Augustus H. Conant

From Encyclopedia of Des Plaines
Augustus and Betsey Conant, 1840s

Augustus Conant moved from Vermont and became among the first farmers in Maine Township to buy land along the Des Plaines River. Betsey Kelsey followed to marry him in 1836. Augustus soon moved with his family back east to study divinity at Harvard, and he became a Unitarian minister. He served as a pastor in several Illinois churches and then as chaplain in the 19th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He died from illness soon after the Battle of Stones River in 1863. Betsey continued raising their family in Geneva, IL.

Conant family
Eben Conant
(1777-1870)
Fanny Clifford
(1778-1848)
Rebecca Mariah
Clay
(1808-1863)
Famnnie Amelia
Conant
(1810-1891)
Rev. Augustus
Hammond Conant
(1811-1863)
Harriet Mercy Conant
(1815-1838)
Some family members are omitted for space reasons.