The following article was written by attorney J.C. Mitchell, senior member of the Mitchell and Armstrong law firm after the death of attorney Ralph Harris and published in the Marion Daily Republican.
When I returned to practice law in Marion in July of 1949, three lawyers Ralph Harris, August Fowler and Gordon Franklin, were the top trial lawyers in Williamson County. Continue reading
Ralph Norman was born January 28, 1884, in Crab Orchard, Illinois. He served on the school board in Marion for 40 years and was a former city commissioner.
Norman was the son of the late Leroy Norman and Clementine Hastings. He was married in Marion December 2, 1905, to Sarah T. Jordan which appears to be about the time he and his wife started living in Marion. Continue reading
Archibald B. McLaren was born in Dunfermline Fife, Scotland on January 6, 1873 to William E. and Mary (Kennedy) McLaren, both full blooded Scots. Continue reading
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
Coal miners rode the electric line to get to work and school children watched plays like “Peck’s Bad Boy” at an opera house on Union Street. Continue reading