Place:Williamson, Illinois, United States

NameWilliamson
Alt namesWilliamsonsource: Getty Vocabulary Program
TypeCounty
Coordinates37.733°N 88.933°W
Located inIllinois, United States     (1839 - )
See alsoFranklin, Illinois, United StatesParent county (source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990)
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Williamson County is a county in Southern Illinois. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 67,153. The largest city and county seat is Marion.

Williamson County is included in the Carbondale-Marion, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. This area of Southern Illinois is known locally as "Little Egypt".

Williamson is in the Metro Lakeland area, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Via the nearby intersection of Interstates 57 and 24, and Illinois Route 13, a primary east–west four-lane expressway, the city has access to the major communities of Murphysboro, Carbondale, Carterville, Herrin, Marion and Harrisburg.

The Metro Lakeland area of Jackson-Williamson counties has a total of 120,000 residents. Carbondale (14 miles west), Herrin and Marion are the key urban areas in Metro Lakeland, with a combined population of more than 65,000. Over 235,000 people live within .

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Williamson County was formed from Franklin County on February 28, 1839, and was named for Williamson County, Tennessee. Many of its settlers were from the Uplands South, traveling via the Ohio River from Kentucky and Virginia.


It became a center of coal mining, attracting numerous European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Labor tensions rose as workers sought to unionize and improve their wages and conditions. Mine owners resisted and several episodes of violence resulted during strikes and other work actions. resulted in several episodes of violence. Williamson County is often referred to as "Bloody Williamson," due to several outbreaks of violence that have few parallels in American history.

These include the Bloody Vendetta (1876), armed confrontation between families and associates during the waning days of Reconstruction; the Carterville Massacre (1899), a Coal Strike (1906), the Herrin Massacre (1922), the Klan War (1924–1926), and the Birger/Shelton Gang War (1926).

During the so-called Klan War, a mob of perhaps 1,300 men were deputized by the local sheriff. Starting on 1 February 1924, the posse began raiding the homes of local mine workers, mostly Italian immigrants. The Klan was inspired by both nativist and Prohibitionist fervor. Violence continued sporadically between bootleggers and the Klan. Twenty people were killed before peace was restored.

In June 1915, a Sicilian miner accused of the fatal shooting of a wealthy local resident was lynched in Johnston City, Illinois by a mob. The Illinois National Guard was deployed to prevent rioting between the miner's supporters and opponents. They were also later ordered to various locations repeatedly during the 1920s to separate warring parties and attempt to keep order.

The northwest section of the county suffered extensive damage during the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. The county was also struck by two tornadoes on May 29, 1982, which killed 10 people in the Marion, Illinois tornado outbreak. On May 8, 2009, the cities of Carterville, Herrin, and Marion were severely damaged by the May 2009 Southern Midwest derecho.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1818 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1839 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1839 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1839 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1840 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1840 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1840 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1877 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1840 4,457
1850 7,216
1860 12,205
1870 17,329
1880 19,324
1890 22,226
1900 27,796
1910 45,098
1920 61,092
1930 53,880
1940 51,424
1950 48,621
1960 46,117
1970 49,021
1980 56,538
1990 57,733

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Williamson County, Illinois, United States

Research Tips

External links

  • Outstanding guide to Williamson 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.
  • www.people.ku.edu/~place/williamson.html


This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Williamson County, Illinois. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.