Just wanted to add one correction to the father/son history of the two Thomas D. Corkills. From what I have found my great, great grandfather Thomas D. Corkill (born about 1813) DID NOT serve in the civil war - but his son (my great grandmother's half-brother) Thomas D. Corkill (junior) DID serve with the 15th Illinois Infantry. He was wounded at the battle of Shiloh in 1862, then later re-upped with the 134th Illinois Infantry - I'm 99% sure that Thomas D. Corkill (junior) was the soldier that served in both the 15th and the 134th.

As for children of Thomas D. Corkill (senior) with his second wife Mary Sheffield, I have four - all listed in the book "Ostend, An Early History of the Ostend and Bull Valley Area" by Loren Thompson (page 62). These four are: Margaret, John, James and Maria (that being my great grandmother Maria Corkill Brott). The book states that of the two sons born to Thomas D. Corkill with his first wife, Thomas D. and Edward, that Thomas D. Jr. stayed with his father and Edward was adopted by the Goodale family (nearby neighbors) who "moved to the far west" (after their mother died in 1845). The book states that Thomas D. Corkill Jr, John Corkill, and James Corkill all moved to Wisconsin. However I find that Thomas D. Corkill Jr. eventually moved to Nebraska, where his grave, noting his civil war service, is found.

George Brott Goltz - April 8, 2011