The Sangamon Experience – Peter Berriman
Summary of Peter Berriman’s Ancestors in England
According to FindAGrave, Peter was known as “Uncle Peter” to his many friends. Born Sept 24, 1825 in Yorkshire, England, the son of John and Jane Brigham Berriman. They came to the U. S. in 1848 when Peter was 22. He associated with John C. Lamb and was a manufacturer of plows and other agricultural implements. He later was employed by the Chicago & Alton Railway at Alton in the wood department of the railroad car shops for nine months. He then returned to Springfield and worked for the Wabash Railroad Co in the car building department. In 1856 he became a foundryman and member of the firm of Booth, King & Co., owners and operators of the Excelsior foundry. A year later it became Booth & Berriman, and then Mr. Berriman purchased his partner’s interest and the firm Berriman & Rippon continued in business for 29 years. It was one of the leading industrial concerns of the city. After this business closed, he began the manufacture of steam engines and boilers and built several sugar and sorghum mills during the Civil War. In 1878 he sold his business and retired. In 1880 Mr. Berriman became superintendent of the Springfield waterworks, holding this office until 1897. He was a Democrat and served as city council member for 4 years.
Peter Berriman and his ancestors seem to have lived mainly in East Yorkshire, with specific mentions to the villages/towns of Kilham, Thwing, Driffield, and North Burton (now Burton Fleming), and North Yorkshire, specifically York, Hackness, and Scarborough. Peter’s father, John, lived and died in Kilham but married his mother, Jane, in her hometown Thwing. Jane survived John by 12 years and some records show that she remarried a year after his passing in York. Towards the end of her life she moved to Sculcoates, England (a suburb of Hull) where she died at age 75.
Peter’s father, John, and his grandfather, Peter Berriman Jr., and his great-grandfather, Peter Berriman Sr., all worked in agriculture and lived and died in Kilham. Peter Berriman Sr.’s father, another John, was born in Hackness but later moved to Kilham and some sources suggest he may have died of smallpox. John’s father and thus Peter’s great x3 grandfather, Richard Berriman Jr., was born in North Burton and got married in Thornton, but the location and date of his death is unknown. Similarly, Richard Berriman Sr. was born in North Burton and married in Hackness, but the location and date of his death is also unknown. Richard Berriman Sr.’s father, Robert Jr., was born in North Burton and died in Sinnington. Robert Sr. and his father John (1520-), the last known ancestor, were both born and died in Seamer Carr, Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
Peter’s grandfather on his mother’s side, Robert Brigham, was born, baptized and married in Wharram Percy and later resided in Fridaythorp. His wife, Mary Megginson, was born in Towthorpe. Robert’s parents were also married in Wharram Percy and though there is not much available information on his father, another Robert, his mother’s line, Elizabeth Wharram, can be traced to the 1500s and most of her ancestors all resided in Wetwang.
In 1852, Peter married Adeline “Addie” Hutchings. Her ancestors were also all from England (fairly spread out in the south), and her parents, Philip and Mary Jane, were the first to settle in the United States. Philip Hutchings (Peter’s father-in-law) was born in London, England where he lived until 1831, when he and his wife came to the U.S., settling first in New York and later Springfield, Illinois (where he stayed with Peter and Adeline). Philip’s ancestors all seem to originate from Rye, Sussex, with a few mentions of Goudhurst, Kent. Adeline’s mom, Mary Jane, was born in Portsmouth and most of her ancestors derive from Cornwall.
This link opens up an interactive map that lists the plotted points of the cities bolded above: Interactive Map.
Research conducted by Anna Kanai