Bill Pier is the most remembered member of the family. William “Bill” Pier born 1910 in Quincy or Augusta. Bill lived most of his life in Augusta with Winnie Pier his grandmother and Segurny “Sennie” his sister. Bill worked for Winter’s Ford until they sold the dealership to Garwood Thorson. Bill would detail a new car like no one else. If you lived in town you could call the shop leave the car in the drive with the keys in it and Bill would pick it up do the service and return it looking like new. He worked for the foundry as night watchman in later years. Bill died in Quincy some time after 1960. While his father could read and write it appears Bill was not literate. I have not been able to find his mother but his father was Bert Pier born in Belleville, Illinois in 1884. Bert shows a divorce in the 1920 and remarried in 1938 to Victoria. Bert carried the brick and mortar to the brick layers. He worked in Quincy for the most part but he did work on a big project in Augusta. Bert was the only hod-carrier for the building of Augusta High School. I was told by men that watched the erection that he carried every brick in the building. He was able to keep 3 brick layers in brick and mortar. Bert died in 1938 in Augusta and is buried in the old cemetery. Bert’s father was John Pier also born July 1, 1855 in Belleville. John married Winnie Morrison March 28, 1877 in Quincy, Illinois. John is in Augusta for every census until 1930. I think he is also in the old Augusta Cemetery. John and Winnie had 9 children in this order Jesse 1878, Nancy 1880, Clarence Henry 1883 to 1919, Albert “Bert” 1884 to 1938, Kattie 1885, Charles William 1892 to 1982, Hillary 1897, Harry 1901 to 1972, Sennie 1905. Kattie lived her life in Augusta and Quincy where she married Fred Ross. Fred obtained worked for DR S S Allen and they returned to Augusta. There is a fruit or storm cellar today where the house stood on East County Road 300. I find no children for this couple that married late in life. Harry lived in Quincy and Augusta all his life moving back and forth as he found work. Sennie lived in Augusta and Quincy and moved back and forth as work or the health of her mother required. All the children went to Augusta Grade school and some went to high school. The education level was 4 years to 12. All were literate the draft registrations were signed with a very legible hand. John H Pier was born in Belleville in 1855. His father was Henry Pier born in 1824 in Kankakee, Ill. John’s mother was Nancy Gimery born in Tennessee in 1824. Nancy may have been a slave. John and Nancy lived their lives in Belleville. Nancy was the grand-aunt of Riley Wiley. Riley may have been the grandfather of the Wiley brothers that were star basketball players at Belleville West and St Louis U. Henry’s father was born in Indiana and his mother Guinea. Winnie Morrison was born in 1859 in Augusta and her parents were both born in Illinois. William Morrison her father was the town barber. Her uncle Daniel was a cook in the restaurant. William owned his own home. The house was on North Center Street second house on the east side of the road. The location is now a vacant lot. The black families moved around the state by railroad until the late 1940’s when Winnie, Sennie, and Bill had visitors from Chicago driving Cadillac sedans. The rumor was they were her grandsons and they were ministers. The members family moved to Quincy, Monmouth, Rock Island, Springfield, Galesburg and Chicago. The following towns had black population from time to time Camp Point and Clayton. They were most likely employed by the railroad as porters. Railway Express was the ancestor of American Express. I think Bill moved to Quincy about 1957 so for 100 years Augusta had one or more black families. From the birth of Henry to the death of Charles we have 158 years of the Pier family history. When I report a homily it is from memory the rest is from Ancestry, com, LDS Family History, and the Illinois SOS online record system. trees.ancestry/tree/25840227/family?fpid=1723905447 Next installment is the rest of the Morrison family. Don’t expect it tomorrow. Would some who has access post these to the Augusta remembered.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:57:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015