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Erie Cemetery History Project


Daniel Schryver (1832-1918)
Lenora A. (Atwood) Schryver (1835-1917)

Daniel Schryver was born April 21, 1832, in Pittsford, NY. He was the son of Abraham T. and Charity (Shaver) Schryver. The family moved to Illinois about 1835. His mother died in 1838 and his father married "the widow Prudence Jenkins" in 1845.

It was at that time that Daniel Schryver left his father's farm in Elkhorn Grove, IL, and started out life for himself at age 13. According to biographies, he lived in Galena, IL, then New Orleans, LA, and Columbus, KY. In the spring of 1852 he returned to Dixon, IL. He purchased 80 acres of land a half mile south of Erie in 1853.

Lenora A. Atwood was born on December 31, 1835, at Brookfield, Orange County, Vermont, the daughter of Joseph and Orpha (Whipple) Atwood. Mr. Schryver and Miss Atwood applied for a marriage license on January 24, 1854, in Sterling, IL, and they were married by the Rev. G. Stebbins on February 1, 1854.

The couple had nine children: Herman, 1855; Lucy, 1857; Libby, 1860; Horace, 1862; Lorena, 1866; Luella, 1867; Homer, 1870; Harry, 1872; and Lena, 1873. All of the children were born with red hair. Lorena, Luella, Homer and Harry all died in infancy.

With the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858, Daniel and his cousins from Polo, IL, made their way to the gold mines. It is said that they were in the area of Pike's Peak in 1860 and remained there for one year. In 1976, descendants at Erie related that Mr. Schryver found only enough gold for a ring for his wife. She wore the band the rest of her life. Upon returning to Erie, Mr. Schryver engaged in farming. He was active in community affairs and served as Erie Township Collector in 1861 and 1862.

During the Civil War, Mr. Schryver served in Company I of the 75th Illinois Infantry. (This company included many Erie residents.) He enlisted on August 8, 1862. He mustered in at Dixon, IL, on September 2, 1862. Compared with other home regiments, the 75th Illinois Infantry had a cruel experience. Other regiments were in camp or on the march for six months before battle, but the 75th was rushed from the plow or the shop to the battlefield in five weeks. Its first major engagement was the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862. In total, Mr. Schryver fought in a total of 35 battles without major injury. Beside Perryvill, he was in engagements at Nashville, Murfreesboro, Stone River, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Jonesboro, Pulaski and numerous other places.

He received an appointment to Corporal on November 1, 1864, in Nashville, where he was honorably discharged on June 19, 1865. His muster-out pay included a bounty of $25 and a salary of $75. At the end of the war, he returned to his family in Erie where he farmed and managed cattle herds.

In 1882 the Schryver family moved into Erie and built a house on Main Street. Many evenings one could find Lenora Schryver sitting on the front porch in a huge reed rocker doing fancy eMbroidery and lace-making work. In the fall of 1884, Mr. Schryver purchased the livery stable at Erie where he hept eight horses and six carriages.

Mr. Schryver served as Constable in Erie for many years. He was a member of the Samuel Orcutt Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Erie. He was often asked to lead parades in Erie on his high-spirited horse. Being a man of 6'1", he stood erect and was dignified in appearance, and he was said to be a remarkable horseman. It is said that, when the old Rock River bridge was being built, there was at one point a single plank all the way across the river, over which Mr. Schryver rode his horse.

Later in life Mrs. Shryver suffered memory loss and periods of confusion. It was necessary for Mr. Schryver and his children to be with her constantly. She died on April 23, 1917, at her home in Erie. Mr. Schryver moved into a two-room house behind his residence and his daughter Lena and her family moved into the home. Mr. Schryverf suffered periods of confusion and was cared for by his daughters. He died July 31, 1918.

(Information from John Mogren's "Schryver Family History")