Where Did James and Betsey Live in Pike County?

We know that James McBride died on August 13, 1839 in Pike County, Illinois. Most Missouri Mormons fled their homes during the previous winter, crossed the Mississippi to Illinois and spent the winter scattered in settlements up and down the river, mostly in Adams County near Quincy. Of course, after a few months they began to purchase land near Commerce, Hancock County, several miles to the north.

Mormon refugees also settled in scattered remnants throughout the northern half of Pike County, a few miles south of Quincy. One of the largest settlement of Mormons was a few miles east of the county seat Pittsfield. "Mormontown" as it was called, was founded in February 1839 by Silas Smith, the Prophet's uncle, and became the site of a branch of the Church. There were nearly 300 members of the Church there at its height. As Nauvoo grew, most of the members there relocated to be near the new Church headquarters.

Another settlement of roughly 112 Mormons was established somewhere toward the northwest corner of Pleasant Vale Township. William Draper recalled that Hyrum Smith and George Miller were sent to organize a branch there. The erected a frame meetinghouse, 36 by 40 feet. Pleasant Vale even became the headquarters of the Pike County Stake of the Church. However, as was the case with most of these satellite settlements, the Pleasant Vale branch was dissolved and counseled to move to Nauvoo in 1843. According to The Past and Present of Pike County, Illinois, the frame meetinghouse was moved closer to the river and used as a warehouse.

There were other smaller congregations of Saints in Pike County. Joseph Wood wrote the editors of the Times and Seasons to inform them he had organized a branch in Perry, Pike County. Members of the Church in these Pike County settlements participated in gathering petitions of redress against Missouri. Many of their affidavits, sworn out at the county seat in Pittsfield (and a few in Griggsville) were gathered by missionaries including as Erastus Snow and have survived. The congregations in Pike County were favored with occasional visits by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and others.

Back to Betsey and James. Betsey gave birth to her last child, Nathaniel on January13, 1840 in Barry, Pike County Illinois. It seems unlikely that she moved between James's death in August 1839 and Nathaniel's birth. James was probably buried somewhere in the vicinity of Barry, Illinois.

It is possible that the McBride's were among the relatively few Mormons to stay in Barry. If so, it is interesting that they chose not to make their home in either of the above-mentioned Mormon settlements. They most likely attended Church meetings with the Pleasant Vale congregation, which would have been at most 12 miles distant from their Barry home. Soon after his death, James's family moved to the vicinity of Nauvoo.

More research in Barry would be required to know where Mormon refugees (however few) may have settled in Barry. Even then, it might be impossible to find James's burial place. It is unlikely the family could afford to place a marker at the site.