There was a Cain family living in or near
Cairo, Illinois about 1860. This was the family of Henry Cain and his wife Mary.
They had two known children; John Cain and his sister Mary Luella Cain.
Mary was
born December 6, 1864. It is believed the parents of Henry Cain were from Ireland.
Henry
Cain's wife, Mary, died about 1871 and Henry passed away about 1873, leaving a family
of unknown size. My great grandmother was their daughter, Mary Luella, who was now
orphaned at age nine.
The next we hear of Mary is in Piatt County, Illinois
where she was taken in by the family of Thomas Wildman. "Uncle Tom" Wildman,
as she referred to him told her that all of his children work, and she would have
to work as well. She probably lived with the Wildman family for at least five years,
until her marriage to Elijah Daniel Skidmore August 6, 1879.
I would be interested
in trading notes with any other Cain researchers with lines in the Cairo, Illinois
area.