Vespasian Warner Blog Page!

Building his initial cabin on the northern side of Salt Creek, Elisha Butler went on to develop land in the area that would later be known as DeWitt County. Along with several business partners, Butler purchased government land, made enhancements, and then sold the land to settlers. Some of the well-known homesteads in DeWitt County were originally owned by Butler.

If your surname is Baker or you have Baker ancestors, as I do, you might have heard of the “Baker Hoax.” You see, scams are definitely not something that just came up in the 21st century. This particular scam, by some estimates, persisted for as much as a hundred years or more, despite the fact that it was disproven over and over.

The term "bound out" historically described the practice of placing children with another family to serve as indentured servants or apprentices. In return for food, shelter, and a basic education, the child would learn a trade to become a productive member of society. Children in DeWitt County were "bound out", but where did they end up? With a little digging, Terri shares some of their stories in this week's blog.

Terri from the DeWitt County Genealogical Society recounts the tale of DeWitt County pioneer and cabinetmaker Levi Davenport and the small table he crafted, which is kept at the library.

Baseball had earned a reputation as “America’s pastime,” and that moniker stuck for generations and was especially true in Kenney, Illinois.

In this final blog about the Soldiers' Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Clinton, IL, Terri highlights four notorious soldiers.

There are 80 gravesites in the Soldiers’ Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery, did they all die in battle?

Uncover 106 years of Christmas celebrations and advertising in DeWitt County newspapers.

From pharmacists to musicians, unearth the occupations of soldiers buried in the Soldiers' Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Discover the rich local history and evolution of the Soldiers' Plot monuments at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Uncover the captivating local history behind The Soldiers' Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery, featuring the legacy of George W. Gideon.

While the first Apple ‘n Pork is still well within living memory, the Festival is already in its 54th year. Apple ‘n Pork has its roots in the very earliest days of the DeWitt County Historical Museum, so we’ll start there.

A belated happy Juneteenth and July 4th, everyone. This blog comes later than I’d like, but it was important to me that I do my homework on today’s topic. Emancipation and Abolitionism are huge topics and I wanted to be sure I could touch on as many of the different personalities, groups, and historical currents that drove the Union to not just reunify the country, but towards “a new birth of freedom.”

Just over 52 years ago, between 30,000 and 60,000 people camped out on a muddy farm near Heyworth for Illinois’s own Woodstock: The Incident at Kickapoo Creek.

In today’s history blog, I outline the winding path Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere’s own company took to begin manufacturing Revere Ware in Clinton.

In today’s history blog, we begin tracing the path of the Civil War as the library’s namesake, Vespasian Warner, would have experienced it.

In today’s history blog, Carl Person stands trial for murder. Depending on the verdict, he’d walk away a free man, or hang at the gallows.

On December 30, 1913, Carl Person shot and killed the former police chief of Clinton, Tony Musser. Today’s blog covers the first two years of the 1911 Illinois Central Shopmen’s Strike, and how far Carl went to keep it alive.

Today’s history blog will explore the 1911 Shopmen’s strike, and the trials of quite possibly the most- sued man in DeWitt County.

This month’s blog focuses on a phenomenon I had assumed only really existed in movies and books, or maybe in the old wild west: jail breaks.