The index to the newspaper extract book, Events in Egypt, 1920, Volume 8 has been added to the Library Resource Index. This volume was published by Helen Sutt Lind and includes news extracts taken from Marion newspapers in the year 1920. It contains the names of 5,312 people that are now included in the Master Library Resource Index found under the Records Tab of this site. The master now contains 84,225 references so give it time to load.
The book, Pioneer Folks and Places, published in 1939 by Barbara Barr Hubbs has been re-indexed and added to our new Library Resource Index bringing the references up to 78,913. The new book was put together in preparation for Williamson County’s 100th Centennial celebration in 1939 and is an excellent resource containing references to early villages, pioneers, settlements and landmarks found in the county. A number of references are related to early trails and coal mines. References added break down to:
Acts of God 1, Businesses 282, Churches 75, Crime 1, Government 53, Organizations 13, Places 120, Schools 54 and People 1,773 for a total of 2,372 new references.
It should be noted that the index currently consists of app. 38 books and the Marion City Cemetery. Each book index can be individually filtered by clicking on the small down pointing arrow in Column C, then select “Filter”. You can then select or deselect only the books you wish to see.
Link to Updated Library Resource Index
The index to the Williamson County Illinois Sesquicentennial History book has been added to the Library Resource Index. The book was published in the years following the 1989 Sesquicentennial event celebrating Williamson County’s 150th Anniversary. The index addition references 6,847 new Items including individual names, historic references, places, businesses, schools, organization, churches, crime and more. The index now contains 76,522 references and covers app. 37 books. The book is available for sale at the Williamson County Museum.
The index can be found under the Records Tab from any page, then select:
Woody Ashby donated riot gun to WCHS president Sam Lattuca
The Williamson County Museum recently received a donated artifact that once likely belonged to either the Shelton or Birger gang. The artifact is a 12 Ga. Model 1897 Winchester riot gun manufactured between 1904 and 1920. It has a short 20” barrel resembling a sawed off shotgun and was a specialty item usually sold to police for riot control.
The weapon was donated by Woody Ashby, son of Ethel Ashby. Ethel Ashby at one time owned an antique business in Marion called the Old Sleigh Bell and was the principal organizer of the museum when the county offered the old jail building to the historical society back in 1972. She also donated many of the items found in the museum today. Woody stated that he had owned the gun for the last 35 years and it was passed on to him through his mother and before that through an aunt that had a connection to the Shelton’s but that it was thought to have come from the Birger gang.
The gun will be placed on display after it has had research done on it and a display worked out for it.