Mary & Miles Blessing, Orphan Train Riders

Mary Blessing (1842- ?) was mentioned along with a group of young men who were sent to Vermilion County in 1855. The young men on the list had all served during the Civil War, three losing their lives in the war. Mary was a sister to one of those young men and was mentioned as having married and moved to Monticello, IL. She married a harness maker named Edward Chesley.

Mary's first and only appearance in the census in Illinois was in Elwood, Vermilion County in the family of John and Elizabeth Blanchard in 1860. Mary was 18 years old and born in New York. Her employer was a silversmith from Virginia who had a farm as well as his business. Two farmhands lived on the property as well, both from Ohio and one of them was Edward Chesley. Chesley also appeared in the 1850 census when he was sixteen years old and living with William J. Reynold, a Danville watchmaker. Edward did not appear again in the census record, but was a corporal in the 14th Illinois Cavalry during the War.

Miles Blessing (1846- 1910) lived with Charles and Elizabeth Clark in Ross, Illinois in 1860 and then was a farmhand with Francis and Irene Maddock in Ross, Illinois in 1870.

Miles enlisted in the army in March of 1864 and was mustered out at Indianola, Texas in December 1865. He served with the 42nd Illinois Infantry, Company H.

He married Louisa Hickman in 1872 in Edgar County. With her, he had five children for whom we have names: Edna, Frederick, Bruce, Josephine and Louise. In 1880 Miles and Louisa lived in Padonia, Kansas (Brown County). In 1900 Miles and Louisa lived in South Scio, Oregon (Linn County). None of their children lived with them, but the record reflects that they had had 8 children and just 4 of them were still living. Miles died in 1910 in Portland and Louisa in 1923.

Parentage:

Miles and Mary appeared in the 1850 census together with their parents, Thomas and Cecelia Blessing in Bloss, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The Blessing parents were Irish immigrants, and Thomas was a miner. A younger sister, Cecelia was also in the census. No further trace of Cecelia could be found. The death dates of the parents could not be found.