William N. Mitchell was the paternal ancestor of a long line of prominent citizens, he served as Williamson County Clerk, Marion Postmaster, was the fourth and last person to serve as President of an incorporated Marion Board of Trustees before Marion started using the Mayoral form in 1874 and he helped organize and ran on the first ever Republican ticket in Williamson County, not to mention his involvement in the first Republican county newspaper. Continue reading
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John K. Miller, active Marion Lion, Shriner, Fair Board and Marion Park District member, was born on March 3, 1918, in Marion on S. Court Street to Ray Miller and Ruth Kilbreth. Miller received his education in Marion schools and also attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Continue reading
Clyde Owen Maynard, one of the original Marion Park District Commissioners in 1957 and an active civic leader, was born April 18, 1912, in Herrin to Otis A. Maynard (1882-1926) and Nellie Williams (1887-xxxx).
The 1920 federal census found 7 year old Clyde in his parents’ home at 1004 S. 13th Street in Herrin, Illinois, which they owned free of mortgage. His parents were aged 36 and 32 respectively and his father was working as a mine boss. Siblings of Clyde living in the home were Ruth 14, Leonard 13, Paul 11 and Marvin age 4. Continue reading
Ray Miller, teacher, principal, county officer, and a second generation Fair Board member, was born on April 26, 1891 in Williamson County to John Goodall Miller and Mary Ellen Krantz on a farm in Southern Township.
Nine years after Ray was born, according to the 1900 federal census, the family was living in Southern Precinct on the Miller family farm which they owned free of mortgage. Southern Township/Precinct starts just north of the Marion City Lake and included the villages of Hudgens and Chamness, extending south to Pulley’s Mill where Johnson County starts. Ray’s parents were farmers and were both in their mid-30’s. Children present in the home at the time were Ray aged 9 and daughter, Jessie M. aged 6. Ray’s mother indicated that she had birthed three children with two surviving indicating the loss of one child already in their marriage. Continue reading
Eugene Wilmer Morrison was born May 27, 1904 in a house in Marion on west Main Street located in the block across the street from the C&EI railroad station and about a block east of there. He was the son of Frank E. Morrison and Classena Wilmer.
When he was real small they moved to 701 N. Van Buren St. on the southwest corner of N. Van Buren and Boulevard. He lived there until the summer of 1921 when he was 17 years old and they then bought the house at 515 S. Market St. Continue reading