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Franklin County, Illinois is located about 75 miles north of Cairo, Illinois, the southernmost tip of the state where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers converge. Benton is the county seat. The population for the year 2000 was 39,018. [1]
History
The earliest inhabitants of southern Illinois were undoubtedly the American Indian tribes. The Illinois Indian tribes were part of the Algonquin confederacy that aligned with the French fur traders and missionaries up and down the Mississippi River. The city of Kaskaskia, the center of French life in the Midwest, was just 75 miles due west of what was later Benton, Illinois, the Franklin County seat.
In 1802, two Illinois tribes, the Kaskaskia and Tamaroas battled the Shawnees to gain control of the land in what would become Franklin County. This “Battle of Battle Creek” took place where the road between Frankfort and DuQuoin (the Shawnee Trail) crossed the Big Muddy River. The Shawnees prevailed and the Kaskaskias were forced to draw back west of the river. [2]
Timeline
Date | Event | Source
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1818 | County formed | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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1820 | First census | Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
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1835 | Land records recorded | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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1836 | Court records recorded | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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1836 | Marriage records recorded | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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1837 | Probate records recorded | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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1840 | No significant boundary changes after this year | Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
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1877 | Birth records recorded | Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
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Population History
- source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year | Population
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1820 | 1,763
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1830 | 4,083
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1840 | 3,682
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1850 | 5,681
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1860 | 9,393
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1870 | 12,652
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1880 | 16,129
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1890 | 17,138
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1900 | 19,675
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1910 | 25,943
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1920 | 57,293
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1930 | 59,442
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1940 | 53,137
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1950 | 48,685
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1960 | 39,281
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1970 | 38,329
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1980 | 43,201
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1990 | 40,319
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References
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, State and County Quick Facts, Franklin County, Illinois
- ↑ Smith, George Washington, M.A., The History of Southern Illinois, Volume I-III, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1912. Book Online at Mardos Memorial Library
Cemeteries
Cemeteries of Franklin County, Illinois, United States
Research Tips
External links
- Books
- Collaboration
- County resource sites
- Outstanding guide to Franklin County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, censuses, wills, deeds, county histories, cemeteries, churches, naturalizations, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
- Franklin Co, IL Genealogy US Genweb - IL Genweb - Rootsweb site
Sources
- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
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