This week we’ll review the life of Henry Chase (c.1830-1882), who married two sisters of the African-American Ashby family of Fulton, Tazewell, and Peoria Counties.
As I have researched the Ashby family, Henry Chase has been something of a mystery. Later records tell us that he was born in Maryland in or about 1830, but he does not actually appear on record until 1854 in Peoria County, Illinois. We do not know when, why, or how he came from Maryland to Peoria County.
Three marriages
Henry Chase married on 8 March 1854 in Peoria to Elizabeth (Ashby) Shipman, widow of David Shipman and probably a daughter of Dr. James and Lavinia (Shering) Ashby of Liverpool Township, Fulton County, Illinois. The minister who married them was William J. Davis of Peoria’s African Methodist Episcopal Church. Henry and Elizabeth had a daughter, Josephine A. Chase (1855-1909).
The 1855 Illinois State Census for Peoria County enumerates Henry’s household as: Henry Chase, colored, with one free ‘white’ male under age 10, one free ‘white’ male age 20-30, one free white female under age 10, and one free ‘white’ female age 20-30. It should be noted that this census counted the household as white although it noted Henry was “colored,” thereby signifying that everyone of Henry’s household was in fact colored. We can confidently identify the enumerated persons as Henry himself, his wife Elizabeth, Charles T. Shipman (Elizabeth’s son by her late husband David Shipman), and Josephine A. Chase, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth.
Henry and Elizabeth divorced in the latter 1850s, and on 16 March 1859 Henry married secondly to a woman named Polly Portee (or Porter?), born circa 1827 in Illinois. Henry and Polly were married by Graham T. Hall, minister of Peoria’s African M. E. Church. This marriage did not last long, and he and Polly probably had no children.
Then on 30 March 1860 in Peoria, barely a year after his marriage to Polly, Henry married Lavinia (Ashby) Chavous (1832-1920), widow of Abram Chavous and a daughter of Dr. James and Lavinia (Shering) Ashby. Lavinia was very probably, I would say almost certainly, a sister of Henry’s previous wife Elizabeth. Henry and Lavinia were married by S. G. J. Worthington, Minister of the Gospel. They had two sons, James Chase and John Chase, and two daughters, Louisa Chase and Lavinia Chase.
The U.S. Census for Peoria, dated 17 July 1860, shows Henry Chase, 31, black, born in Maryland, a cook, as the head of a household that included “Lavina” Chase, mulatto, 26, born in Illinois, Josephine Chase, 5, mulatto, born in Illinois, and Mary A. Chase, 3, mulatto, born in Illinois. Mary was not a Chase, however, but rather was a Chavous or Chavers, being a daughter of Lavinia by her first husband Abram Chavous.
The following year, the 1861 Peoria City Directory lists Henry as “Chase Henry, colored, res. 80 Fayette.” He next appears in the Peoria city directory in 1863 as “Chase Henry, cook, res. 45 Fulton.”
The next Peoria city directory entry is from 1865, and is a remarkable one, because Henry Chase is not lists in the director that year. Rather, what we find is “Chase Malvinia (colored), widow of Henry, res Fayette us 1 a Adams.” This name is obviously a misspelling of Lavinia, wife of Henry Chase, but for some reason she is listed as Henry’s widow.
Henry had not died, however – he reappears in the Peoria city directory in 1868 as “Chase Henry, cook, res Third ns 2 w Monson,” and on 10 June 1870 the U.S. Census of Peoria shows Henry Chase with his wife Lavinia raising a family of five children: Henry Chase, 38, born in Maryland, hotel cook, “Levina” Chase, 37, Josaphene, 16, Mary, 13, Louisa, 1 month, James, 10, John, 7. The census record identifies everyone in this household as “white,” and Lavinia and the children are stated to have been born in Illinois.
Why, then, does the 1865 city directory identify “Malvinia” as Henry’s widow? Perhaps it is because they had separated or even divorced, and due to the shame with which divorce was regarded, Lavinia decided to call herself a widow rather than a divorcee. Or perhaps Henry had abandoned his family and Lavinia believed that he had died.
Did Henry serve in the Civil War?
Another possibility is suggested by the fact that in the summer of 1863, Henry Chase registered for the Union Army draft during the Civil War. His draft registration identifies him as “Chase Henry, 30, colored, white washer, married, born in Maryland.” Could it be that Henry later enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops and served his country during the Civil War? Did Lavinia lose contact with Henry during those years and come to believe that he had died while in the service or been killed in battle?
To explore that possibility, I have looked through African-American Civil War service records – but I have been unable to find any military records for this Henry Chase. At this time, it looks like Henry did not join the U.S. Colored Troops. It is fascinating, however, that there were a number of African-American men named “Henry Chase” who served in the U.S. Colored Troops, and two of them came from Maryland – but I have been able to prove that they are not the same as “our” Henry Chase.
One of them, Henry C. Chase of Illinois, served in the 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. A., and filed for a soldier’s pension 22 July 1890. Since our Henry Chase died in 1882, he could not be this Henry C. Chase.
Another one was Henry Chase of the 7th U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. A, who enlisted at age 20 on 23 Sept. 1863 at Baltimore, Maryland. His service records say he was a farmer and was born in Dorchester, Maryland, enrolled for duty at Dorchester, was mustered out 13 Oct. 1866 at Indianola, Texas, after being present at the first Juneteenth.
But not only is this Henry Chase’s age not a match for our Henry Chase, the 1880 U.S. Census also shows Henry Chase of Dorchester, age 35, living in Baltimore with his wife Catherine, 28, and two daughters and one son. This Henry filed for a Civil War pension on 5 July 1890 in Maryland, and his widow Kate filed for a widow’s pension 14 April 1904 in Maryland. Thus, he could not be our Henry Chase – though I think it is quite probable that they were closely related. (U.S. Colored Troops service records also include a Perry Chase and a David Chase, both born in Maryland, who could also be related to our Henry Chase.)
Moving on, we find another Henry Chase serving as company cook in the 1st U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. G, but that Henry Chase died from poison on 12 Oct. 1864 at Chapin’s Farm, Virginia. We also find a Henry Chase enlisting at age 50 in 1864 (much too old to be our Henry Chase) and serving in the 123rd U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. G. There was also a Cpl. Henry Chase in the 41st U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. E – he was a waiter and was born in Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (not in Maryland as our Henry Chase was). This Cpl. Chase enlisted at age 20 on 28 Sept. 1864 and was discharged at the end of term of service on 30 Sept. 1865, having been an eyewitness to the first Juneteenth.
We also find a Henry Chase in the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry, Co. M. This Henry Chase was born in Newark, Delaware, and he filed for Civil War pension in Maryland on 18 June 1889. He is a hotel waiter in Elkton, Maryland, at the time of the 1870 census (which says he was born in Delaware). He is the Henry Chase, 36, in Elkton, Maryland, listed in the 1880 Census as a widower, laborer, born in Maryland of Maryland-born parents. Although he is not our Henry Chase, nevertheless it is probable that, like Henry Chase of Dorchester, Maryland, he was related to him.
Finally, we come to Henry Chase of the 18th U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. F, enlisted at age 33 (a good match for our Henry Chase) on 29 Aug. 1864 at St. Louis, Mo. However, his service records say he was born at Lurola, Mississippi, not Maryland – and he deserted from Benton Barracks, Missouri, on 7 Oct. 1864.
After this review of these seven African-American Henry Chases, we find that none of them is a good match for our Henry Chase of Peoria. We must conclude, then, that most likely he did not serve during the Civil War – or if he did, we have yet to find any record of it.
We are therefore left with these facts: in 1863, Henry’s wife Lavinia was living apart from him in Peoria, and was calling herself Henry’s widow. For whatever reason, Lavinia and Henry were separated at that time, but they reunited by the time of the 1870 U.S. Census.
City directories
Further evidence from Peoria city directories in the 1870s, along with the 1880 U.S. Census, show that Henry continued to live and work as a cook or a whitewasher in Peoria throughout that decade, but by the end of the 1870s he and Lavinia are again found to be living apart – separated, and apparently divorced.
The 1870 Peoria City Directory lists Henry as “Chase Henry, cook, res Walnut ls 5 a Adams.” The following year, the directory shows him as “Chase Henry, cook, res alley a Washington a Main.” In 1872, the directory entry for him is “Chase Henry, cook, res Fayette us 1 a Adams” (the same address where Lavinia was shown living apart from him in the 1865 Peoria City Directory).
Neither Henry nor Lavinia appear in the 1874 Peoria City Directory, but in 1875 Henry was double-entered in the directory as “Chase Henry, bds Merchants’ Hotel” and “Chase Henry, whitewasher, res Franklin us 1 b Monroe.”
The 1876 Peoria directory is an especially valuable historical resource because it provides additional information of the heads of household. Thus, Henry Chase’ entry is “Chase Henry, cook, r. 812 7th av. w 2 m 1 f 2 t 3, b Maryland.” This means Henry, born in Maryland, headed a household consisting of one male and two females, for a total three. That would be Henry himself, his wife Lavinia, and one of their daughters (perhaps Josephine, Mary, or Lavinia).
In the 1877 directory, however, his entry is merely “Chase Henry, restaurant, 304 S Water, res same.” He does not appear in the 1878 directory, but in the 1879 Peoria City Directory we find that Henry and Lavinia were living separately: “Chase Henry,h whitewasher, res alley foot Monson,” and two lines down the page, “Chase Lavina Mrs.,h res 905 First.”
This time their separation would be permanent. The 1880 Peoria directory does not list Henry, but instead shows “Chase Lavina, wid. Henry, r. Irving, nr. Water.” Once again we find Lavinia identified as Henry’s widow, but just as in 1865, Henry was still alive. In the U.S. Census of Peoria, dated 13 June 1880, Henry Chase, 50, born in Maryland, black, a hotel cook, is listed as a boarder in the African-American household of Fleming and Ellen Day. Meanwhile, the same census of Peoria, dated 8 June 1880, lists Levina Chase, 49, born in Illinois of Virginia-born parents, divorced, keeping house, with her daughter Levina Chase, 7, born in Illinois of U.S.-born parents, both of them identified as “white.”
Death at the Peoria County Almshouse
Henry last appears in his Peoria County death record, which shows that he ended his days at the Peoria County Almshouse (poor farm), where he died on 31 March 1882. The record says he was buried in the almshouse cemetery located at the intersection of Maxwell Road and W. Plank Road (Route 116).
Unfortunately, it is not possible to locate Henry Chase’s grave. This cemetery, also known as Maxwell Cemetery, Potter’s Field, or Strangers’ Row, received burials from 1848 to 1956, but the almshouse’s burial records only begin in 1899. For earlier burials such as Henry’s, one must consult Peoria County Undertaker’s Reports.
Much of the almshouse cemetery’s land is now occupied by the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department and Jail, though a great many of the burial plots, marked with small numbered stones, are still extant. It is to be hoped that Peoria County did not treat this cemetery with the kind of disregard that Peoria City showed Moffatt Cemetery, but instead moved any burials before construction of the new jail and sheriff’s department building.
