Robert Lee Pulley was born in Marion on July 2, 1916 to John R. Pulley and Anna H. Lee. When the 1920 federal census was taken Robert’s family were living at 715 N. Harper St. in Marion. His 39-year-old father, John R., was working for the Weber Candy Company located at 107 W. Calvert Street. The family owned the home they lived in free of mortgage. Children in the home at the time were Virgil 11, Robert L. 3 and Charles M. aged 1.
Continue reading
William Riley Hodge was born November 9, 1887 on a farm near Goreville in Johnson County to Alexander Hodge and Laura Belle Godwin. The 1900 federal census located the family living on a farm near Tunnel Hill, Illinois in Johnson County. Alexander 41 and Laura Belle 32 had six children living with them on the farm. The children were Myrtle 14, William R. 11, Oda L. 10, Norman E. 7, Grace L. 4 and Fredrick aged 1 month. Laura Belle reported that she had birthed 7 children and 6 were living, the ones present in the home. The farm they lived on was owned free of mortgage. When the 1910 census was taken the family was still farming in Elvira Township in Johnson County. Laura Belle had passed away in 1904 so a 47 year old, widowed Alexander continued farming and taking care of five children left in the home, William 21, Odie 19, Norman 17, Grace 14 and Raymond 9. William was working as a farm laborer helping his father on the farm.
Continue readingPolice Radio Units Arrive – Marion Weekly Leader, Feb. 1, 1945
Department will be Equipped with Two-way Communication
The first units of a two-way radio system for the Marion Police Department were on hand awaiting installation Tuesday.
When installed, the system will provide two-way communication between police headquarters and officers on patrol in the police car.
Continue readingVirgil Lee Love was born in Sturgis, Kentucky to William R. Love and Maggie Myrtle Wilson on October 27, 1894. Virgil’s father, William, was a coal miner and likely followed work in the coal fields from Kentucky to Southern Illinois. The first census record they were found in was in 1910 where the family was located living in a rental home in Gaskins City, Illinois in Harrisburg Township, Saline County. 45 year old William and 41 year old Maggie during this census indicated that they had birthed 8 children, but only 3 of them lived and all were present in their home. The children were John W. 24, Arthur W. 20 and Virgil L. aged 15. Sons, John W. and Arthur W. we’re working alongside their father by working as coal miners to supplement the family income.
Continue reading
It is known that the Samuel Aikman family were early land owners in Williamson County and had purchased hundreds of acres in the land now roughly distributed from S. Court Street in the east and the interstate in the west and bounded N and S roughly by W. Main Street and Hendrickson.
In January of 1853, one of Samuel Aikman’s sons, James Aikman, sold a piece of 40 acre property identified as the NW quarter of the NE Quarter of Section 24, Township 9, Range 2 to a P.H. Lang. Lang held on to the property for decades but when unable to satisfy a debt, the property was sold at a Sheriff’s sale and ended up in the hands of Robert & Joan Crotfer in June of 1881. Only days later, Crotfer sold the property to William W. & Annice Clemons
Continue reading