The Lockard family history has been published in numerous places on the internet by family history enthusiasists, who appear to base their histories on U.S. Census returns and not much else. Unfortunately, most are fraught with errors. The lineage below is based in part on the 1883 biography of family patriarch John Lockard, which was published more than 20 years before his death, and is supplemented with official records, which are easily obtained, in addition to the aforementioned census returns.
John Lockard (1823-1906), the son of William and Mary Ayers (Marriage Record), was born June 20, 1823 in Lawrence County, Tennessee, and came with his family as a 14-year old in October 1837 to Union County, Illinois. He married Sarah Ann Hagler in Union County on Nov. 14, 1844. Sarah Hagler, whose parents were among the earliest settlers in the Union and Jackson County area of Illinois, had been born in Union County, but her parents originally came from North Carolina. John moved with his bride, parents, and siblings the year he married Sarah to Missouri. However, when the rest of the Lockard clan next moved to Arkansas in 1847, John and Sarah returned to Illinois, probably settling near her parents. John's parents remained in Arkansas, where Mary died in 1854 and William in 1865.
When John and Sarah returned to Union County after their Missouri adventure, they settled on a farm in what became known as Toppington, which was located midway between and Cobden in Union County, and Makanda in Jackson County. It was probably located close to her parents homestead. John and Sarah are said to have had a 220-acre farm, half of which was in cultivation, and here they raised a large family. Apparently, they were known to their neighbors as Uncle John and Aunt Sally. Sarah died first on Jan. 1, 1897, and John died July. 5, 1905. Both are buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery, which is on their farm in Illinois. They had six sons and four daughters, of whom two daughters - Mary and Sarah - preceded Sarah in death. (Marriage Record, Death Cert. for John, his Biography, and Obituaries & Tombstones for both John & Sarah).
Alfred Lockard (1845-1909) was born in Dec. 1845 in Missouri. He married Frances Helena Dubois Luthergen on July 18, 1864 in Union County (Marriage Record), and died Aug. 30, 1909 in Williamson County, Illinois. Frances, who had been born April 18, 1846, died on Dec. 2, 1939. Both are buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery (Tombstones for both & Death Record for Frances).
Mary E. Lockard (1847-1887) was born Sept. 19, 1847 in Missouri, and came to Union County, Illinois as a little girl. She married James H. Swafford on May 3, 1867 in Union County (marriage record), and had several children with him. She died Dec. 29, 1887 in Pomona Ridge, Illinois, afterwhich her husband James married Mary's younger sister Catherine. After Catherine died in 1899, James married a third time. Mary is buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery next to James and Catherine (Marriage Record, Tombstone & Obit.).
Perry J. Swafford (1878-1956) married a woman named Ora, and is buried with her and four of their children in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery (Tombstones).
Several other children
William Lockard (1849-1883) was born Oct. 12, 1849 on the old family homestead, 3½ miles southeast of Makanda. He married Harriet Tippy on June 15, 1883. He died on October 18, 1928. Harriet, who was born Aug. 6, 1866, died on Dec. 23, 1957. Both are buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery (Death Cert., Tombstone & Obit.).
Adam M. Lockard (1852-1927) was born May 16, 1852 in Illinois, and married Elizabeth S. Kerr on May 4, 1876 in Union County (Marriage Record). He died April 27, 1927 in Miami, Florida (Death Cert.).
James K. Lockard (c.1854-c.1900) was born in Makanda, Illinois, and married Mary Jane Hill on March 8, 1888 in Union County (Marriage Record). Mary was the older sister of Pernecia Hill, who had previously married James Lockard's younger brother John. The online genealogies give contadictory information on James' death, and death records for him have not been located. He may have died in either 1900 or 1901, in either Cobden, Illinois or Muskegon, Michigan. It is not known where he is buried.
Catherine E. Lockard (1857-1899) was born on June 10, 1857 in Union County, Illinois. After Catherine's sister Mary died in 1887, Catherine on April 4, 1889 became the second wife of Mary's husband Jim Stafford. Catherine died August 19, 1899 is buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery next to her sister (Marriage Record and Tombstone). Her husband Jim took Mrs. Retta Ann Smith Miller for his third wife on Dec. 13, 1900 in Union County (Marriage Record). He lived many more years and died in 1935. He is buried next to his first two wives in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery. It is not known what became of his third wife. There does not appear to have been any children his marriages with Catherine and Rhetta.
John J. Lockard (1859-1925) was on born June 1, 1859 in Union County, Illinois, and he married Pernecia W. Hill (1866-1921) on Aug. 2, 1885 in nearby Franklin County. She may have previously been married to a man named Yates, and her death certificate shows her father was William Sidney (W.S.) Hill, a Civil War veteren who is buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery. Pernecia died on May 18, 1921 in Carbondale, and her husband John died there on March 19, 1925, probably from injuries received during the great Tri-State Tornado disaster of March 18, 1925, which also claimed the life of his cousin Jim Swafford. Both John and Pernecia are buried in the Lockard-Swafford Cemetery near Cobden.
Sarah Lockard was born in South Pass and died before the 1883 biography of her father was written. Her father's biography shows her to be the 8th child, which is inconsistant with census returns that seem to indicate she was born about 1850. She probably died young. It is not known where she is buried.
George Washington Lockard (1864-1939) was born Aug. 9, 1864 in Cobden, Illinois, and married Nancy McCann (1867-1954) on May 30, 1889 in Union County (Marriage Record). He died Dec. 26, 1939 in Cobden/Makanda. Both are buried in the Cobden Cemetery (Death Cert. & Tombstone).
From Perrin, William Henry, 1883, History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, O.L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publications, p. B134-135:
COBDEN PRECINCT.
JOHN LOCKARD, farmer, P. 0. Makanda, was born in Lawrence County, Tenn., June 20, 1823, to William and Mary (Ayres) Lockard. She was born in North Carolina, but he in Tennessee. October, 1837, they came to this county. They remained here till 1844, when they moved to Missouri. In 1846, they moved to Arkansas, and she died there in 1854. He died in 1865.
To them six sons and three daughters were born. Our subject is the oldest of the family. He and two brothers are all of the family now living. They are still living in Arkansas. Our subject's parents living on the frontier all the time, and continually moving, his early life was full of deprivations. November 14, 1844, he was married to Sarah Hagler. She was born in this State to Paul and Betsie (Clutts) Hagler. They were both early settlers in this county from North Carolina, and died here.
To Mr. and. Mrs. Lockard the following children have been born : Alfred, Mary, William. Adam, James, Catherine, John, Sarah Ann (deceased), George and Lilly Melvina. Our subject also moved to Missouri, but in 1847 came back to Illinois and settled on his present farm, and has been actively engaged in farming and fruit-raising since. In his farm there are 220 acres, 120 of which are in cultivation. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church. His first vote was cast for James K. Polk. Since voted for Lincoln, etc., but now has adopted the Greenback platform.
Jackson, Ernest Harding, 1977, Marriages of Union County, Illinois 1818-1880, Heritage House, Thomson, Ill., p. 183
Perrin, William Henry, 1883, John Lockard in History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, O.L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publications, p. B134-135.
This history is an evolving document.
Despite our best intentions it probably contains mistakes.
Please let us know if you spot any by sending an email to Mike Clark
Genealogy of the Lockard Family 
