Vespasian Warner Blog Page!

Pioneer Edom Shugart, the youngest in the Nathan Shugart family, was the first to conduct school classes in DeWitt County. After some time of moving from place to place, Edom decided to leave Iowa in 1852 and journey to Texas with his family. His travels, fraught with challenges from cholera and measles, are recorded in his journal, which includes some heart breaking entries.

The early education process was all about “readin’, ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmatic” – the three R’s – usually with a heavy dose of discipline.  Here in DeWitt County, schools began to spring up well before the official creation of the county in 1839. Explore how the schools in DeWitt County and the City of Clinton have evolved over the years.

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.

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.

This is the account of Evan Richards' voyage from DeWitt County to the Civil War and ultimately to his burial site in the Soldiers' Plot.

The library staff were honored to be asked to decorate a room at the C.H. Moore Homestead for the Christmas holiday tours again this year!...

Last week I noticed that some things at the library had been moved! As I looked around, I noticed this new "Local History" section! I...

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.”

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.

An outgrowth of an educational program that engages young people with African American history in Illinois, The Illinois Freedom Project...

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.