Welcome to Madison County ILGenWeb
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
BRIEF HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United
States and father of our Constitution, Madison County was
established in the Illinois Territory on September 14, 1812 from Randolph and St. Clair Counties. At the
time it was established, Madison included all of the modern
state of Illinois north of St. Louis, as well as all of
Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In
1814, the formation of Edwards County removed almost half of the
eastern part, and the final boundary change came in 1843, when a
small portion on the northeast corner of Madison County became
part of Bond County.
On September 19, 1812, Illinois Territory Governor Ninian Edwards appointed Isam Gilham as the first Sheriff of Madison County, with William Rabb, John G. Lofton, and Samuel Judy as judges; and Josiah Randall as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. Josiah Randall was named Recorder, and Robert Elliott, Thomas G. Davidson, William Gilham, and George Cadwell were appointed Justices of the Peace.
Edwardsville, the county seat, was laid out in 1815 on the site designated by Governor Edwards in his proclamation organizing the county. It was named in his honor, and later became his residence.
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HARROWING JOURNEY FROM ALTON TO CHICAGO – 1855
17 Days in
Snow Drifts
Source: Alton Telegraph, February 26, 1885
Heavy snows had fallen before we left home in Alton on
January 24, 1855, but lacking our present system of telegraphy,
we had no means of knowing the risk of starting at such a time.
The way was clear on the Chicago, Alton, and St. Louis Railroad,
as far as Auburn, where we found 100 men at work, with many cars
and engines. We were late at Springfield, as we had two other
trains joined to ours, and six engines. There was a long delay,
and we heard some doubt expressed as to our getting through, but
the weather had moderated and we had no fear. We left
Springfield with two cars and three engines, reaching
Bloomington in five hours, where we were stopped for the night,
remaining in the car. In contrast to the present luxurious
sleeper, the car of those days had high, hard seats, no foot
rest, no racks for parcels, and was heated by a box stove in the
center.
The
next morning we left Bloomington at 10 o’clock, and arrived at
Lexington, sixteen miles off, at 6 p.m. There we were snowbound
indeed, a heavy snow and a strong wind had filled all the deep
cuts behind us, and our engines were out of sight in the drifted
snow, except a few inches of their smoke stacks. The next
morning four engines, with sixty men, and some of the officers
of the railroad, went out to attempt our release, and after a
hard day’s work, they returned to report three miles of track
cleared. At night it was all covered again by the wind. This
state of things continued for eleven days, the passengers
helping the wearied laborers by day, but the winds at night,
with the frequent snows, rendering their hard work useless.
In one party was a lady, 75 years old, and a delicate child
of 4 years. The child was soon taken ill, which added greatly to
our anxieties. For the benefit of both, bedding was borrowed
from a lady living near the station, and a resting place
arranged between two seats. Our meals were brought to us from
neighboring farm houses. On February 2, after bitterly cold
weather, the passengers again offered assistance, if the car
could be taken along. So again we started, and seven miles from
Lexington, out on Grand Prairie, our engine gave out, and we
froze fast in a cut. It was very cold, there was only a cabin in
sight, but from it we had a grand game supper, the farmer
apologizing for giving us such miserable eating, and was so
sorry the pork barrel was frozen solid.
Hard work freed us
from that position, and we reached Pontiac the second day. There
we stayed four days near the station, and again had meals and
bedding brought to us. On the morning of the seventeenth day
from home, February 10, we were told that the way was clear to
Chicago, and gladly started for that city, reaching there late
at night. After a few days rest, we continued our eastward
journey. One of our party, in returning west late in February,
came down from Chicago on the first train which left that city,
on the Chicago, Alton, and St. Louis Railroad after the snow
blockade was raised.
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