EARLY HISTORY

Union County Illinois Genealogy Trails



CLERKS
S. S. Condon-1842
Thomas Hileman-1849 (Circuit Court, Master in chancery and Probate Judge)
James W. Bailey-1852 (County Clerk)
Thomas J. Finley-1859 (County Clerk)
Hileman-1859
Hileman-1864
A. J. Nimmo-1865
A. Polk Jones-1871
Henry P. Cozby-1871 (Clerk pro tem)
Ed. M. Barnwell

CORONERS
H. F. Walker-1842
John Grear-1847
John C. Albright-1851



JUDGES
Daniel Hileman-1844 (Probate Judge)
W. A. Denning-1847 (Presiding Judge)
W. K. Parish-1853
A. M. Jenkins-1859
John H. Mulkey-1864
W. H. Green-1866 (Presiding Judge)
M. C. Crawford-1867
Daniel M. Browning-1878 (Judicial District Judge)
Oliver A. Harker-1878 (Judicial Distirict Judge)
David J. Baker-1878 (Judicial District Judge)



STATE'S ATTORNEYS
W. A. Denning-1845 (Prosecuting Attorney)
W. K. Parish-1851
John A. Logan-1853 (Prosecuting Attorney)
M. C. Crawford-1858
A. P. Corder-1859 (Prosecuting Attorney)
M. C. Crawford-1864
George W. Wall-1865 (Prosecuting Attorney)
Jackson Frick-1869 (Prosecuting Attorney)

Old Election Return

Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter 

On the 7^th day of August, 1826, an election was held in Union county for governor, a congressman, and state senator and representative.  In Jonesboro precinct the election was held at the court house still in the center of the public square that perhaps a more pretentious building than the one the pioneers exercised the right of suffrage in seven years before.  The names of 446 voters appear on the poll list and include all the familiar names known in the county today.  A large section of the county must have voted in Jonesboro.

In 1826 Ninian Edwards and Thomas S. Sloo were candidates for governor of Illinois.  Daniel P. Cook was voted for among others for congressman.  George Hunsaker, John Grammer, and James P. Edwards were candidates for the state senate.  Alexander P. Field, John S. Hacker, John Whiteaker, Benjamin W. Brooks, George Cloud, and Hezekiah West were all ambitious to be representatives in the state legislature.

In the contest for county offices were find that Philip Hargrave, John Hunsaker, and James S. Smith were candidates for sheriff; Rice Sams, Joshua Throgmorton, George Wigle and David Brown were candidates for coroner and for county commissioner there seemed to have been a scramble, the names of John Echols, Lancaster Cox, George Grear, Jacob Zimmerman, Isaac Bizzell, Cliff Hazlewood, Jacob Treese, Aaron Lirely, James F. Bond, and Thomas Sams appearing in the running.  The judges of this election were Abner Keith, Sam Hunsaker and Peter Casper;  clerks, Wm. Cox and Wm. C. Whitlock and they were sworn in by W.G. Nimmo, J.P., as appears from his certificate attached.

Jeff Ury says the reason the writing of so long ago appears so clear and unfaded is because the ink used was made by boiling maple bark and adding a little sugar.  He says his mother made that kind of ink when he was a boy and there was none better.  The fact that quill pens were used of course had nothing to do with it.

(Jonesboro Gazette, Jonesboro, Illinois, Saturday, 20 Sep 1907)