Saturday, July 12, 2025

Book Purge - Illinois

Clay County Genealogical Society. Clay Roots, 2010 Annual Publication, Vol. XXII, Louisville, IL: Clay County Genealogical Society, 2010.

List of Taxable Real Estate in the Town of Songer, 1890, pages, 2-14 
Columns: Name, Description, Acres, Land Patentee, Description, Date
  • Anderson, David S. nw1/4nw1/4, s15, t3, r5, 40 a, Nancy Blackburn n1/2nw, 1/17/1853
  • Lucas, Mary C. Spt E1/2, ,NE1/4 s13, t3, r5, 20 a, Silas Brooks, e1/2 ne, 9/19/1837
  • Sefton, A.P. nw1/4nw1/4, s13, t3, r5, 40 a, Micajah Brooks, w1/2, nw 6/19/1836
  • Aetna Life Insurance Co., se1/4NW1/4, s13, t3, r5, 40 a, Micajah Brooks senw, 1/21/1836
  • Sefton, Henry nw1/4sw1/4, s13, t3, r5, 40 a, Elijah Brooks, nwsw, 6/19/1838
  • Sefton, D.M. n1/2sw1/4, s13, t3, r5, 20 a, Micajah Brooks nesw, 1/21/1836
  • Sefton, Henry ne/14se1/4, s13, t3, r5, 40 a Micajah Brooks e1/2se, 10/22/1839
  • Aetna Life Insurance Co. w1/2se1/4, s13, t3, r5, 80 a, Silas Brooks, w1/2se, 9/19/1837
  • Sefton, Henry ne14/23/14, s14, t3, r5, 40 a, Elizah Brooks, n1/2se 9/13/1847
  • Hendy, Wm. se1/4se1/4 s14, t3, r5, 40 a William Brooks, sese 10/22/1839
  • Hendy, J.B. w1/2ne1/4ne1/4, s24, t3, r5, William Brooks, nene 11/21/1837
  • Colclasure, J.P. ne1/4nw1/4 s24, 3, r5, Micajah Brooks nw, 10/22/1839
  • Colclasure, W.H. se1/4se1/4 s13, t3, r5, 40 a, no patentee
  • Howard, Cyrus se1/4sw1/4 s13, t3, r5, 40 a, Richard R. Colclasure, sesw 8/28/1852
  • Colclasure, J.E. sw1/4se/14 s22, t3, r5, 40 a, Jackson Barker, swse 1871?
  • Colclasure, J.P. heirs, E end se1/4sw1/4, s23, t3, r5, 10 a, Jacob Colclasure e1/2sw, 1/21/1851
  • Howard, Cyrus, n1/2ne1/4, s23, t3, r5, 80 a John T. Colclasure, nene 10/25/1850
  • no taxpayer or description, s23, t3, r5, no acres, John T. Colclasure, nwne 2/25/1850
  • Randall, Wm. sw1/4ne1/4, s23, t3, r5, 40 a Jacob Colclasure swne 8/28/1852
  • Dean, Thomas, sw1/4nw1/4 s23, t3, r5 40a Jacob Colclasure swnw 8/28/1852
  • Holman, S. M. nw1/4sw1/4 s23, t3, r5 40 a Jacob Colclasure w1/2sw 8/28/1852
  • Colclasure, J.P. heirs, sw1/4se1/4 s23, t3, r5 40 a, Jacob Colclasure swse 2/1/1837
  • Colclasure, Wm. se1/4ne1/4 s2, t3, r5, 40 a Fielden Bridgewater, sene 3/9/1840
  • Colclasure, W.H. se1/4nw1/4, s24, t3, r5, 40 a Jacob Dain senw 8/28/1852
  • Colclasure, J.W. nw1/4se1/4se1/4, s24, t3, r5, 10 a, no patentee listed
  • Colclasure, Jeff s1/2ne1/4ne1/4 s25, t3, r5, 20 a no patentee listed
  • Jones, W.A. nw1/4se1/4 s23, t3, r5, 40 a Jacob Colclasure nwse 8/28/1852
  • McConnell, B.M heirs, e1/2nw1/4, s25, t3, r5, Jacob Colclasure e1/2nw 10/19/1833
  • Crary, Lyman pt nw1/4sw1/4 s25, t3, r5, 20 a Abram Colclasure w1/2sw 10/19/1833
  • Colclasure, R.F. Lot 5 ne1/4, s26, t3, r5, 8.02 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, J.E. S end ne1/4nw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 27.58 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, R.R. Pt ne1/4nw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 6 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, J.E. nw1/4nw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 40 a Jacob Colclasure nwnw 1/21/1851
  • Colclasure, R.R. Lot 1 se1/4nw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 38.1 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, R.R. Lot 3 ne1/4sw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 6.75 a Abram Colclasure nwsw 6/4/1836
  • Colclasure, J.P. heirs Lot 3 se1/4, s26, t3, r5, 10 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, W.P. w1/2ne1/4 s27, t3, r5 80 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, Joseph W. ne1/4ne1/4 s27 t3, r5, 40 a no patentee
  • Colclasure, Joseph W. w1/2se1/4ne1/4 s27, t3, r5, 20 a Warren P. Colclasure, w1/2ne 1/19/1853
  • Colclasure, W.P. nw1/4se1/4, s27, t3, r5, 40 a, John Colclasure, nwse 8/18/1852
  • Emmons, W.H. nw1/4ne/14 s26, t3, r5, 38.25 a, Abram Colclasure w1/2ne 7/30/1854
  • Emmons, W.H. N end ne1/4nw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 7.14 a Jacob Colclasure e1/2nw 7/30/1836
  • Jones, J.S. sw1/4nw1/4, s26, t3, r5, 40 a William Colclasure swnw 1/21/1851
  • Jones, I.S. se1/4sw1/4 s26, t3, r5 40 a Jacob Colclasure e1/2sw 3/20/1839
  • Jones, I.S. w1/2sw1/4 s26, t3, r5, 80 a Abram Colclasure swsw 7/30/1836
  • Crary, Lyman, ne1/4se1/4 s26, t3, r5, 40 a Jacob Colclasure nwse 2/1/1837
  • Waymire, John sw1/4se1/4 s26, t3, r5 40 a John Colclasure, swse 2/1/1837
  • Jones, I.S. e1/2se1/4ne1/4 s27 t3, r5, 20 a John Colclasure e1/2ne 1/13/1853
  • Waymire, David sw1/4se1/4, s27, t3, r5, 40 a, Warren P. Colclasure swse 4/15/1851
  • Waymire, David, e1/2se1/4 s27, t3, r5, 80 a John Colclasure e1/2se 7/30/1836
  • Colclasure, W.H. lot 2 ne1/4, s34, t3, r5, 38.75 a William H. Colclasure sene 3/30/1867
  • Colclasure, W.H. ne1/se1/4 s34, t3, r5, 40 a Robert Holman, nese, 4/15/1851
  • Colclasure, R.R. n1/2w1/2nw1/4, s35, t3, r5, 40 a John Holman nwne 7/13/1837
  • Colclasure, W.H. s1/2w1/2nw1/4 s35, t3, r5 40 a John S. Hayward w1/2nw 1/3/1853
  • Eagle, George nw1/4ne1/4 s34, t3, r5, 40 a Abraham Colclasure nwse 10/21/1839
  • Kepley, T.W. s1/2sw1/4se/14 s4, t2, r5, 20 a R.R. Coldasure [Colclasure] swse 5/31/1870
  • Colclasure, S. ne1/3[1/4?]sw1/4 s13, t2, r5 40 a Daniel Gregory nesw 3/2/1853
  • Golden, Edward J. heirs se1/4se1/4 s1, t3, r5, 40 a no patentee
  • Golden, W.H. N part e1/2ne1/4 s13, t3, r5, 60 a no patentee
  • no taxpayer, s23, 3, r5, 0 a, Elisah Golden swne 2/23/1853
  • Sanders, Fredrick heirs, se1/4se1/4, s23, t3, r5 40 a Edmund Golden sese 1/21/1836
  • Golden, J.J. Part e1/2w1/2sw1/4 s24, t3, r5, 30 a no patentee
  • Golden, J.J. e1/2sw1/4 s24, t3, r5, 80 a Adam Trinkle sesw 2/1/1837
  • Howard, Cyrus ne1/4se1/4 s23, t3, r5 40 a Thomas Golden nese 11/2/1838
  • Tracey, William sw1/4sw1/4sw1/4 s24 t3, r5 10 a Wesley Golden swsw 4/17/1839
  • Howard, Cyrus e1/2se1/4se1/4 s24 t3 r5 20 a Edward Goldin (?), sese 2/10/1851
  • Tracey, William Lot 1 ne1/4ne1/4 s26 t3 r5 20 a Edmund Golden nene 12/12/1836
  • Rutter, Moses se1/4se1/4, s34, t3, r5, 40 a William Lewis, se 3/6/1820
  • Thomas, B.B. n1/2ne1/4 s3, t2, r5, 78.7 a, William Lewis ne 2/8/1820
  • Spiker, John se1/4se1/4 s12 t3, r5, 40 a John Spiker sese 11/23/1863
  • Spiker, Jacob sw1/4sw1/4 s23 t3, r5 40 a no patentee
  • Spiker, Jacob lot 4 se1/4 s26, t3, r5, 10 a no patentee

Harter-Stanford Township High School Commencement Exercises Commencement Program, Friday, May 27, 1932.  
  • William Thornton Brooks - class president listed as Thornton Brooks
  • Harold B. Colclasure
  • Wyett H. Colclasure
  • Helen Golden
  • Carl D. Wilfong

Flora Daily News-Record Items: 
  • Jan. 8, 1941 Clay County Draft List - Frank C. Colclasure
  • Jan. 13, 1941 Iola Youth to Enlist in Navy - John Edwin Colclasure, son of Arthur Colclasure of Iola, left today for St. Louis, Mo., where he will take his final examination for entrance into the Unied States Navy. He completed his preliminary physical and mental tests at Effingham with an almost perfect record and it is expected he will have little difficulty in finishing the examination. He is 18 years old.
  • Jan. 13, 1941 Ordern Numbers for Clay County Draft [This list begins with 2101 so obviously there are 2100 before this list, but the submitter did not find them.) - Franck C. Colclasure
  • January 1943 - the following group of men has been called by the Clay County Selective Service Board to fill the next quota: Tommy Lee Trinkle, Robert Ernest Colclasure

World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, pages 37-88

The U.S. officially entered World War II on 8 December 1941 following an attack on Peral Harbor, Hawaii. Just about a year before that, in October 1940, President Roosevelt had signed into law the first peacetime selective service draf in U.S. history, due to rising world conflicts. After the U.S. entered WWII a new selective service act required that all men between ages 18 and 65 register for the draft. Between November 1940 and October 1946, over 10 million American men were registered.

The Fourth Registration, often referred to as the "old man's registration," was conducted on 27 April 1942 and registered men who were born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 - men who were between 45 and 64 years old - and who were not already in the military. Other registrations are not available due to privacy laws. 

The 2,679 men listed below gave a Clay County address as their birth place. 

 Columns: Name, Birthdate, Birthplace (only when narrower than Clay Co.), Residence

  • Blackbrun, Chas Edward, 14 Aug 1878, Flora, Flora, IL
  • Blackburn, Pearl Albert, 15 Sep 1894, Flora, Taylorville, IL
  • Brooks, Charles Claudius 20 Jan 18878 Ingraham, Mosier, OR
  • Brooks, Elza Burie, 9 Dec 1890, Bible Grove, IL
  • Brooks, Ira Alvin, 24 1879, Louisville, IL
  • Brooks, John Vardy 14 Aug 1895 Bible Grove, Pixley, IL
  • Brooks, Marvin Wesley 4 Mar 1894, Bible Grove, IL
  • Brooks, Rufus Beldon 21 Sep 1879, Springfield, IL
  • Brooks, Viret Roscoe, 21 Mar 1879 Ingraham, Mosier, OR
  • Brooks, William Edward 21 Oct 1881 Bible Grove, IL
  • Colclasure, Abram 15 Jul 1889 Hoosier, IL
  • Colclasure, Charles 26 Jan 1892, Louisville, Galesburg, IL
  • Colclasure, Charles Cullen 27 Feb 1884 Xenia, Chicago, IL
  • Colclasure, Chalres J. 21 Jun 1887 Xenia, Monmouth, IL
  • Colclasure, Clarence 30 Apr 1883 Louisville, Fairfield, IL 
  • Colclasure, Claud Omer 15 Feb 1888 Flora, IL
  • Colclasure, Clyde E. 12 Sep 1893 Clay City, IL
  • Colclasure, Emmett Emsley 5 Jan 1883 Xenia, Xenia, IL
  • Colclasure, Floyd Melroy 29 Apr 1892 Iola, Sullivan, IL
  • Colclasure, Floyd Weaver 2 Oct 1892 Xenia, IL
  • Colclasure, Frank Lloyd 28 Nov 1896 Xenia, Centerville, IL
  • Colclasure, Fred Thurman 18 Apr 1890 Xenia, Arlington, VA
  • Colclasure, Guy Harrison 6 May 1889 Oskaloosa, IL
  • Colclasure, Harvey Everett 15 Oct 1889, Champaign, IL 
  • Colclasure, Isaac Clinton 6 Jul 1890 Xenia, IL
  • Colclasure, Jacob Augusta 21 Feb 1891 Cooperstown, IL
  • Colclasure, James Jacob 15 May 1887 Taylorville, IL
  • Colclasure, Jasper Harrison 1 Jun 1890 Farina, IL
  • Colclasure, Lester Loren 19 Jan 1897 Xenia, Aledo, IL
  • Colclasure, Luther Elbert 6 Nov 1886 North Okaw, IL
  • Colclasure, Martin 19 Aug 1877 Iuka, IL
  • Colclasure, Orion Clyde 22 May 1887 Oskaloosa Twp., Oskaloosa, IL
  • Colclasure, Pearl Monroe 13 Jan 1881 Xenia, Xenia, IL
  • Colclasure, Perry 5 Jun 1884 Oskaloosa, IL
  • Colclasure, Richard Arthur 29 May 1881 Iola, IL
  • Colclasure, Robert Allen 28 Mar 1886 Oskaloosa, IL
  • Colclasure, Russell Warden 12 Apr 1886 Blair, IL
  • Colclasure, Willard F. 10 Dec 1894 Flora, IL
  • Colclasure, William E. 18 Jul 1883 Iola, Lake Bluff, IL
  • Dove, Henry Richard 17 Jul 1884, Harter, IL
  • Edwards, Carl Warner 10 Jun 1891 Xenia, East St. Louis, IL
  • Edwards, Ozais Garfield 12 Jun 1886 Huntington, IN
  • Edwards, Ralph 3 May 1887 Medina, OH
  • Edwards Rolla Spencer 5 Dec 1892 Clay, AR
  • Edwards, Willis Arthur 20 Apr 1882 Mason, IL
  • Fitzgerald, C.E. 6 Jan 1894 Louisville, Sigel, IL
  • Fitzgerald, Clarence Francis 31 Dec 1896 Clay City, Humboldt, IL
  • Fitzgerald, Esta Evertt 10 Dec 1896 Iola, IL
  • Fitzgerald, Fred Peyton 10 Feb 1882 Bloomington, IL
  • Fitzgerald, Olsa Ray 1 Sep 1894 Sumner, IL
  • Fitzgerald, Pearl 15 Mar 1880 Farina, IL
  • Fitzgerald, William 7 Sep 1883 Lawrenceville, IL
  • Golden, Bernie Elmer 5 Dec 1884 Louisville, Madison, IN
  • Golden, Loyd Jeff 11 Nov 1897 Flora, St. Elmo, IL
  • Golden, Lue 4 May 1891 Xenia, IL
  • Golden, Newland O. 24 Sept 1885, Flora, IL
  • Golden, Orville 1 Mar 1886 Louisville, San Joaquin, CA
  • Golden, Roy Edwin 17 Nov 1894, Chicago, IL
  • Smith, Arthur 9 Jul 1879 Larkinsburg, IL - selected Smiths
  • Smith, Arthur 12 Aug 1890 Champaign, IL
  • Smith, Arthur Lester 30 Jun 1884 Flora, Alton, IL
  • Smith, Clyde Thomas 31 Mar 1893 Oskaloosa, IL
  • Smith, Curtis Otto 24 Feb 1884 Belvidere, IL
  • Smith, Earl 5 Mar 1896 Hoosier, IL
  • Smith, Elzo Robert 20 Nov 1892, Lake, IN
  • Smith, Floyd 25 May 1894 Xenia, Flora, IL 
  • Smith, Frank 29 Aug 1878, Xenia, IL
  • Smith, Frank 25 Oct 1887 Mt. Vernon, IL
  • Smith, Frank 25 Dec 1894 Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa, IL
  • Smith, Fred John 4 Jun 1895 Xenia, Elgin, IL
  • Smith, Harry 13 May 1892 Clay City, IL
  • Smith, James Albert 27 Jan 1878 Effingham, IL
  • Smith, James Arthur 25 Oct 1880 Flora, IL
  • Smith, John Henry 10 Jun 1879 Clay City, IL
  • Smith, Leonard Harve 7 Feb 1884 Xenia, Flora, IL
  • Smith, Murvil Vickery 11 Oct 1895 Bogota, IL
  • Smith, Simmons William 4 Feb 1894 Ingraham, Peoria, IL
  • Smith, Warren Edwin 20 Jun 1895 Flora, Baltimore, IL
  • Smith, William 12 Sep 1886 Louisville, Odin, IL
  • Smith, William Albert 7 Jun 1885 Clay City, IL
  • Smith, William Amos 22 Sep 1893 La Prairie, IL
  • Smith, William H. 15 Apr 1878 Flora, East St. Louis, IL
  • Smith, William W. 5 Nov 1884 Louisville, Springfield, IL 
  • Toliver, Charlie Harrison 10 APr 1892 Olney, IL
  • Toliver, Earl 1 Sep 1896 Ludlow, IL
  • Toliver, Everett 9 Feb 1891 Noble, IL 
  • Toliver, Isom Martin 7 Dec 1895 Downers Grove, IL
  • Toliver, Lewis Allen 24 Mar 1895 Richland, IL
  • Toliver,Pearl 1 Sep 1896 Ingraham, Lawrenceville, IL
  • Tolliver, Bert 2 Sep 1882 Louisville, Lebanon, IL
  • Tolliver, Eli 11 Dec 1882 Louisville, IL
  • Tolliver, Frank 6 May 1882 Louisville, Larkinsburg, IL
  • Tolliver, Jesse Ottis 6 Dec 1890 Hoosier, IL
  • Tolliver, Ocie Calvin 20 Dec 1893 Pixley, IL
  • Tolliver, Otto H. 19 Mar 1883 Louisville, Chicago, IL
  • Tolliver, Ralph 5 Mar 1879 Bear Creek, IL
  • Tolliver, Ray 7 Jun 1896 Marion IN
  • Tolliver, Rollo 17 Mar 1885, Louisville, Sidney, IL
  • Tolliver, Virgil 25 Jul 1887 Flora, Sailor Springs, IL 
  • Wilfong, Forest Earl 12 Jun 1894 Clay City, IL
  • Wilson, Alvia 4 Jul 1884 East St. Louis, IL
  • Wilson, Bruce 20 Oct 1893 Clay City, Jackson, IN
  • Wilson, Charles Elza 5 Dec 1895 Larkinsburg, IL
  • Wilson, Charles Wilbert 23 Mar 1881 Edgewood, IL
  • Wilson, Fred Carol 17 Aug 1888 Louisville, Xenia, IL
  • Wilson, George Edward 25 Apr 1878 Louisville, Bloomington, IL
  • Wilson, John Rila 11 May 1895 Iola, Iola, IL
  • Wilson, Marshall Howe 3 Sep 1892 Clay City, Clay City, IL
  • Wilson, Sailor Luther 25 Sep 1894 Sailor Springs, Eugene, OR
  • Wilson, Stanley Henry 4 Sep 1896 Flora, Chicago, IL 
  • Wolf, Aaron Aden 25 Apr 1891 Louisville, IL
  • Wolf, Carl Clinton 17 Dec 1888 Sullivan, IL
  • Wolf, Conard Harvey 18 Dec 1818 [sic], Sidney, IL [Conard Harvey Wolf b. 1896, d. 1986, buried Sidney, IL - same guy?]
  • Wolf, Frank Leslie 9 Mar 1893 Iola, Sullivan, IL
  • Wolf, Harvey 11 Aug 1877 Springfield, IL 
  • Wolf, James Asa 22 Feb 1879 Louisville, Waukegan, IL
  • Wolf, Loren 15 Aug 1889 Louisville, Champaign, IL
  • Wolfe, Clyde W. 12 Jul 1885 Bible Grove, Marion Co., IN
  • Wolfe, Elmer Leslie 20 Sep 1880 Louisville, Newton, IL
  • Wolfe, Fred Ewin 24 Jan 1881 Flora, Chicago, IL
  • Wolfe, George Ellis 15 Apr 1891 Bible Grove, Louisville, IL
  • Wolfe, Ray 24 Mar 1887 Bible Grove, St. Joseph, IN
  • Wolfe, Steve 25 Sep 1886 Louisville, IL
  • Wolfe, Thurrow John 13 Sept 1886 Flora, Marion, IN
  • Wolfe, William Washington 18 Jul 1892 Louisville, Louisville, IL


    Newspaper Articles about Men in World War II
    • March 17, 1943 - Two Flora youths enlisted together on March 11, shared the honor of bein gthe first from their city to enlist with the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board of St. Louis, under its new 17 year-old procurement program. They are: Clarence R. Buersmeyer, son of Mr. & Mrs. Clarence Buersmeyer, 402 East Fourth; and William L. Fitzgerald, son of Mr. & Mrs. Verlie Fitzgerald, 219 West South Ave. Both are seniors at Harter-Stanford Township High School. 

    Deaths in 2010 - Month, Names & Age
    • February - Fitzgerald, Phillip O. 69
    • February - Fitzgerald, Vivian, 87
    • March - Fitzgerald, Phillip, 69
    • April - Colclasure, Verna Mae 87

    Taylor, Loren & Stephanie Bare. History of Mill Shoals, Carbondale, IL: Rec Publications, 1994 

    Page 23 Following is a list, in alphabetical order, of all the known settlements that were made in White [p. 25] County. Some of them, of course, still exist, but most of them are gone and have become memories of the past - ghost towns that have for various reasons completely disappeared or exist in name only . . . 

    The dates given on the following chart are not the dates they were firs settled, for many were settled long before they became a village. The dates given are the year in which the village or town was platted, or if never platted, the date a post office was established. Blanks indicate that I could find no record that it was platted or had a post office.  p=platted, po=post office
    • Ball 1891 po
    • Bend 1887 po
    • Big Prairie 1834 po
    • Breckinridge 1837 po
    • Brown's Port 1860 p
    • Brownsville 1893 p
    • Burnt Prairie 1806 po
    • Calley 1886 po
    • Calvin 1896 p
    • Cane Creek 1840 po
    • Carmi 1816 p
    • Centerville 1874 p
    • Concord / Emma 1874 p
    • Cross Road 1895 po
    • Crossville / Harper 1868 p
    • Drake Hill 1837 
    • Duncantown 1828 po
    • Elm Grove 1849 p
    • Enfield 1853 p
    • Epworth 1892 p
    • Frasers 1870 po
    • Gossett 1873 p
    • Grand Chain 1892 p
    • Grayville 1851 p
    • Hast 1893 po
    • Hawthorn 1872 po
    • Herald 1829
    • Iron 1887
    • Late 1894 po
    • Liberty 1818
    • Little Prairie 1866
    • Logan Springs 1880
    • Marshel's Ferry 1816
    • Maunie 1892
    • Middlepoint 1873 po
    • Mill Shoals 1869 p
    • New Castle 1890 p
    • New Haven 1835 p
    • Norris City 1874 p
    • Omaha 1878 p
    • Oxford 1819 po
    • Partner 1883 po
    • Phillipstown 1837 p
    • Pond Settlement nd
    • Rising Sun 1873 p
    • Rolland 1857 p
    • Sacramento 1857 p
    • Salem 1856 
    • Seven Mile Prairie 1823 po
    • Shadesville 1860 po
    • Springerton 1857 p
    • Stokes 1874 po
    • Storms 1850 po
    • Sumpter 1889 po
    • Traquary's Fort 1812
    • The Village 1819
    • Trumbell 1872
    • Wabash Station 1871
    • Ward 1892
    • West Union 1863 p
    • Williams Ferry 1840 po 
    Following are other settlements in Southern Illinois outside White County that played an important part in the growth of Mill Shoals, and in fact, the growth of all Illinois.

    Page 26 - Albion was founded by two wealthy Englishmen, Birkbeck & Flower, in 1817. They built the finest residence west of the Alleghenies, a fifty by forty foot two-story building with plastered and papered walls and imported fine furniture from England. . . .

    Fairfield, seat of Wayne County, dates from 1819 and grew to a population of 2,512 by 1880. General Lew Wallace (1827-1905) spent several days in Fairfield in the 1870s defending his interests in land litigations. While a guest at the Jackson Hotel, he is said to have worked on the manuscript of Ben Hur. It was the delegation from Fairfield that placed Abraham Lincoln's name on the ballot for nomination at the Republican Convention in 1860. 

    Kaskaskia, the second oldest settlement in Illinois, was established in 1703. It was the territorial capitol and later became the first capitol of the state of Illinois. It was washed away by the Mississippi in the early 1900s and is now an island. [Not really an island, the river is now on the east side of town, but the state boundary didn't change.] . . . 

    Shawneetown, on the banks of the Ohio River, once the flower of civilization and commerce in the central west, was laid out in 1810 by the French government. It was named for the Shawnee Indians who lived in the area before the French came in 1775. In the center of the old town stands the first bank in Illinois, preserved as part of the Shawneetown State Memorial. Many Mill Shoals residents made use of this bank, which was the closest bank arond for many years. We still chuckle over a story concerning the bank: In 1837, when Chicago was a small and muddy village, a group of promoters came to Shawneetown to negotiate a loan from the bank. They were turned down because "Chicago was too far from the river." 

    Page 55 - Map of Mill Shoals, nd given
    Page 60 - A Mr. Scudder was one of the early postmasters. He was followed by Billy Files, who served for many years, followed by Belle Fleeman and then D.L. Newby, who was postmaster when I lived in Mill Shoals. . . . Sam Simpson was the next postmaster, and when he resigned Ernest Gwaltney became postmaster. Lowell Quindry served as postmaster from about 1947 to 1954. Robert Wheeler then served from 1954 to 1980. Earl King replaced Bob Wheeler in 1980 and is the postmaster at this writing. 

    Page 164 - 1900 Census of the Village of Mill Shoals 
    Erkman, Jacob, head b. May 1835, age 65 md. 34 years
    Rosa, wife, b. July 1844, age 55, md. 34 years
    Ed son, b. Mar. 1877, age 23, single
    John son b. May 1880, age 20 single
    Sophia dau. b. Sep 1885, age 14 single 

    Page 167 - 1900 Census of the Village of Mill Shoals
    Wheeler, Nathaniel, [William Nathan] head, b. Jan. 1856 age 44 married
    Rebecca [Rebecca Frances Taylor] wife, b. June 1858 age 41 
    Verna sister b. June 1860 age 39 married [daughter Verna I think, b. Feb. 1880 md. William Allen 1900]
    Vernet [Lonnie] son b. Feb. 1881 age 19 single
    Vernon [Donald] son b. Jan. 1883 age 17 single
    Allen, Wm. son-in-law b. July 1886 age 18 married 

    Page 169 - 1900 Census of the Village of Mill Shoals
    Dietz, Andy head b. Dec. 1861 age 38 married
    Mandy wife b. Apr. 1862 age 38 married
    Maggie dau. b. June 1884 age 15 single 

    Page 177 - 1910 Census of the Village of Mill Shoals
    Dietz, M. head age 48 md. 1 26 years, b. IL
    Amanda wife age 49 md. 1 26 years 2 children 1 living, b. IL

    Page 180 - 1910 Census of the Village of Mill Shoals
    Gwaltney, Ben head age 35 md 2, 3 years b. IL
    Verna wife age 23 md 2, 3 years, 1 child living, b. IL [Verna (Wheeler) Allen, see above]
    Jesse son 1 b. IL

    Whitler, W.M. head age 51 md. 1 30 years, b. IL [William Nathan Wheeler]
    Rebecca F. wife age 50 md. 1 30 years, 4 children, 3 living b. IL

    Cravens, Lella head age 26 md 1 5 years b. IL [Leslie L. Cravens
    Minnie wife age 25 md. 1 5 years 1 child living b. IL [Margaret Dietz, see above]
    Vern son age 3 b. IL

    Page 260



    Zella (Merritt) Lathrop and her sister Narean (Merritt) Washil when they were singing on KMOX radio in St. Louis in the 1940s. 

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