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St. Clair County is the
oldest county in the U.S. state of Illinois; its existence actually antedates the establishment
of Illinois itself. Its county seat is Belleville. St. Clair County was the
first county established in what is today Illinois. In fact the county
antedates Illinois' existence as a separate entity. It was established in
1790 by proclamation of Arthur St. Clair, first governor of the Northwest
Territory, who named it after
himself. In its original boundaries, St. Clair county covered a large area
between the Mackinaw and Ohio Rivers. In 1801, Governor William Henry Harrison
re-established St. Clair County as part of the Indiana
Territory, extending its northern
border to Lake
Superior and the international
border with Rupert's
Land. In 1809, when the Illinois
Territory was created, Territorial
Secretary Nathaniel
Pope, in his capacity as acting
governor, issued a proclamation establishing St. Clair and Randolph County as the two
original counties of Illinois. The
following counties lie adjacent to St. Clair County, Illinois: Madison County (north); Clinton County (northeast);
Washington County (east); Randolph County (south); Monroe County (southwest); St.
Louis, Missouri (west); St. Louis County, Missouri (west) |
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Researching
by surname
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The following are
names of persons, found within our databases as having been either
born, married or died in this location. Names in dark red denote direct ancestral
lines. To find out more
about each surname listed click on the corresponding Link. |
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McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied
families (MMPS) |
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Alexander; Bennett; Fincher;
Hart; Lineberry; McCann;
Moreland |
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Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart
and allied families (BPQR) |
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Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families (DKPS) |
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Click on this link to find out more about each surname listed above
as well as other surnames found within our three family databases. |
This link will also lead you to surname resources at Rootsweb, and information about
the world-wide distribution of a surname. |
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Use this free genealogy site to help you get the
best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research.
It will create a series of different searches
using tips or "tricks" |
that will likely improve your
results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using
Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this
or any other
Surname. |
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ancestral gen-sites
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Our ancestors first came to St. Clair
County in 1833 when, our 4th great-grandfathers, George Moreland
and John Bennett, and the families of their married children, removed west
from McMinn County, Tennessee. This group included his son John Moreland, our
3rd great-grandfather, and his wife Sarah Bennett, a daughter of John
Bennett. It is believed that by 1835
they had settled near the town of Lebanon. It
seems that both Moreland and Bennett had plans to move further west into the
newly created State of Missouri. It is
believed that their soon after arrival in St. Clair County John Bennett and
his son-in-law John Moreland went on to Missouri to look for land and lost
their lives in an encounter with Native-American possible the Cherokees in
southern Missouri. By 1838 George
Moreland and his extended family had left St. Clair County and moved into
Missouri. It
appears that for the most part the Bennett family, having lost their
patriarch, and perhaps the zeal to move further west, had stayed in St. Clair
County. Our 4th
great-grandmother Rosanna (Lineberry) Bennett,
widow of the aforementioned John Bennett remained in the county. Her son, (our 3rd
great-granduncle) also continued to reside at the original 1835 homestead on
land that was then wild and unimproved.
Although he experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life
he developed a good farm from that raw tract of land on which he also
operated a coal mine. Jeremiah died
at his farm in O'Fallon Township in 1893. In 1850 Rosanna Bennett
was residing at Ridge Prairie. Within her household was her sons John and
William, grandson John Moreland (son of Sarah Bennett), daughter Eliza
Bennett (wife of James S. Fincher), and her grandson James Fincher. Rosanna lived the remainder of her life in
St. Clair County until her death in 1857.
She is buried at the Shiloh Valley Cemetery. It is most probable that even today
descendants of John and Rosanna Bennett still live in that county. |
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The A |
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from the keyboard you can
increase or decrease the zoom value in 10% increments. To zoom |
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Gen-site profiles
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Belleville; Bennett Homestead; Lebanon; O’Fallon
Township; Ridge Prairie
District; Shiloh Valley
Cemetery |
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Belleville
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION
OF GEN-SITE: Belleville the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, co-extensive with Belleville Township. The city of Belleville
was named by George Blair in 1814. Blair donated an acre of his land for the
Town Square and an additional 25 acres that adjoined the Square for the new
County Seat, causing the county seat to be transferred from the village of Cahokia. Belleville was incorporated as
a village in 1819, and became a city in 1850. |
Birds-Eye view
of Belleville 1867 Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: Records of ancestral Marriage, Birth, Death, Land, Probate and Court
records of transactions within St Clair County are located in the
Courthouse at 10 Public Square. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S): City of Belleville; The Belleville News Democrat Online; Belleville Public Library; |
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Bennett Homestead
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION OF
GEN-SITE: According to the 1892 History
of St. Clair County the John Bennett family came to the county in 1835 and settled near Lebanon,
and that Jeremiah Bennett, son of John
Bennett, had resided upon this same property.
The plat map at the right shows the property owned by Jeremiah Bennett
in 1874. The homestead is located in
O’Fallon Township a few miles west of Lebanon. |
Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: John and Rosanna Bennett; Jeremiah Bennett. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S):
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Lebanon
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION OF GEN-SITE: Lebanon was formally established in 1814. Like many other places in "Little Egypt" or Southern Illinois, Lebanon was named after the Middle Eastern country of the same name. Lebanon is home to McKendree University, the oldest college in Illinois. |
Historic St.
Louis Street Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: The town of Lebanon was
well established by the time the Morelands and Bennetts arrived in St. Clair County. As such it was the
social and economic center for that part of the county. Located only two miles east of the Bennett
homestead it is most likely that the family shopped here as well as attending
church and social events. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S): Lebanon Illinois Directory Page; City of Lebanon Illinois; Lebanon Chamber of Commerce; Lebanon, Illinois - McKendree University |
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O’Fallon Township
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION
OF GEN-SITE: O’Fallon Township was
established in 1883, when St. Clair County created 22 townships to administer
local government. Up to this time the
county was divided among some 14 districts.
During this time the western part of what became O’Fallon Township fell
into the Ridge Prairie District and the eastern part was in the Lebanon District. |
O’Fallon Twp.
Veteran’s Monument Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: The Bennett Homestead is
located in the southeastern portion of O’Fallon Township. Previous to 1883 it appears to have been in
the Lebanon District. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S):
O'Fallon, Illinois Township; The City of O'Fallon, IL; O'Fallon Township High
School; O'Fallon Twp., St. Clair
Co., IL (Detailed Profile) |
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Ridge Prairie District
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LOCATION: Ridge Prairie
(Geographic Feature) N38.585529° W89.979114°; Cross Roads (Populated Place) N38.592632° W89.966309° |
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DESCRIPTION OF GEN-SITE: Although it is not known when St. Clair
County adopted the boundaries of its 14 districts, the map at the right shows
the Ridge Prairie District as it appeared in 1875. According to the USGS Geographical Names
System, Ridge Prairie is the name of relatively level land area in the county west of the
community of O’Fallon. Also the USGS
identifies a populated place in the Ridge Prairie area now
know as Crossroads was also named Ridge Prairie.
Both locals and very close together, (see map coordinates above). The area known as Ridge Prairie may also
have been in the Bethel District of St. Clair County previous to 1850. |
1875 Map of
Ridge Prairie District Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: The separate households
of Rosanna Bennett, (see Family History Notes above), and her son Jeremiah
Bennett, are listed as households 5 and 6 in Ridge Prairie. Although the 1875 map at the right does not
include the location of the Bennett Homestead in Ridge Prairie the census
designated area named as Ridge Prairie probably did an may have extended east
to the Silver Creek, see sections 25 and 26 in the Lebanon District. Subsequent census documents for Jeremiah
Bennett do not use the Ridge Prairie census area designation,
rather they use the Township Range designation of Township 2 North, Range 7
West. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S): |
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Shiloh
Valley Cemetery
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION OF GEN-SITE: Also
known as Shiloh Cemetery it is located in the town of Shiloh on Church Street
at South Main Street. |
Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: Of primary interest is
the grave of Rosanna Bennett, at plot 74, and her son Jeremiah Bennett. |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S): Shiloh Valley Cemetery
(Bennett Surname); Shiloh Valley Cemetery (Find a Grave); |
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LOCATION: |
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DESCRIPTION OF GEN-SITE: |
Click on photo for larger image |
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ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE: |
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INTERNET WEB LINK(S):
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populated places
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gazetteer
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The list below will assist in your research
regarding the matching of your ancestor’s birth, marriage, death dates and
the place(s) within this locality at which these events may have occurred. |
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Profiles for 87 cities, towns and other populated places in St. Clair County, Illinois |
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Map of St. Clair County Illinois St. Clair County Physical, Cultural & Historic
Features | Schools |
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St. Clair County, IL, United States for the following information: Overview;
Maps; Townships; Cities;
Cemeteries |
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Links To Populated Places Within This County |
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