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
Category Archives: A to C
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
Lemoine Henry “Lee” Crouse was born September 7, 1912 in Council Bluff, Iowa, the son on Don B. Crouse (1884-1970) and Sarah Nancy Ansberry (1884-1935). Sarah’s mother was born in Ireland.
In the 1920 census when Lee was only 7, his father was a self-employed farmer and the family lived on a farm at Notch, Wyoming. Lee had two brothers sharing the home, Don B. Jr., 10, and John B., 5. Continue reading
Eugene Frank Bones was born in April 1875 in Crab Orchard Precinct to Thomas and Martha Bones. At the age of 14 years he commenced writing for newspapers, his first work having been for Marion and Creal Springs papers, and at the age of 18 was a contributor to the Detroit Free Press.
Having chosen newspaper work for his occupation at an early age, he gave special attention to the school branches which were calculated to fit him for the work, and the manner in which he handled news showed that he learned well that which he early anticipated would be required to make him a capable newspaper man. Continue reading
James Henderson Clarida, grandfather of Bill Butler and Mayor Robert Butler, was born March 30, 1876 at Crab Orchard, the son of William J. Clarida and Irena Culbreth. He grew up on a farm and attended school at Pleasant Grove.
In the 1880 census, James H. was 4 years old and sharing space with a sister, Ida J. Clarida, age 6, in the home of his parents on their farm in Crab Orchard Precinct of Williamson County. Continue reading