James L. Adams was born in Dickson County, Tennessee on February 8, 1836 and came with his parents to Randolph County, Illinois, when but three years old. His parents were John Adams (1811 – 1855) and Martha Kennedy (1812 – 1900), who were natives of Caswell County, North Carolina but came to Tennessee while young and married there. Continue reading
Category Archives: Officials
William R. Hall, the 1875 Mayor of Marion, was born in Gallatin County, Illinois to John E. Hall (1814-1856) and Mary Hart Crenshaw (1818-1912) in 1844. Mary was the daughter of John Hart Crenshaw (1797–1871), owner of the old slave house located near Equality, Illinois and licensed overseer of salt production for the area. Continue reading
Hartwell Hendrickson, Civil War veteran, clerk of the circuit court, alderman, postmaster and native of the county was born December 2, 1848, the son of Jesse Hendrickson (1822-1898) and Martha Ann Lewis (1823-1895), both natives of Tennessee. Jesse and Martha came to Franklin County, Illinois about 1830 where he served for many years as a Methodist preacher. Continue reading
Oliver Harper “Harp” Wiley was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina November 30, 1807.
“Harp” Wiley married Matilda Krantz (1808 – 1891), daughter of Thomas Krantz and Elizabeth Kent. Matilda was a teen-aged orphan when she and her sister, Sarah, came from Cheatham County, Tenn. to Franklin County, Illinois with a Sanders family in an oxcart. Her sister, Sarah married Wiley Berry Chamness (1811-1882), founder of the Chamness settlement, now in the Wildlife Refuge. Continue reading
James William “Willie” Westbrook, the first President of the First National Bank and two term Marion Mayor, was born in Gallatin County, Illinois. On January 26, 1855 his father, Francis M. Westbrook married Paulina Lafferty and on November 8, 1855, gave birth to their first child, James William.
In January 1857, his family moved to Marion and on the following July his father rented a building off of Samuel Dunaway at 116 E. Main St. on the corner of Madison Street and opened a general store. Continue reading