Samuel Aikman and his wife were early arrivals in this county. In 1837, they brought with them nine children. Aikman was smart enough to invest himself in real estate, so he rode horse-back to the federal land office in Shawneetown, Illinois in 1840 and bought 640 acres at $1.25 per acre. The land he purchased started at the north-south bound railroad tracks that parallel Court Street and ran west to about where the Interstate is located. Because of his foresight and the ingenuity of several of his sons, the family did very well. Continue reading
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Archibald T. Benson, first president of the town of Marion and organizer of several churches in Williamson County, Illinois area, was born in December 10, 1816 in Springfield, Tennessee. He was the son of William Carroll and Bethany Spiller Benson, early settlers and donors of the land for the city of Marion. Bethany was the daughter of Warrington King and Leannah Nichols/Nicholson Spiller. He married Julia Ann Bower on December 17, 1844. Julia Ann was born in 1824 and died in 1901 in Marion. Continue reading
Oscar Schafale, the son of a blacksmith, was born September 11, 1897 in Cherry Valley, southwest of Marion. He moved with his parents, Mike Schafale and Mary Weilmuenster, to Marion when he was 6 years old. His father later started an International Harvester farm implement dealership in Marion.
He began working at the Schafale Brothers International Harvester farm implement dealership when he was 11 years old, working there until he was 42 years old.
Schafale attended Marion schools through the eighth grade. He took a short business course at Brown’s Business College in Marion, as well as attending bank courses at the University of Wisconsin for three summers. Continue reading
