Pioneer of McLean County, Illinois.

Hester Frances Stansbury, daughter of Sarah (née Graham) and Ezekiel Stansbury, was born in 1831 in Greene County, East Tennessee. Her family moved in 1835 to Illinois, and settled in McLean County. There, her father entered Federal land in what is now the county's Cheney's Grove Township (obtaining in 1839 two patents for a total of 80 acres). The family's farm was in the western side of the timbered area along the Sangamon River from which the township took its name.

Miss Hester Frances Stansbury and Charles Stine were married on 27 January 1853 in McLean County, and settled in the county's Arrowsmith Township. The couple became the parents of ten children:
• Jemima Jane
• Sarah Melissa
• Elias Andrew
• Mary Emily
• Cora Alice
• Harriet Olive
• Louisa Belle
• Temperance Ann
• Ella Gertrude
• Florence Delnora

Hester and Charles Stine moved in 1899 to Saybrook, in adjacent Cheney's Grove Township, to live with their daughter Temperance Ann Hatch. The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1913. Charles Stine died the following year.

Notes

Full name from marriage license and death certificate. Exact dates of birth and death from headstone inscription and death certificate. Date of birth also reported in 1913 newspaper article.

"Edward Stansbery came here from East Tennessee in 1833 [...] entered the land he had a claim on in 1835 [...] His brother Ezekiel came here at the same time and settled on Section 19. He had a good farm of 120 acres. He died there leaving nine children, two of whom still remain there." (Account of Cheney's Grove Township in: The History of McLean County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. LeBaron, Jr. & Co., 1879), p. 541.)

1850 U.S. Census, Cheney's Grove Twp., McLean Co., Illinois; dwelling 1672, family 1712, lines 9-11, p. 100B (printed), 9 Nov 1850.
9. Ezekial Stansbury, 50, farmer ($1,600), Tennessee.
10. James -----, 18, laborer, Tennessee.
11. Esther -----, 18, Tennessee.
12. David Strang, 22, laborer, Indiana.

"Marriage License issued to Cha's Stine & Hester Frances Stansbury January 18/53 on aff't of Stine on file."
"I do hereby certify that on the 27th day of January AD 1853 I joined in holy state of Matrimony Charles Stine and Miss Hester Stansbury [...] S. H. Martin Min." (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8924-R9MS-Q?i=685)

"STINE, CHARLES A. & STANSBURY, HESTER, 27 Jan 1853, McLean Co.; vol. C, p. 74. (Illinois State Archives, Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900.)

"On Jan. 27, 1853, he [Charles Stine] was united in marriage to Miss Esther Stansbury, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Stansbury, who resided on a farm east of what is now Saybrook. Mrs. Stine was born near Greencastle [sic ], Tenn., on Nov. 24, 1831, where she resided until 1835.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stine became the parents of ten children, eight of whom survive, and are expected to attend the anniversary dinner."
• Mrs. F. L. Lewis of Shelbyville [Jemima Jane]
• Mrs. James Wampler of Ellsworth [Sarah Melissa]
• Elias Stine of Fort Pierre, S. D.
• Mrs. William Irwin of Luverne, S. D. [Cora Alice]
• Mrs. Allen Lowery of Gibson City [Harriett Olive]
• Mrs. I. N. Brown of Lexington [Louisa Bell]
• Mrs. George Hatch of Saybrook [Temperance Ann]
• Mrs. F. W. Zick of Oshkosh, Wis. [Ella Gertrude]
"Mrs. George Brown [Florence Delnora] and Mrs. E. A. Harris [Mary Emily] died several years ago." ("Married Three-Score Years [...] Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stine to Commemorate on the 27th a Notable Life Anniversary," The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, 24 Jan 1913, p. 6, col. 3.)

"Mrs. Charles Stine of Saybrook is Dead," The Weekly Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, 20 Mar 1916, p. 11, col. 3.
• There is no known Green Castle located in Tennessee. This appears to be an error for Greene County or its county seat, Greeneville

Reviewed 6 October 2023.