NEWS FROM MACOUPIN COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

by Cindy Leonard

At the request of the web page coordinator, I will from time to time submit stories, news items, and comments for your information.

OLD SETTLERS SERIES - I am beginning to collect stories for Volume III of our Old Settlers series. I will take anything on a person's earliest Macoupin County ancestor - dates are not really important. If there is a **Macoupin County connection**, I will use it. When there are enough stories the Macoupin County Genealogical Society will have them printed and we will post the announcement after the volume is printed. If you have stories to contribute for the new volume, please mail paper copy to Macoupin County Genealogical Society, PO Box 95, Staunton, IL 62088-0095.

Our collection is housed at Staunton Public Library, but all correspondence should be directed to the society at P.O. Box 95, Staunton, IL 62088-0095. You may try to reach me by phone at 618/635-8506, but I no longer return long-distance calls as it became too expensive.

Since I work both at home and for the local newspaper, I have no exact time I am at home to take your calls. I find it is easier to respond to your written requests for information as I have a large collection of materials and searching while we talk on the phone is not the best method for me. I ask that if you have a specific area of the county to check for your ancestors that you include that information to save time in my search.

I know somewhere it was written that I will search up to an hour on requests to the society and I'll continue to do so for now. If you contact the society, include LSASE and please be as specific as you can about the ancestor and the information you are looking for. I will then search my collection at home for the information. If you want extensive research done, I'll send you a list of researchers for hire and you can contact the researcher of your choice. While I do research for hire, I am not the only one and do not propose to monopolize the field. If your request can be handled by someone with information in a specific area that I feel would have more expertise and knowledge of the area, I will recommend them.

I have compiled a list of people for whom I have done research, people who contacted the late Iris Zimmer at Carlinville Public Library, and the society's list of surnames. Some of the addresses may be old, but I will send them to whomever via post mail to the society's address above.

Our society was formed as the Staunton Area Genealogical Society in June 8, 1980. In 1988, we officially changed our name to Macoupin County Genealogical Society. Our first officers were: Jeanne Voyles (now Sides), President; Shirley DalPozzo (now deceased), Vice-President; Olivia Karlovic (now deceased), Treasurer; Amelia Sitko, Recording Secretary; Oleta Massie, Corresponding Secretary; Juanita Morgan, Archivist; Eileen Koniak (now deceased), Publicity; and Board Members: Lynn Reener, Fern Beyer (now deceased) and Ellen DalPozzo.

Most of our early newsletters contained information pertaining to Staunton and the immediate surrounding areas. But as time went on, we were hearing from other parts of the county and we realized the need to change our name to reflect the entire county. We publish a quarterly which is sent to each member. The following article appeared in the July 1983 issue of our newsletter and was written by my grandmother.


My Earliest Macoupin County Ancestors
by Eunice E. (Jones) Salter

I was born September 19, 1900 at Staunton, Il. My parents were Joseph John and Mava Eunice (Jarman) Jones. While I was growing up, we lived on Edwardsville Street in Staunton, one year at Williamson, Il. (1905) and two years in Olive Township, Madison County (1916-1917).

My grandparents were Wiley and Sara Ellen (Sawyer) Jarman who lived in West Prairie; and John Paul and Lizzie (Davis) Jones who lived on Reservoir Road and later owned the City Hotel and Livery Stable in Staunton.

I know the names of three sets of great-grandparents: 1) Ezekiel and Bethanna (Sawyer) Jarman who settled in West Prairie; 2) Josiah and Hannah (Sikes) Sawyer who lived in Tyrell County, North Carolina; 3) Richard and Hannah (Crowder) Jones who lived in Shropshire, England.

My earliest Macoupin County ancesters were Prior and Mary (called Polly) (Tatum) Scroggins who were natives of Tennessee (Grainger & Dickson Cos.) and came to West Prairie in 1820; and Benjamin and Ann (Scroggins) Sawyer who came from Tyrell County, North Carolina to West Prairie in the year 1838.

On September 6, 1919, I married Amandus Carl Salter who died in 1971. We were married at the parsonage of Salem Church, Alhambra, Il. We had two daughters, Lorene Emma (deceased) and Ellen Marie (named for my grandmother, Sarah Ellen (Sawyer) Jarman). I have eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. I am now living in the house my husband and I built in Livingston, Il.


Some little tidbits from early newsletters:

During the Civil War, the first Regiment, 7th Infantry, Companies F & K came from Macoupin County.

First Naturalization - "At the April term of Court, A.D. 1834, Thomas S. Gelder makes his written application to be naturalized, files his declaration and takes the oath prescribed by law, in open Court, which is ordered to be filed."

As will be observed from the above, Capt. Gelder was the first person to become a naturalized citizen in the county.

Macoupin County was organized January 17, 1829 from parts of Madison and the "attached part" of Greene counties.

As time permits, I'll write a few new lines for this space. I welcome any information you might have to contribute to this page.--Cindy Leonard.


JUST FOR FUN

If I don't make any typos, you should be able to find 30 Macoupin County towns/settlements in this word search puzzle.

SCOTTVILLEYBENLDENOCP
AHMODEELAAOELEPALMYEA
WHITECITYGCWVWARLTORT
YOLPIASAAEKOHCLWIOZCW
ELERMZOURROOPAMIVHUIA
RISITAXGMVUDLRYLIECAT
VDSLOVNUAMFBARRSSTORE
IATELVAACOEUIFAOMTMON
LRABIIXLODXRNONNTIEDF
LETGVRYTUEINVITVOCREA
ETIMEDOWPSTVIITISKMMR
ASOEEEDAITTWEBLLOSATR
GENDONALNOZNWZELNOCOW
EHOAMSLMSLLAEAWEEROLG
RCRLSSEWTOOMEDORTCULI
VRTCLEDEATWATEREFKPIL
IOHASLPATTOGROOAYZIEL
LDORCYRSITLADPNDIDAZY
LORLSAOTOECHOLSEINNXK
ERGRUBWENEWBERSRUSSLN

PLACES YOU SHOULD FIND:

Macoupin County Genealogical Society Homepage

Macoupin County, Illinois Homepage