Married 25 March 1852 to Elizabeth Royal. She was the daughter of Charles Royal, grandaughter of Thomas royal of Pennsylvania, emigrant to this country from Chedley Parish, England, and great-granddaughter of Thomas Royle and Mary Ann Gearhart of England. When a young lady, Elizabeth was on her way to the West with her family when Erasmus came after her on the road and persuaded Elizabeth to marry hm and return to Illinois to live. They were married by her uncle, the Rev. William Royal and made their home in Lexington, McLean County, Illinois. They later moved to Kansas where Erasmus wrote his now famous "Friends of Liberty on The Mackinaw".
Erasmus moved with his parents from Ohio to Pleasant Hill, McLean County, Illinois about 1846. He was an Abolitionist and his article "Friends of Liberty on The Mackinaw", Vol 1, McLean County History, p. 396, tells of many incidents that happened in that area. Erasmus cast his first vote in 1852 for John P. Hale, free soil and free men party. He said "My father's vote and mine were the only two he (John P. Hale) received in Pleasant Hill voting precinct. But soon after this the Republican Party was born and it swept American slavery from this country." |
Erasmus Mahan
Elizabeth Royal