Early Court Record Indexes Now Available

Posted on by January 11, 2015

Early Williamson County Court Records from the formation of the county up into the 1920’s are now indexed on this site on the Records Page. If a search of these indexes reveals an ancestor or person of interest, copies of the original court files are available. New Indexes are as follows:

Chancery Court Records Index, 1842-1912, 5,663 Names

Common Law Court Records Index, 1840-1900, 7,905 Names 

Criminal Case Records Index, 1840-1912, 3,349 Names

Divorce Record Index, Williamson County, 1844-1920, 4,331 names

Partitions Index, Williamson County, 1845-1921, 12,729 names

Chancery Court Record Index Available

Posted on by January 11, 2015

The Williamson County Chancery Court records index covering the years from1842 to 1912 is now available on the Records Page of this site. The index contains the names of 5,663 people or businesses. With any luck over the next week or two, I will try to get the indexes posted for Common Law Court, Criminal Court, Divorce Court and Partition files.

Chancery court, known as the “court of equity”, was similar in many ways to the small claims court of today and handled most all smaller disputes. Typical cases would involve creditor and vendor bills, mechanic liens, injunctions, summons, specific performance cases, and all sorts of land disputes including deed claims, land warrants, property rights and disputes. The files provide unique insight into the lives of our ancestors.

These records took countless hours to transcribe from old documents and provide an invaluable resource for genealogists and historians that would normally never be made available it they hadn’t been preserved. The WCHS is in possession of each of the listed case files and they can be copied on request for a fee of $10 plus .50 for each page scan. If a search of the indexes locates a person of interest, a request for copies of the files in paper or digital format can then be made for a fee. Please, notate the corresponding file number, i.e. CR-012 and year. Contact Us

 

2015 WCHS Membership Dues

Posted on by March 1, 2015

Have a happy and prosperous New Year!!

A reminder to all WCHS members that as the New Year starts the 2015 dues are due. Please remember to renew your dues and don’t forget to update you mail addresses so that the 2015 quarterlies can reach you. Feel free to use the “Contact Us” page for changes.

We have a number of projects in the works and your dues will help support our new efforts to improve the museum. For those who are not members, show your support of Williamson County history preservation by becoming a member.  Just click the “Join WCHS” link at the right.

Christmas Help Needed

Posted on by December 17, 2014

The Williamson County Museum is host to one of the best genealogical libraries in Southern Illinois and in addition, hosts an incredibly eclectic mix of Williamson County history within its walls. Whereas many museums are more topical in nature, i.e.  Civil War museum or Battle of Gettysburg museum, this museum attempts to contain and catalog as much information as possible about an entire county.

To properly catalog all the information contained in the museum in the past, it has been done on paper and partially on computer files. We are now in the process of transferring this information to databases and expanding on it, which will give us the ability to instantly search for surnames or objects through tens of thousands of photos, objects and references, an incredibly more efficient way to search for information which will benefit all.

To accomplish this will require two things. First, volunteer help to enter data or research historical objects. Second, we need to expand our software and computer abilities in the museum.  We really need about $1,000 to do it right.

If you have any time to volunteer please get ahold of us using the Contact Us page on this site.

If you are tired of getting presents on Christmas that you don’t need or want, ask a friend or family member to donate to the museum in your honor instead. Donations can be made securely using PayPal by clicking the Donate Button on the right side of the page. Even if you don’t have a PayPal account you can still securely use your credit card.

Our history is our heritage and needs to be preserved and accessible.

Please support the museum and help us turn a good library and museum into an even better one.

WCHS Held Annual Christmas Lunch

Posted on by December 7, 2014

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The annual Christmas lunch for the Williamson County Historical Society was held on December 3, 2014 at Bennie’s restaurant in Marion. The society typically gathers to share a meal prior to the season’s holidays and celebrate the year’s work.

At the lunch, long time society President, Bob Jackson, was awarded a plaque to commemorate his twelve years of service as President of the historical society, having served in that position from 2003 to 2014. Jackson was awarded the plaque by Sam Lattuca, incoming 2015 board President.

Also recognized at the lunch was museum coordinator, Sharon Vansaghi, who was hired by the board in March 2014. The new position was created so that the museum could stay open 6 days a week through the warm months of the year allowing increased public access to the museum. This position was made possible by a stipend paid by the Marion city council and has paid off. The museum this year saw approximately 1,400 visitors. Many of the visitors were genealogy researchers from not only out of the region, but out of the state, having come from Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, California, Canada and many other locations to research lost ancestors and historical events.