Inventory of the County Archives of Illinois
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN •^^^a,<v* ^*^^/.^^ '^ ^- — OI= ILUNOin SALINE COUNTY CH ARRISBURd] THE COURT HOUSE OF SALINE COUNTY HARRISBURG. ILLINOIS INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF ILLINOIS No. 82. Saline County (Harrisburg) Prepared by The Illinois Historical Records Survey Division of Professional and Service Projects Work Projects Administration SPONSORED BY THE GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS * * Chicago, Illinois The Illinois Historical Records Survey February, 1941 THE HISTORICAL. RECORDS SURVEY PROGRAM SARGENT B. CHILD, DIRECTOR THOMAS R. HALL, STATE SUPERVISOR DIVISION OF PROFESSIONAL AND SERVICE PROJECTS FLORENCE KERR, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER MARY GILLETTE MOON, CHIEF REGIONAL SUPERVISOR EVELYN S. BYRON, STATE DIRECTOR WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION HOWARD HUNTER, ACTING COMMISSIONER GEORGE FIELD, REGIONAL DIRECTOR CHARLES E. MINER, STATE ADMINISTRATOR FOREWORD The Inventory of the County Archives of Illinois is one of a number of guides to historical materials prepared throughout the United States by workers on The Historical Records Survey Program of the Work Projects Administration. The publication herewith presented, an inventory of the archives of Saline County, is number 82 of the Illinois series. The Historical Records Survey Program was undertaken in the winter of 1935-36 for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unem- ployed historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers. In carrying out this objective, the project was organized to compile inven- tories of historical materials, particularly the unpublished government documents and records which are basic in the administration of local gov- ernment, and which provide invaluable data for students of political, eco- nomic, and social history. The archival guide herewith presented is in- tended to meet the requirements of day-to-day administration by the offi- cials of the county, and also the needs of lawyers, business men, and other citizens who require facts from the public records for the proper conduct of their affairs. The volume is so designed that it can be used by the his- torian in his research in unprinted sources in the same way he uses the li- brary card catalog for printed sources. The inventories produced by The Historical Records Survey Program attempt to do more than give merely 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 county will, when completed, constitute an encyclopedia of local government as well as a bibliography of local archives. The successful conclusion of the work of The Historical Records Sur- vey Program 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 gratefully acknowledged. The Survey Program was organized by Luther H. Evans, who served as Director until March 1, 1940, when he was succeeded by Sargent B. Child, who had been National Field Supervisor since the inauguration of the sur- vey. The Survey Program operates as a nation-wide series of locally sponsored projects in the Division of Professional and Service Projects, of which Mrs. Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner, is in charge. HOWARD HUNTER Acting Commissioner PREFACE The undertaking now officially designated The Historical Records Sur- vey Program, was initiated nationally in January 1936, as part of the Fed- eral Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, now the Work Projects Administration. In Illinois the Survey became an independent unit in August 1936, but continued to operate as part of the nation-wide project under the technical supervision of Dr. Luther H. Evans, National Director, and under the administrative supervision of the Division of Pro- fessional and Service Projects. Dr. Evans resigned in December 1939, and shortly thereafter was succeeded by the present director, Sargent B. Child. Alston G. Field, Howard E. Colgan, and Royal S, Van de Woestyne were the first three state directors, serving until November 1, 1937, to May 16, 1939, and to October 1, 1940, respectively. On September 1, 1939, the Illinois State Library, of which Secretary of State Edward J. Hughes is State Librarian and Helene H. Rogers, Assistant State Librarian, became the sponsor of The Illinois Historical Records Survey. In January 1940, this sponsorship was assumed by the University of Illinois, and in Decem- ber by the Governor of Illinois. In compiling this inventory of the archives of Saline County, the Sur- vey has sought to locate, describe, and classify all extant county records and to make them more easily accessible to county officials, the general public, 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 of history, sociology, political science, and economics. While some his- torians have realized this for many years, the general public has never been made aware of the intrinsic worth of this material. In the official docu- ments of Saline County are found the materials of another chapter in the story of the coming into the Illinois wilderness of settlers who created a territory and the rudiments of a simple frontier government, bought and sold land, built roads, established schools, and later founded a state. The Illinois Historical Records Survey has proved to be of considerable assistance to local and county governments. Records have been re- arranged and made more accessible, material believed to be lost has been located, indexing projects have been fostered, and county officials have been encouraged and induced to provide new equipment for their offices and better space for the records. In addition, the program of the Survey 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 state rec- ords to a new Archives Building, has been materially aided by the prepara- tion of preliminary inventories by survey workers for the various state de- partments. Furthermore, the program of the state for the preservation of county records, including the making of microphotographic copies of all im.portant historical documents, obviously presupposes inventories such as The Illinois Historical Records Survey is now making. The inventories being compiled by The Historical Records Survey Pro- gram also make possible for the first time a scientific study of the question of record destruction. Under Illinois law no records may be destroyed —v— Preface without 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 docu- ments adequately. Hence, a certain amount of record destruction has been inevitable. If, as seems probable, a study of these inventories should lead to the enactment of adequate and sensible legislation governing the disposition of public records, these compilations may prove to be the most important contribution of the Survey. Saline County, the eighty-second on the alphabetically arranged list of the one hundred and two counties in Illinois, was one of the first in which the survey was started. Organized under the supervision of Raymond Leydig in the latter part of February 1936, the survey was continued under the successive supervisorships of Leland H. Fish, John W. Suddes, Harold Harrison, and Margaret Resnik. Inventory forms were received in the Chicago office on April 8, and June 28, 1937. Six months later, Decem- ber 2, all forms were sent for a recheck and returned December 2, 1938. Additional rechecks were made from time to time and all forms returned to the Chicago office, January 25, 1939. Field workers included Mary Dix- on, Roy E. Ham, LeRoy Hawkins, Wayne Lightfoot, George Lindenmuth, Mary Mitchell, Webber Crowther, H. Frank Evans, Carrie Johnson, and George Ballard. Transcription of county board records, upon which much of the contents of this inventory is based, was done between December 5, 1938, and January 18, 1940, by Carrie Johnson, George Lindenmuth, Anna Geraci, Pauline Culbertson, and Wayne Lightfoot, under the supervision of Kenneth C. Blood. The inventory was prepared for publication by the state editorial staff of The Illinois Historical Records Survey at Chicago, under the supervision of Herbert R. Rifkind, State Editor. Preparation of Part B of the inven- tory was under the direction of Martine O'Connor; Irving E. Barnett sup- ervised the preparation of the legal essays; the historical sketch was writ- ten by J. Z. Jacobson; and the format was prepared and collated by Ed- ward J. McDonough. In addition, too much credit cannot be given to the other members of the editorial, research, and typing staffs for their intel- ligent and diligent cooperation in the compilation of this inventory. All of the officers of Saline County cooperated in every possible way with the workers, and grateful acknowledgment of their aid is hereby made. I also wish to express appreciation for the assistance rendered by the offi- cials of the Illinois Work 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 County Archives of Illinois will be available for distribution to governmental offices, libraries, schools, and historical societies in Illinois, and libraries and governmental agencies in other states. (A list of Illinois Publications will be found at the end of this volume.) Requests for information concerning particular units of the Inventory should be addressed to the State Supervisor. Thomas R. Hall State Supervisor February 3, 1941 The Illinois Historical Records Survey -VI- JAS.