Franklin County, Illinois
Genealogy and History
Illinois Genealogy Trails
Volunteers Dedicated to Free Genealogy

 


Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by
transcribing genealogical and historical data and placing it
online for the free use of all researchers.

This Genealogy Trails legacy site has been retired and is not available for adoption.  
We do have many other county sites available for adoption, so......


If you have a love for history, a desire to help others, and basic webpage-making skills, consider joining us!
Get the details on our Volunteer Page.
[A desire to transcribe data and knowledge of how to make a basic webpage is required.]

line

We regret that we are unable to perform any type of personal research for you.
All data we come across is added to this site, so please keep checking back!


line

Franklin County History

Franklin county was formed in 1818 from territory formerly attached to White, Jackson, and Gallatin; the county seat is Benton. The courthouse, while partly protected against fire by its location in a public square, is not fireproof. The vaults are fireproof and though small are large enough to accommodate the records. The filing equipment, however, is old; the papers are in cardboard filingboxes fitted in wooden pigeonholes, and the books are stored on end in wooden racks. The courthouse of Franklin county was burned in 1843, practically all the records going with it.
(Source: Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, v. 12, 1915)


In consequence of the difficulties that existed among the Indians, there were no settlers this side of Equality until the year 1804, when seven brothers by the name of Jordan, John and Willing Browning, Joseph Estes, and a man by the name of Barbrey, a brother-in-law to the Jordans, from Smith County, Tenn., located in this county, and built a fort and block-house where the residence of Judge William Elstun now stands. These settlers were all related. John Browning's mother was Mollie Jordan, sister to the seven Jordan brothers. John Browning was the father of James and Levi, who were well known to nearly all citizens of the county. The latter still survives and is a prominent merchant at Benton. Elias Jordan, the father of Moses, was one of the seven Jordans. William Browning died in 1817. From the time of the building of the fort until about the year 1815, little or no attempt was made to cultivate the soil, the settlers subsisting almost entirely upon game, honey and a little corn, which they, by close watching, succeeded in raising and preventing the Indians from stealing. While these early settlers were thus fortified, and in the year 1812, James Jordan and Mr. Barbrey, while out of the fort gathering wood, were fired upon by the Indians. Barbrey was killed and scalped. James Jordan was wounded in the leg. After obtaining re-enforcements from Frank Jordan's fort, which was then located in what is now known as Williamson County, about three miles south of the first named fort, the whites started in pursuit of the Indians, and followed them as far as the , Okaw River, but did not succeed in overtaking them. Barbrey was buried at the fort and his grave still remains near the residence of Judge William Elstun. This was the starting of the first graveyard in Franklin County.
The Jordan settlement was made in what is now Cave Township.

James K. and William R. Browning, twin brothers, and sons of John Browning and wife, were the first white children born in the county. The were born Dec 24, 1810 in the old Jordan Fort.

The next settlement seems to have been made on Six Mile Prairie, in what is now Six Mile Township. In 1811 Charles C. Humphreys, grandfather of W. J. N. Moyers the present county judge, came from Philadelphia and settled on this prairie. His nearest neighbor was then twelve miles away. In 1812 he kept a ferry across Big Muddy, above the present site of Blairsville. Subsequently, on account of the hostility of the Indians, he moved with his family to Kaskaskia, and when it became safe he returned to his farm on the prairie, where he lived until his death. He was undoubtedly the first settler in that portion of the county.
[Source: "History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin, and Williamson Counties, Illinois : from the earliest time to the present, together with sundry and interesting biographical sketches, notes, reminiscences", 1887]

county map

Cities and Towns
* Benton * Christopher * Orient * Sesser * West Frankfort * Zeigler

Villages
* Buckner * Ewing * Freeman Spur (north half) * Hanaford
* Macedonia (west half) * North City * Royalton * Thompsonville
* Valier * West City

line

Franklin County Data

Cemeteries

Census Records

County Records

Death Records

Family Bibles and Records

History Topics

Marriage Records

Military Records

Obituaries and Death Notices

School Records

Wills/Probate Records

 

Website Updates:
Dec 2023: Crime News for TATE, HYNE, WITZHOFF
Burials in Maple Hill Cemetery for GROB
Marriage News for DEPONAI-RODMAN, REEVES-REEVES, CHAMNESS-WILLIAMS, STARR-DANIELS, FISCHER-POTTER
Gossip News for GRANT, ALEXANDER, FISHER, LEE, JOHNSON
Birth News for CRAMER


PREVIOUS UPDATES
 


line

SEARCH OUR SITES

SUBMIT A TRANSCRIBED OBITUARY to US

EMAIL US

line

Join our Genealogy Trails Mailing List

Our Midwestern States
Mailing List
covers the Midwest States of :

Illinois -- Kansas -- Indiana -- Iowa -- Missouri -- Kansas

line

Franklin County Clerk
202 W. Main
Benton, Illinois 62918

Clerk
618-438-3221
Vital Records

Circuit Clerk
618-439-2011
Court Records

line
 

Surrounding Counties


Williamson County | Hamilton County

Saline County | Jackson County

Jefferson County | Perry County

Illinois Genealogy Trails
Visit ILGenealogy Trails
 

Genealogy Trails History Group
Visit our National Site


MANY THANKS to our host Nanette Riley for all
her hard work on this site!

©2009-2020 Genealogy Trails History Group
©2007-2009 Nanette Riley and Genealogy Trails History Group


All data on this website is ©Genealogy Trails, with full rights reserved for original submitters.