| The Yocum family in Sangamon County, Illinois |
| First, a couple of notes on the "Y" family name. Because of a lack of standardized spelling and the reliance on phonetic spellings, there are about 50 known variants of the "Y" name. There is no correct way to spell any last name. There can be less and more common spellings but each and every variant is equally 'valid.' I will try to use a generic "Y" designation most of the time because of these factors. However--sometimes the spelling is important. This is the case in Illinois Yoakum/Yocom families. Sangamon and Menard counties are both located near Springfield Illinois. Two early "Y" families came into this area and settled at about the same time. Even until today each branch of the family claims that 'they are not related' to the other. They are related but it was well before they got into Illinois. Since it was once the norm to forget your ancestry once you became American, neither group knew that they were related, hence the assertion. But once they got into Illinois, each family was pretty consistent with how they spelled their 'different' last names. The "Y" family in Richland township, Sangamon County (near and including Salisbury) were descendents of George W and Martha (Zee) Yoakum. They arrived in the township on June 10, 1819. For more information on that line, please go to Yoakums in Illinois. The "Y" family in Williams township, Sangamon County (near and including Williamsville Illinois) were descendents of a line of Yocom's from Burbon county, KY.Jacob Yocom is the first of his line in Illinois. His biography is also in the John Powers book "Biographies for 1876 History of Sangamon County. I had the pleasure of speaking to a descendent of Jacob named George who lived on the old homestead that Jacob settled on in 1828. He stated that the house and barn were both partially constructed from drift wood gathered from the local Wolf Creek Stream. The barn still stood in the late 1990's. I do not know if it still stands. From Jacob to George, each generation of the Yocom's are mainly buried in Wolf Creek Cemetery, south of Williamsville, Illinois. |