Inventory of the County Archives of Illinois
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^lU.!.."Ui nj«ii!UUiui.wiWPpii»^^^W»»««RW^ ^'JJJi.V^'^^ LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN A552.07T3 Hfc2.i no. 71 cop. 4 SUKUi nilNOlS HISIORICH J I * » INYEHTDRrDF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES DF ILLINOIS nuNois HiSTORicAi mm TiiE immi Of m MAY 13 1966 ISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY CHICAGO ILLINOIS I /* NVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF ILLINOIS Ogle County (Oregon) No. 71 Prepared "by The Illinois Historical Records Survey Proji~ct Division of Professional and Service Projects Work Projects Administration ***** Chicago, Illinois July, 1940 The Historical Records Survey Projects Sar?;ent B. Child, Director Royal S. Veji de Woestyne, State Supervisor Division of Professional and Service Projects Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner Alma B. Kerr, Chief Regional Supervisor State Director Mary Gillette Moon, ; WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION F. C. Harrington, Commissioner G-eorge Field, Regional Director Charles E. Viiner, State Administre-tor . Ac.7/ Ocp.^/ FOREWORD The Invento ry of the County Archives of Illinois is one of a number of bibliographies of historical material prepared throughout the United States by workers on The Historical Records Survey Projects of the Work Projects Administration. The publication herewith presented, an inven- tory of the archives of Ogle County, is number 71 of the Illinois series. The Historical Records Survey was undertaken in the winter of 1935- 36 for the purj^osc of providing useful employment to needy vmemployed historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers. In cari-ying out this objective, the project was organized to compile inven- tories of historical materials, particularly the unpublished government documents and records v^ich axe basic in the administration of local government, and which provide invaluable data for students of political, economic, and social history. The archival g^aide herewith presented is intended to meet the requirement of day-to-de.y administration by the officii-'Js of the county, and also the needs of lawj'ers, business men, and other citizens who require facts from the public records for the proper conduct of their ei'fairs. The volume is so designed that it can be used by the historian in his resc?.rch in unprinted sources in the same v/ay he uses the library card catalog for printed sources. The inventories produced by The Historical Records Survey Projects attempt to do more than give morely a list of records - they attempt fur- ther to sketch in the historical background of the county or other unit of government, and to describe precisely and in detail the organization and functions of the government agencies whose records they list. The county, town and other local inventories for the entire country will, when completed, constitute an encyclopedia cf local government as well as a bibliography of local archives. The successful conclusion of the work of The Historical Records Survey Projects even in a single county, would not be possible without the support of public officials, historical and legal specialists, and many other groups in the community. Their cooperation is gratef\illy acknowledged. The Survey was org.anized by Luther K. Evans and directed by him until his resignation in December, 1939, shortly after which he was succeeded by the present director, Sargent B. Child; it operates as a nation-wide series of locally sponsored projects in the Division of Professional and Service Projects, of \Tiiich Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner, is in charge F.C. Harrington Commissioner ~ iii - I PREFACE The undertaMng now officially designated The Historical Records Survey Projects, was initiated nationally'' in January, 1936, as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, now the Work Projects Administi-ation. In Illinois the Survey became an. independent unit in Aug'.ist, 1936, hut continued to operate as part of the nation-wide project under the technical supervision of Dr. Luther H. Evans, National Director, and \mdcr the administrative supervision of the Division of Professional and Service Projects. Dr. Evans resigned in Deceraher, 1939, and shortly thereafter was succeeded by the present director, Sargent B. Child. Alston G. Field and Howard E. Colgan were the first two state directors, the former serving until November 1, 1937, and the latter to May 15, 1939. On September 1, 1939, the Illinois State Library, of which Secretary of State Edward J. Hughes is State Librarian and Helene K. Rogers, Superintendent of State Library Division, became the sponsor of the Illinois Historical Records Survey Project. On Januarj 15, 1940, this si")Onsorship was assumed by the University of Illinois. In compiling this inventory of the archives of Ogle County, the Survc has souglit to locate, describe and classify all extant county records and to make them more easily accessible to county officials, the genertil jmbli and research workers. It is believed that this inventory will be useful in the preservation of this valuable material, and as a guide to the archives wherein may be found so much important information in the field c history, sociology, political science, and economics. While some historic have realized this for many years, the general public has never been made aware of the intrinsic worth of this material. In the official documents Ogle County are found the materials of another chapter in the storj"- of th( coning into the Illinois wilderness of settlers who created a territory ai the rudiments of a simple frontier government, bought and sold land, buiH roads, established schools, and later fo'onded a state. The Illinois Historical Records Survey Project has proved to be of considerable assistance to local and county governments. Records have been rearranged and made j-p.ore accessible, material believed to be lost has been located, indexing projects have been fostered, and county offi- cials have been encouraged and induced to provide new equipment for their offices and better storage space for the records. In addition, the progrsin of the Project has been planned to dovetail with the long-range plans of the State of Illinois for the care of state and local archives. For example, the first step, the removal of all stat< records to a new Archives Building, has been materially aided by the prep; ration of preliminary inventories by survey workers for the various state departments. Furthermore, the program of the state for the preservation of county records, including the mailing of microphotographic copies of ai: important historical documents, obviously presupposes inventories such as The Illinois Historical Records Survey Project is now making. - V - The inventories being compiled by The Historical Records Survey- Projects also make possible for the first time a scientific study of the question of record destruction. Under Illinois law no records may be de- stroyed vathout specific enabling legislation. This provision, together with the tremendous increase In the quantity of records in recent years, has made it impossible for either the state or the counties to take care of the documents adequately. Kence, a certain amount of record destruc- tion has been inevitable. If, as seems probable, a study of those inven- tories should lead to the enactment of adequate and sensible legislation governing the disposition of public records, those compilations may prove to be the most important contribution of the Siirvey. Preliminary work on the survey in Ogle County, the seventy-first on the alphs.betically arranged list of one hundred and two counties in Illinois, was begun in April, 1936, and completed as far as possible in March, 1937, The first field forms were then sent to the state office in Chicago where they were received March 15. All forms were sent to Oregon February 23, 1938, for a complete recheck and returned to the state office A\igust 12, 1938. A final recheck was made in the summer of 1939. The inventory was taken by Albert Alkire, H.E. Champlain, Curt Enkelmann, Step- hen Kerns, Myrtle Little, and Richsird G. Myrland, under the supervision of Victor C. Karcher. Abstracting of county board records, upon which much of the essa^' material of this inventory is baaed, was begun July 9, 1938, by Albert Alkire, Curt Enkelmann, and William Thompkins, and finished July 1, 1940. Since September, 1939, District 1, vThich includes Ogle Coimty, has been supervised by Chester K. Gates. The inventory was prepared for publication by the state editorial staff of The Illinois Historical Records Survey Project at Chicago, under the supervision of Herbert R. Rifkind. Preparation of Part S of the inven- tory was under the direction of Martine O'Connor; Irving E. Barnett super- vised the preparation of the legal essays; the historical sketch was written under the direction of Kathleen Summitt; and the format was prepared and collated by Edward J. McDonough. In addition, too much credit cannot be given to the other members of the editorial, research, and typing staffs for their intelligent and diligent cooperation in the compilation of this inventory. All of the officers of Ogle County cooperated in every way with the workers, and grateful acknowledgement of their aid is hereby made. I also wish to express appreciation for the assistance rendered by the officials of the Illinois ^ork Projects Administration and the Illinois Writers' Project. For the cover design we are indebted to the Illinois Art Project. The various units of the Inventory of the Coiinty Archives of Illinois will be available for distribution to the governmental offices, libraries, schools, EUid historical societies in Illinois, and libraries and govern- mental agencies in other states. Requests for information concerning par- ticular units of the Inventory should be addressed to the State Supervisor. Royal S. Van de Woestyne State Stpervisor The Illinois Historical Records July 15, 1940 Siirvey Project • - vi - s TABLE OF COHTENTS A. Ogle Covmty and Its Records System Fag« 1.