Williamson County Illinois Historical Society

In the first couple of weeks of October, a four month long project reached completion. The old side porch at the museum which used to house the book store was converted into two small rooms. One is a 4 x 6 utility room with cabinets, shelving and a deep sink to enable maintenance on the building and the other room is a 6 x 6.5 first floor restroom which is long overdue.

Another project reaching completion is the editing and proofing of additional Storme funeral home records from Herrin. The records will be printed up when finished and likely will be added to the existing Storme funeral records already on the website.

We also gained access to Ozment funeral home records this year and have been compiling those into digital form. Ozment operated in Marion from ca 1916 up into the 1950’s or so, I believe. When complete, the records will be made accessible as well. Continue reading →

A membership meeting will be held for active members of the Williamson County Historical Society on Sunday, October 30th, 2016 at 1:00 PM at the museum. Elections for the 2017 board of directors will be held. Nominations for the board can be made ahead of time or on the day of the election. Your dues must be paid up to vote. We will discuss the latest and future activities of the society and a program will be given on the United States Public Land Survey System. Be sure to mark you calendar and attend.

The Williamson County Historical Society held a membership meeting on Sunday, July 31^st, 2016 at the Williamson County Museum located at 105 S. Van Buren Street in Marion. Current society and museum projects and business were discussed and a “show and tell” program was held in which members brought in various historical objects and family heirlooms and discussed their significance with the group. Items presented ranged from civil war era tintype photos to Native American artifacts.

A highlight of the meeting was the induction of current Vice President Helen Sutt Lind into the societies honor roll. Lind, a citizen of Johnston City, has been an active society member for well over 2 decades. She has served in most all board positions from President to Director and has been editor of the societies quarterly since its inception in 1994. Lind has contributed heavily to county history by authoring 22 books alone and has coauthored 17 more. She is also active in the Franklin County Historical Society and in her spare time likes to paint, crochet & read books. Society President Sam Lattuca was quoted as saying, “Helen is a dream member who is always willing to help and we are honored to have her as a member and a friend.”