1907 Licensed Automobiles in Southern Illinois

This list shows the locations and numbers of licensed vehicles in Southern Illinois cities in the period from 1907 to early 1909 as taken from an Illinois Secretary of State Report. I defined Southern Illinois to be defined as a line parallel to the Alton area. There were a total of 10,799 licensed automobiles in the State of Illinois. Continue reading

1905 History of the Press in Williamson County

Egyptian PressThe following article was written in 1904 describing the history of newspapers in the county to date.

The first printing office ever established in Williamson County was in the year 1838, was owned by W.H. Willeford, and was located at his residence, seven miles southeast of Marion. This was before Marion was laid out and located as a county seat. In fact, it was while Williamson   and Franklin Counties were embraced in the same territory and called Franklin County, with the county seat at old Frankfort, twelve miles north of Marion. Continue reading

McKinney, James W. 18773-1950

 

James W. McKinney 1873-1950

James W. McKinney 1873-1950

James W. McKinney, minister, educator, and County Superintendent of Schools, was born March 13, 1871. He was the eldest son of James H. and Minerva McKinney, and was born and raised on their family farm near Hudgens in Southern Township a few miles south of Marion. His father, James H. McKinney, enlisted at Marion in Company B, 81st Illinois infantry. His desire to defend the Union cost him months of imprisonment at Andersonville Prison. Continue reading