headed west. One of the reasons they did this was because the Northwest Ordinance had just been passed, which opened up Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois for settlement. But one has to wonder if another reason they left was to escape the pressures from their two families.
Silas was a weaver. He made beautiful cloth. He enjoyed weaving, as it was calming to him.
They lived in southern and southwestern Pennsylvania for many years, where the rest of their children were born. They later built a flatboat, and went down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. They got off the boat and went northwest about 75 miles, to the little town of Reily. They lived there for several years. Many of their children got married there. One day, some Mormons went through the area and they converted a few of their children to become Mormons. And so, after that, those children wanted to go to Utah. The rest of their children, except for Sarah, decided to head west as well, although they did not plan on going as far as Utah. Silas and Annaritta went along, for part of the way. The group stopped in central Indiana for awhile. Later, Silas and Annaritta decided to stop and stay in Illinois.
Silas and Annaritta had eleven children:
1. Elizabeth (b. 8-10-1791)
2. Sarah (b. 1793)
3. Silas Jr. (b. 1796)
4. Moses (b. 7-10-1798)
5. David (b. 1800)
6. Joseph (b. 1801)
7. Margaret (b. 12-23-1803)
8. Rebecca (b. 1805)
9. Mary (b. 1807)
10. Daniel (b. 2-4-1809)
11. William (b. 1811)
Silas and Annaritta later died in Iroquois County, Illinois and they were buried there, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
It was said that, in 1975, a man named Glen D. Harris Jr., who was a descendant of Silas Harris, found the gravestones of Silas and his wife Annaritta, in this cemetery. But then, he removed their gravestone from the ground, and took them out to Utah, where he actually put them on display, for the "Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization."
But Glenn D. Harris left Silas and Annaritta's remains there, in this cemetery!
However, the problem is that now, nobody knows where these two gravestones are. Some people have said that this was a very selfish and foolish thing for him to have done, particularly since neither Silas nor Annaritta were Mormon. Some of their children became Mormons and moved to Utah, but Silas and Annaretta did not. They stayed in Illinois.
I pray that someone will see this memorial on Find A Grave, go to Utah, and find those two gravestones, and then post a photograph of those stones here, so that their thousands of descendants can actually see their gravestones.
UPDATE: Their gravestones have been found! They had been encased in a concrete slab, which was placed just outside the perimeter of the Harris Cemetery, in Glendale, Utah, which is the same cemetery where their son Moses was buried. However, only Silas and Annaritta's gravestones are there; their remains are still buried in Illinois, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
There is a small plaque on the concrete slab that reads as follows:
Headstones found in abandoned Rothgeb Cemetery
Iroquois Co. Illinois
The graves were not found.
Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization 1977
NOTE: Of course, this is not true. Silas and Annaritta were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery, under their gravestones. Glenn D. Harris, or whoever was with him, simply did not bother to remove the remains and move them as well. All they did was take the gravestones! Removing the gravestones and carting them out to Utah was not right.
The inscriptions on each of their gravestones reads as follows:
Silas Harris
Died March 14 1846
Aged 77 Ys 4 Mo
& 6 Ds
Annaritta
Wife of
Silas Harris
Died Jan 28 1847
Aged 82 Ys 6 Mo
16 Ds
Please note that Annaritta spelled her name as "Annaritta," as evidenced by the spelling on her gravestone. Also, Silas spelled her name that way, in letters that he wrote. However, she had descendants who were named after her and they spelled their name as "Annaretta."
Please note that the other people who were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery are still there, in the ground. But their gravestones have all fallen over and are either partially buried, or completely buried, now. The cemetery is now abandoned, and in an overgrown pasture.
Remarkably, Silas (a Baptist) fell in love with Annaritta (a Seventh-Day). This must have been quite a scandal, back then...sort of a Romeo and Juliet scenario. After they got married, each of their families probably pressured them, as to how they were going to raise their children...either Baptist or Seventh-Day. After Silas and Annaritta had their third child Sarah, they left New Jersey and headed west. One of the reasons they did this was because the Northwest Ordinance had just been passed, which opened up Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois for settlement. But one has to wonder if another reason they left was to escape the pressures from their two families.
Silas was a weaver. He made beautiful cloth. He enjoyed weaving, as it was calming to him.
They lived in southern and southwestern Pennsylvania for many years, where the rest of their children were born. They later built a flatboat, and went down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. They got off the boat and went northwest about 75 miles, to the little town of Reily. They lived there for several years. Many of their children got married there. One day, some Mormons went through the area and they converted a few of their children to become Mormons. And so, after that, those children wanted to go to Utah. The rest of their children, except for Sarah, decided to head west as well, although they did not plan on going as far as Utah. Silas and Annaritta went along, for part of the way. The group stopped in central Indiana for awhile. Later, Silas and Annaritta decided to stop and stay in Illinois.
Silas and Annaritta had eleven children:
1. Elizabeth (b. 8-10-1791)
2. Sarah (b. 1793)
3. Silas Jr. (b. 1796)
4. Moses (b. 7-10-1798)
5. David (b. 1800)
6. Joseph (b. 1801)
7. Margaret (b. 12-23-1803)
8. Rebecca (b. 1805)
9. Mary (b. 1807)
10. Daniel (b. 2-4-1809)
11. William (b. 1811)
Silas and Annaritta later died in Iroquois County, Illinois and they were buried there, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
It was said that, in 1975, a man named Glen D. Harris Jr., who was a descendant of Silas Harris, found the gravestones of Silas and his wife Annaritta, in this cemetery. But then, he removed their gravestone from the ground, and took them out to Utah, where he actually put them on display, for the "Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization."
But Glenn D. Harris left Silas and Annaritta's remains there, in this cemetery!
However, the problem is that now, nobody knows where these two gravestones are. Some people have said that this was a very selfish and foolish thing for him to have done, particularly since neither Silas nor Annaritta were Mormon. Some of their children became Mormons and moved to Utah, but Silas and Annaretta did not. They stayed in Illinois.
I pray that someone will see this memorial on Find A Grave, go to Utah, and find those two gravestones, and then post a photograph of those stones here, so that their thousands of descendants can actually see their gravestones.
UPDATE: Their gravestones have been found! They had been encased in a concrete slab, which was placed just outside the perimeter of the Harris Cemetery, in Glendale, Utah, which is the same cemetery where their son Moses was buried. However, only Silas and Annaritta's gravestones are there; their remains are still buried in Illinois, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
There is a small plaque on the concrete slab that reads as follows:
Headstones found in abandoned Rothgeb Cemetery
Iroquois Co. Illinois
The graves were not found.
Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization 1977
NOTE: Of course, this is not true. Silas and Annaritta were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery, under their gravestones. Glenn D. Harris, or whoever was with him, simply did not bother to remove the remains and move them as well. All they did was take the gravestones! Removing the gravestones and carting them out to Utah was not right.
The inscriptions on each of their gravestones reads as follows:
Silas Harris
Died March 14 1846
Aged 77 Ys 4 Mo
& 6 Ds
Annaritta
Wife of
Silas Harris
Died Jan 28 1847
Aged 82 Ys 6 Mo
16 Ds
Please note that Annaritta spelled her name as "Annaritta," as evidenced by the spelling on her gravestone. Also, Silas spelled her name that way, in letters that he wrote. However, she had descendants who were named after her and they spelled their name as "Annaretta."
Please note that the other people who were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery are still there, in the ground. But their gravestones have all fallen over and are either partially buried, or completely buried, now. The cemetery is now abandoned, and in an overgrown pasture.
Silas came from a long line of very devout Baptists. His father was a deacon, and his grandfather was a preacher. When Silas was a young man, a large group of Seventh-Day Baptists left New York State and migrated to southern New Jersey. They settled near the Harris family and all of their Baptist friends and family. There was quite a bit of tension between the people of these two religions. The main difference was that the Baptists observed Sunday as Sabbath, and the Seventh-Day Baptists observed Saturday as Sabbath.
Remarkably, Silas (a Baptist) fell in love with Annaritta (a Seventh-Day). This must have been quite a scandal, back then...sort of a Romeo and Juliet scenario. After they got married, each of their families probably pressured them, as to how they were going to raise their children...either Baptist or Seventh-Day. After Silas and Annaritta had their third child Sarah, they left New Jersey and headed west. One of the reasons they did this was because the Northwest Ordinance had just been passed, which opened up Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois for settlement. But one has to wonder if another reason they left was to escape the pressures from their two families.
Silas was a weaver. He made beautiful cloth. He enjoyed weaving, as it was calming to him.
They lived in southern and southwestern Pennsylvania for many years, where the rest of their children were born. They later built a flatboat, and went down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. They got off the boat and went northwest about 75 miles, to the little town of Reily. They lived there for several years. Many of their children got married there. One day, some Mormons went through the area and they converted a few of their children to become Mormons. And so, after that, those children wanted to go to Utah. The rest of their children, except for Sarah, decided to head west as well, although they did not plan on going as far as Utah. Silas and Annaritta went along, for part of the way. The group stopped in central Indiana for awhile. Later, Silas and Annaritta decided to stop and stay in Illinois.
Silas and Annaritta had eleven children:
1. Elizabeth (b. 8-10-1791)
2. Sarah (b. 1793)
3. Silas Jr. (b. 1796)
4. Moses (b. 7-10-1798)
5. David (b. 1800)
6. Joseph (b. 1801)
7. Margaret (b. 12-23-1803)
8. Rebecca (b. 1805)
9. Mary (b. 1807)
10. Daniel (b. 2-4-1809)
11. William (b. 1811)
Silas and Annaritta later died in Iroquois County, Illinois and they were buried there, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
It was said that, in 1975, a man named Glen D. Harris Jr., who was a descendant of Silas Harris, found the gravestones of Silas and his wife Annaritta, in this cemetery. But then, he removed their gravestone from the ground, and took them out to Utah, where he actually put them on display, for the "Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization."
But Glenn D. Harris left Silas and Annaritta's remains there, in this cemetery!
However, the problem is that now, nobody knows where these two gravestones are. Some people have said that this was a very selfish and foolish thing for him to have done, particularly since neither Silas nor Annaritta were Mormon. Some of their children became Mormons and moved to Utah, but Silas and Annaretta did not. They stayed in Illinois.
I pray that someone will see this memorial on Find A Grave, go to Utah, and find those two gravestones, and then post a photograph of those stones here, so that their thousands of descendants can actually see their gravestones.
UPDATE: Their gravestones have been found! They had been encased in a concrete slab, which was placed just outside the perimeter of the Harris Cemetery, in Glendale, Utah, which is the same cemetery where their son Moses was buried. However, only Silas and Annaritta's gravestones are there; their remains are still buried in Illinois, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
There is a small plaque on the concrete slab that reads as follows:
Headstones found in abandoned Rothgeb Cemetery
Iroquois Co. Illinois
The graves were not found.
Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization 1977
NOTE: Of course, this is not true. Silas and Annaritta were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery, under their gravestones. Glenn D. Harris, or whoever was with him, simply did not bother to remove the remains and move them as well. All they did was take the gravestones! Removing the gravestones and carting them out to Utah was not right.
The inscriptions on each of their gravestones reads as follows:
Silas Harris
Died March 14 1846
Aged 77 Ys 4 Mo
& 6 Ds
Annaritta
Wife of
Silas Harris
Died Jan 28 1847
Aged 82 Ys 6 Mo
16 Ds
Please note that Annaritta spelled her name as "Annaritta," as evidenced by the spelling on her gravestone. Also, Silas spelled her name that way, in letters that he wrote. However, she had descendants who were named after her and they spelled their name as "Annaretta."
Please note that the other people who were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery are still there, in the ground. But their gravestones have all fallen over and are either partially buried, or completely buried, now. The cemetery is now abandoned, and in an overgrown pasture.
Remarkably, Silas (a Baptist) fell in love with Annaritta (a Seventh-Day). This must have been quite a scandal, back then...sort of a Romeo and Juliet scenario. After they got married, each of their families probably pressured them, as to how they were going to raise their children...either Baptist or Seventh-Day. After Silas and Annaritta had their third child Sarah, they left New Jersey and headed west. One of the reasons they did this was because the Northwest Ordinance had just been passed, which opened up Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois for settlement. But one has to wonder if another reason they left was to escape the pressures from their two families.
Silas was a weaver. He made beautiful cloth. He enjoyed weaving, as it was calming to him.
They lived in southern and southwestern Pennsylvania for many years, where the rest of their children were born. They later built a flatboat, and went down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. They got off the boat and went northwest about 75 miles, to the little town of Reily. They lived there for several years. Many of their children got married there. One day, some Mormons went through the area and they converted a few of their children to become Mormons. And so, after that, those children wanted to go to Utah. The rest of their children, except for Sarah, decided to head west as well, although they did not plan on going as far as Utah. Silas and Annaritta went along, for part of the way. The group stopped in central Indiana for awhile. Later, Silas and Annaritta decided to stop and stay in Illinois.
Silas and Annaritta had eleven children:
1. Elizabeth (b. 8-10-1791)
2. Sarah (b. 1793)
3. Silas Jr. (b. 1796)
4. Moses (b. 7-10-1798)
5. David (b. 1800)
6. Joseph (b. 1801)
7. Margaret (b. 12-23-1803)
8. Rebecca (b. 1805)
9. Mary (b. 1807)
10. Daniel (b. 2-4-1809)
11. William (b. 1811)
Silas and Annaritta later died in Iroquois County, Illinois and they were buried there, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
It was said that, in 1975, a man named Glen D. Harris Jr., who was a descendant of Silas Harris, found the gravestones of Silas and his wife Annaritta, in this cemetery. But then, he removed their gravestone from the ground, and took them out to Utah, where he actually put them on display, for the "Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization."
But Glenn D. Harris left Silas and Annaritta's remains there, in this cemetery!
However, the problem is that now, nobody knows where these two gravestones are. Some people have said that this was a very selfish and foolish thing for him to have done, particularly since neither Silas nor Annaritta were Mormon. Some of their children became Mormons and moved to Utah, but Silas and Annaretta did not. They stayed in Illinois.
I pray that someone will see this memorial on Find A Grave, go to Utah, and find those two gravestones, and then post a photograph of those stones here, so that their thousands of descendants can actually see their gravestones.
UPDATE: Their gravestones have been found! They had been encased in a concrete slab, which was placed just outside the perimeter of the Harris Cemetery, in Glendale, Utah, which is the same cemetery where their son Moses was buried. However, only Silas and Annaritta's gravestones are there; their remains are still buried in Illinois, in the Rothgeb Cemetery.
There is a small plaque on the concrete slab that reads as follows:
Headstones found in abandoned Rothgeb Cemetery
Iroquois Co. Illinois
The graves were not found.
Silas Harris Jr. Family Organization 1977
NOTE: Of course, this is not true. Silas and Annaritta were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery, under their gravestones. Glenn D. Harris, or whoever was with him, simply did not bother to remove the remains and move them as well. All they did was take the gravestones! Removing the gravestones and carting them out to Utah was not right.
The inscriptions on each of their gravestones reads as follows:
Silas Harris
Died March 14 1846
Aged 77 Ys 4 Mo
& 6 Ds
Annaritta
Wife of
Silas Harris
Died Jan 28 1847
Aged 82 Ys 6 Mo
16 Ds
Please note that Annaritta spelled her name as "Annaritta," as evidenced by the spelling on her gravestone. Also, Silas spelled her name that way, in letters that he wrote. However, she had descendants who were named after her and they spelled their name as "Annaretta."
Please note that the other people who were buried in the Rothgeb Cemetery are still there, in the ground. But their gravestones have all fallen over and are either partially buried, or completely buried, now. The cemetery is now abandoned, and in an overgrown pasture.
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