1918 Annals - Preface
This book is the product of the attempt in 1918 to celebrate the
Centennial of the admission of Illinois to Statehood. In accordance with a
state-wide movement, designed to preserve the annals of all the counties,
and properly to commemorate the creation of Illinois as a State, the County
Judge, Walter C Frank, Superintendent of Schools W. F. Boyes, State's
Attorney A. J. Boutelle, County Clerk Frank L. Adams and A. O. Lindstrum,
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, were designated by the Hon. Hugh
Magill, who had the State work in charge, to form in this county a Knox
County Centennial Historical Association, which should originate and carry
out in the schools of the county fitting programs, and which should arrange
for the collection of material for township annals, that should, with the
co-operation of the Board of Supervisors, be published and be preserved in
the schools and libraries of the county and in the State Historical Library.
At a meeting held on January 22, 1918, the County Centennial Historical
Association was formed with Superintendent W. F. Boyes as president and Fred
R. Jelliff as secretary, and with the following advisory committee: Mrs. A.
J. Boutelle, president of the Galesburg Woman's Club; Mrs. G. W. Thompson,
Mrs. T. C. Minehan, George A- Lawrence, Fred R. Jelliff, William Pearson,
president of the Galesburg Trades and Labor Assembly; Professor D. E.
Watkins, of Knox College; President J. M. Tilden, of Lombard College, and W.
F. Boyes.
At a meeting of this committee on February 5th, 1918, there was appointed a
committee, consisting of Professor Watkins, Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Jelliff,
authorized to arrange for the material for the township annals. Requests
were sent to a well-qualified person in each township in March, 1918, and in
nearly every instance there was a cheerful response. The late W. L. Steele,
so long superintendent of schools of Galesburg, was deputized to prepare a
general review of the county annals, while Mrs. R. W. Colville, Mrs. Martha
Farnham Webster and George A. Lawrence were authorized to arrange for the
marking of historical points in this county.
The advisory committee, of which W. F. Boyes was chairman, also considered
and outlined an elaborate program of celebrations for the schools of the
county, which was to culminate in a stately and beautiful pageant in
Galesburg with the entire county as guests. All plans, however, were
interrupted by the dreadful epidemic of influenza, which swept through the
county the fall and winter of 1918, bringing sorrow to many scores of homes.
The pageant and many other features of the year's program had to be
abandoned. Schools generally were closed to prevent the contagion from
spreading.
Meanwhile several of the township historians died. Superintendent Steele
suddenly passed away. Illness and other causes delayed some. The committee,
however, felt that it was due to those who had so generously prepared
manuscripts, to persevere in the preparation of material, with the result,
that due to the generosity of the Board of Supervisors, the publication is
at last made.
The committee is under great obligations to all who have contributed annals,
and to all others who have in any way assisted.
FRED R. JELLIFF, Secretary
WALTER F. BOYES, Chairman
Extracted 14 Dec 2017 by Norma Hass from Annals of Knox County: Commemorating Centennial of Admission of Illinois as a State of the Union in 1818, published in 1921 by the Centennial Historical Association, Knox County, Illinois, The Board of Supervisors, pages 3-4.
