Are You Related?

The Clerks of the Court in Lawrence County Illinois from 1818-1879 were:  V J Bradley, James M McLean, E Z Ryan, Frederick A Thomas, John D Reiley, Jacob Young, S H Stiles, I McLean, G F Nigh, A I Judy and B L Cunningham. 

A list of judges who had presided since the organization of Lawrence County were: William Wilson 1821-1824, James O Wattles 1825, James Hall 1825, Wattles to 1826, Wilson 1827-1834, Justine Harlan 1835, Alexander F Grant 1835, Harlan 1836-1840, Wilson 1841-1848, Harlan 1849-1858, Ed Beecher 1859, Alfred Kitchell 1859-1860, Aaron Shaw 1861-1867, R S Canby 1867-1873, James C Allen 1873-1879, and John H Halley 1877-1879.

The Honorable W C Jones, one of the newly elected Judges, opened his first term of court as Circuit Judge in Lawrence County Illinois in August 1879.  A reporter noted that “His Honor’s youthful look with a countenance both child -like and bland was in marked contrast with former occupants of the wool sack (robe), notably Judges Shaw, Canby and Allen, but we would not advise anyone who has set the law at defiance to lean too heavily upon these looks alone.”

Are you related to any of these Judges? If you are, the Lawrence County Historical Society would like to hear about it and take your picture in the courthouse to post on our blog. So, Genealogists show us what you have.  The relationship doesn’t have to be a straightforward line, just has to be a connection.  Send it to lawrencelore@gmail.com