Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting – May 9, 2019
The May 2019 meeting of the Madison County
Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Thursday,
May 9, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
The following is the Treasurer's report for
the month of March:
·
General
Fund - Beg. Balance $2,987.26 - Income $490.47 - Expenses $40.00 - End Balance
$3,437.73
· Publications Fund - Beg. Balance $12,988.87 - Income $0.00 - Expenses $0.00 - End Balance $12,988.87
The following is the Treasurer's report for
the month of April:
·
General
Fund - Beg. Balance $3,437.73 - Income $0.45 - Expenses $53.03 - End Balance
$3,385.15
· Publications Fund - Beg. Balance $12,988.87 - Income $0.00 - Expenses $0.00 - End Balance $12,988.87
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Life Membership $300.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
May Meeting
On May 9, 2019, Tom Pearson
presented a program titled Researching Ancestors in County Histories.
Tom Pearson is a Subject
Specialist in the Genealogy room of the St. Louis Public Library.
County
histories were published
for many counties in the United States from 1880 – 1930. They can be good
sources of historical and biographical information about a county, although the
biographical information should be verified when possible by other sources
since it was usually furnished by the subject of the
biographical sketch or his family.
[As an example, Tom gave detailed information about the contents of the
History of Daviess & Gentry Counties, Missouri (1922).]
PART
I Daviess County
Index (index of subjects of
biographical sketches only)
Contents Early
Settlement – Organization of Daviess County – County Buildings – Cities &
Towns – Military History – Mormons in Daviess County – Pioneer & Modern
Transportation – Medical Profession – The Press – Firsts –Officials – First
World War – American Red Cross – Societies & Lodges
List of Illustrations (approximately 100
illustrations, mostly portraits)
PART
II Gentry County
Index (index of subjects of
biographical sketches only)
Contents Introduction
– Territorial History of Gentry County – Natural Resources & Topography – Early
Settlements – Pioneer Life – First Courts – County Buildings – Cities &
Towns – Agriculture & Allied Industry – Civil War Period – Railroads &
Highways – Schools – Lodges, Societies, & Clubs – World War – County
Officers
List of Illustrations
PART III Biographical
Sketches
FEATURES OF SPECIAL INTEREST
TO GENEALOGISTS
Early Settlement: Analysis of birthplaces of residents of Daviess County (1882):
Missouri: 20% Virginia:
19% Ohio:
14% Illinois: 10
% Kentucky: 8%
Indiana: 6% Foreign:
5% Pennsylvania:
4% Tennessee: 4% Maryland: 3%
Military History: Coverage of Black Hawk War,
Heatherly War, and Mexican-American War.
No
rosters, but mention of military units in which Daviess County men served.
Civil War: List of military units (Union) in which Daviess County men served.
Total
men in Missouri Volunteer Regiments: 139
Total
in Missouri State Militia Cavalry: 481
Total
in Regiments of Other States: 8
Rosters of Daviess County men in various Union regiments, with separate
lists of men transferred to other units, discharged, disabled, killed in
action, or died of disease.
Roster of Daviess County men who served in Confederate units – names only,
units & rank not listed.
Civil War happenings in Daviess County (summary)
Pioneer & Modern Transportation in Daviess County:
Listing of stage lines with rates (1837); Navigable waters; Roads, with construction dates; Railroads,
with info about establishment & construction dates.
Churches in Daviess County: List of churches, with establishment dates and
first preachers
Schools in Daviess County: List of public & private schools, with names of
first teachers and superintendents
Bench & Bar in Daviess County: List of first attorneys, judges, &
courts
Medical Profession in Daviess County: List of first doctors, dentists, and
midwives
The Press in Daviess County: List of first newspapers, with names of first
editors.
Firsts in Daviess County:
1st Coroner's inquest (Feb 1847); 1st grocer's
license (Apr 1837);
1st license to reside issued to free person of color (1845);
1st cattle brand on record (May 1837)
1st newspaper printed (1853); 1st marriage (Nov
1837)
Officials: Lists
of U.S., state, and county officials representing or from Daviess County, including:
County Treasurers; Probate Judges; Judges of Court of Common Pleas; Recorders; Sheriffs;
Prosecutors; Circuit Clerks; County Clerks; & County Judges.
First World
War: Lists of WWI soldiers by town (names only
– units not given). Separate lists for men killed in action or died of disease.
American Red Cross: List of organization officials.
Societies & Lodges (lists of officers
and/or members):
GAR; Sons of Veterans; YMCA; Patrons of Husbandry;
United Confederate Veterans, with rank, company, & regiment;
PEO
Sisterhood, charter members; Jamesport Fortnightly Club;
Daviess
County Immigrant Society; DAR, charter members;
WCTU;
Masonic Lodges; Knights of Pythias; Rebekahs; American Legion
Biographical Sketches: Biographical
sketches are 1 – 5 pages in length (most 1 – 2 pages long), some with b&w
portrait.
Information furnished in
many biographical sketches includes:
Occupation
& Business History;
Birth
date & birthplace;
Parents,
with birth years & birthplaces of parents;
Siblings,
with current places of residence and married names of the ladies;
Military
history if a veteran;
Marriage
dates with maiden names, birth years, and birthplaces of spouses;
Children
with married names of girls and places of current residence;
Political
affiliation;
Religious
affiliation & church attended;
Photo
(in some cases)
CASE STUDY: ANALYSIS OF A
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
[Tom took one of the biographical sketches from this county history and
showed all of the clues of where to look for proof of the printed information.
That sketch and the clues follow:]
History of Daviess and Gentry Counties (1922), p. 394.
E. J. Harlow, a prominent
farmer 1 and breeder 2 of Monroe Township, was born 3
Nov. 26, 1860, Shelby County, Ky., a son of James and Hulda (Nichols) Harlow. 4
James Harlow was a native of
Kentucky, born Feb. 16, 1824. 5 He moved to Daviess County in 1867,
locating on a farm in Monroe Township. 6 His wife, Hulda
Nichols, was born Nov. 30, 1828, near Kokomo, Ind., 7 and was reared
by her grandparents in Kentucky, her parents having died when she was a very
young child. 8 She was educated in Kentucky, later teaching school
in Shelby County, Ky. 9 Mr. Harlow died April 18, 1882, in Monroe
Township. 10
Mr. and Mrs. Harlow were the
parents of eight children, as follows: J. W., Gallatin; Sam., Monroe Township; Linsley,
Montgomery County, Kans.; E. J., the subject of this sketch; P., Chillicothe;
Wilmer G., Monroe Township; and two children who died in infancy. 11
E. J. Harlow came to Daviess
County with his parents when he was six years old. 12 He was
educated in the district schools 13 and has been a farmer all his
life. 14 He, with his wife inherited 200 acres of land, and have
made their home there since their marriage. 15 Mr. Harlow has made
extensive improvements on the land, which is one of the best
improved farms in Monroe Township. He uses acetylene lights. Mr. Harlow
has been a breeder of Hereford cattle and Percheron horses and jacks. 16
E. J. Harlow was married
Jan. 23, 1881, 17 to Mary A. Wilson, a daughter of McClain and Abbie
(Green) Wilson, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, who first settled in Ray
County, Mo., and later came to Daviess County. 18 Mrs. Harlow was
born on the farm where she now lives and which she inherited. 19 To
Mr. and Mrs. Harlow six children have been born: George Willard, a stock
shipper, Hamilton; Earl, at home; Virgil, at home. 20 The two
younger children are graduates of the Quincy and Kidder schools; 21
three other children are deceased. 22
Mr. Harlow is a Democrat. 23
He is a stockholder in the Gallatin Flour Mill, 24 and a director of
the North Missouri Fair Association of Hamilton. 25 He is the owner
of 746 acres of land in Monroe Township. 26 Mr. Harlow has made a
success of stock raising and is one of the reliable and progressive citizens of
the county, energetic and far-sighted in his methods of business and dependable
in his dealings. 27
Places to Verify Data Given in Biographical Sketch
1 Land records, Tax records, Farm
name records, Agricultural census;
2 Brand records, Estray
records, Tax records, Agricultural census;
3 1850 & 1860 KY Census [parents
& siblings];
41850 & 1860 KY Census
[any Nichols in county]
5 History of Shelby County,
KY;
6 Farmers & Breeders
Directory, Newspaper mention of newcomers to county;
7 1820 IN Census [Nichols], 1830
KY Census [Nichols];
8 Will or estate record in
Howard Co., IN; Guardianship record in Howard Co., IN or Shelby Co., KY;
9 School records of Shelby
Co., KY; Marriage record in Shelby Co., KY;
10 Will or estate record in
Daviess Co., MO; Newspaper mention of death, Cemetery listing
11 1900, 1910, & 1920 Census, Daviess Co., MO; 1900,
1910, & 1920 Census, Livingston Co., MO; 1900, 1910, & 1920 Census,
Caldwell Co., MO; 1900, 1910, & 1920 Census, Montgomery Co., KS
12 Newspaper account of newcomers
13 School records
14 Farmers & Breeders
Directory, Agricultural census
15 Will and estate records of
Daviess Co., MO; Land records of Daviess Co., MO; Farm name register
16 County fair records, World’s
Fair records [1904], Brand records, Tax records, Newspapers
17 Marriage records of Daviess
Co., MO
18 1870 & 1880 Census of
Ray Co., MO (McLain Wilson); 1870 & 1880 Census of Daviess Co., MO (McLain
Wilson)
19 Will and estate records,
Daviess Co., MO
20 1900, 1910, & 1920
Census of Daviess Co., MO
21 School records Newspaper
accounts of graduation ceremonies
22 Death/stillbirth records, Cemetery
listings, Newspaper death notices
23 Voter records, Political
club records
24 Business records, Tax
records
25 Fair records, Newspaper
accounts of fair proceedings
26 Land records, Tax records, Farm
name register
27 County history, Farm and breeder
directory, County fair records
Mr. Pearson has a handout that
lists many sources of county histories, both websites and books. If you contact
him at [email protected], he
will probably send you a copy of his handout by email.
This presentation was very well received and
provoked many questions and comments.