Ferrell, Denton 1899-1966 Engineer and Inventor

Denton “Dent” Ferrell was born in Crainville on November 11, 1889, the son of Hosea V. Ferrell and Mildred Cassandra Davis. His father, Hosea, was a physician and prominent citizen in Carterville. Of his many siblings, a brother named after his father, Hosea V. Ferrell, became a leading attorney and prominent citizen of Marion for decades. Continue reading

Hudson, Dr. Theodore 1850-1931, Dr.’s Hudson and Hudson

Dr. Theodore Hudson was born August 12, 1850 in Pennsylvania, the son of Dr. and Mrs. John Atchinson Hudson. He was the oldest of three children, his brother, Dr. George Hudson of Canton, Iowa having died at the home of Dr. Theodore Hudson of Marion, and his older brother, Joseph Hudson, a farmer who lived south of Marion, the father of Georgia and Ruth Hudson. Continue reading

Aikman, Willis 1833-1905

Aikman Willis residence farmWillis Aikman was born near Washington, Davies County, Indiana, on March 14, 1833. He was a son of Samuel Aikman and Henrietta Coleman and came with his parents to Edgar County, Illinois, in 1835, and to Marion in 1837 with a family of six boys and three girls.

His father, Samuel, invested his money in Marion real estate until he owned a strip one-half mile wide by a mile and a half long, consisting of 640 acres, which he bought off the Government at $1.25 an acre. Continue reading

Life on the Home Front During the Civil War

The following is taken from “Thy People Shall Be My People or Elizabeth Ann and the Roberts Clan” by Daisy Roberts Malone. These excerpts were written by Elizabeth Ann Chadwell who was born 10 May 1825, the daughter of John Shepherd and Sarah Clark. She married William Rufus Roberts 18 Aug 1841 and after his death married Charles W. Chadwell 9 Nov 1849, both marriages in Williamson Co., Illinois. Elizabeth Ann died 13 May 1916 and is buried in Zion Cemetery, Corinth, Illinois. Continue reading