Marion Illinois History Preservation

Shannon, William C. 1888-1976, Marion Mayor 1951-55

Posted on January 28, 2014 by wcihsJanuary 30, 2014

William Clark Shannon, who held public office in Williamson County for more than a quarter of a century, including those of Marion Mayor, City Magistrate, County Sheriff and County Treasurer, was born in Cannon City, Colorado to Abraham and Mary Shannon on March 13, 1888.

William’s father, Abraham was a full blooded Irish coal miner who was born in Northern Ireland in 1861 and immigrated in 1876, at the age of 15 to America to work the mines. He became a citizen in 1884. William’s mother, Mary, was full blooded English, but was naturalized by the process of her parents becoming citizens. Continue reading →

Johns, Harold Gene 1927-1984, State Senator 1971-1984

Posted on January 27, 2014 by wcihsJanuary 27, 2014

Harold Gene Johns, State Senator of the 57^th and 59^th District from 1971 to 1984, was born October 6, 1927 in Carrier Mills to Christopher Columbus Johns and Mabel Stricklin.

When the 1930 Federal Census was taken, the Johns family was living in the city of Harrisburg at 620 S. Main Street, which they rented for $15 a month. His father, Columbus, was 32 years old and a native of Alabama, who worked as a room boss for the Sahara Coal Company in the Sahara No. 7 mine. Gene’s mother, Mabel, was only 26 and was born in Illinois. There were three sons in the home, Bronzel Johns, the oldest was 7, Tommy Johns was 5 and Harold Gene Johns was 3 ½ years of age. Continue reading →

Dingrando, Leo J. 1935-2004

Posted on January 25, 2014 by wcihsJanuary 25, 2014

Anyone who grew up in Marion and participated in sponsored youth activities between the late 1960’s and into the 2000’s has an extremely high probability of having encountered Leo Dingrando. Leo selflessly dedicated uncountable hours of his time to youth programs and was a well-loved figure in the Marion community for nearly four decades.

Leo Junior Dingrando was born on June 11, 1935 in Marion at 704 W. White Street to Leo Dingrando and Catherine Duvardo, the youngest of four sons. He grew up as a devout member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church. Continue reading →