Will County ILGenWeb

These pages are a part of the ILGenWeb Project. They provide a resource for genealogists searching in Will County, Illinois. You can post queries about surnames you are researching, see who else might be researching the same names as yourself, ask volunteers to do reference look-ups, volunteer to do reference look-ups, and get information on searching in Will County. My name is Dennis Partridge, and I am currently the host of Will County, you can contact me here, if you have any questions. I do not live in Will County, nor Illinois, but I will attempt to answer your research questions or point you in the direction of somebody who can.

Biography of W. J. Adam of Joliet, Illinois

W.J. ADAM, Secretary of the Adam Manufacturing Co., Joliet; is a native of Joliet; he was born Sept. 18, 1851. He is a son of William ADAM, who came to Joliet in 1849, and has been a prominent business man here ever since. Mr. ADAM was educated in the public schools of Joliet, and at Jennings Seminary in Aurora, Ill., graduating from the scientific department of the latter institution in 1870; the following year, he entered the employ of Adam & Wilcox, and two years later became a member and the managing partner of the firm of William Adam & … Read more

P. H. Adams of Crete, Illinois

P. H. ADAMS, farmer; P. O. Crete; is one of the old settlers of Will Co.; was born in Rutland, Mass., Dec. 17, 1804, and is the son of Rubin ADAMS, of Massachusetts, a blacksmith by trade; when he was very young, with his parents, moved to Massachusetts, thence to New Hampshire, from there to Vermont. Mr. ADAMS, when he was about 23 years of age, learned the carriage-making trade. While he was in Vermont, he married Mary CLARK, of Massachusetts; in 1845, with family, came to Illinois and settled on the present homestead; here he has lived ever since; … Read more

Biography of Schuyler Ackerman of Wilmington, Illinois

Schuyler ACKERMAN, farmer; P. O. Wilmington; was born in Passaic Co., N. J., May 4, 1834, and is the son of John V. W. and Helen ACKERMAN, of New Jersey; his father was, a farmer, died in 1859, 56 years old; his mother died in 1878, 74 years old; Mr. ACKERMAN was raised on his father’s farm; in 1857, with his brother Henry, they emigrated West to Illinois, and settled in Wesley Twp.; here he has remained ever since, engaged in farming. His brother, James E., was in the late war; participated in some of the prominent battles. Mr. ACKERMAN … Read more

Biography of George Abbott, Sr. of Joliet, Illinois

1878 History of Will County, Illinois George ABBOTT, proprietor of the New England Restaurant, Joliet was born in Keene, N.H., Dec. 1, 1829; there he resided until 1853, when he went to Missouri, and remained two years, returning to Keene. He shortly afterward came to Illinois, and after spending one year in Rockford, settled in Joliet, in October, 1857; in 1858, he engaged in the restaurant business, keeping the Rock Island Railroad Restaurant for eight years. He is the oldest restaurant man in the city; in March, 1866, he started the New England Restaurant. He was married in February, 1855, … Read more

Earliest History of Will County, Illinois

Indian Boundary Line

The reader has perhaps observed on the maps of this State two lines running parallel to each other and diagonally across the townships, and called the Indian Boundary. The land included between these lines – a strip twenty miles wide – was surveyed in 1821-22 (the Indian title having been extinguished to this in 1818) for canal purposes, as hereafter explained. The land lying outside of this was surveyed in 1837-38. Consequently the portion lying between these lines was brought into market earlier than the other. At the time of the first survey, the parties who did the work were … Read more

Topography of Will County, Illinois

The Eagle Lake Farm

The county is largely prairie, although it exhibits a great variety of soil and surface. There are several townships in which there is not a stick of timber (except as introduced by cultivation), yet considerable bodies of timber are found along the streams, and in isolated groves which were early called “islands.” In the early settlement of the county, and of the Northwest generally, the settlers were very careful to select locations adjacent to some grove, and to secure a timber lot was deemed indispensable to settlement. It was then supposed that the prairie land two or three miles from … Read more

Family of Grover Ayers Earls and Eva Salina Lumbard Earls

Earls family from Joliette IL

(7) (Vol. 1, #1131) Family of Grover Ayers Earls and Eva Salina Lumbard Earls taken in 1912 in Joliet, Illinois. Back row, left to right, Angelica Gladys 1901-1973, Jeanie Ella 1898-1969, Mable Emma 1896-1947, Alice Flora 1891-1980, Gracie Gloria 1889-1966, Elsie Mary 1894-1984, Esther Parnel 1892-1964, Ada Ruth 1899-1990; front row, left to right: Clarence Henry 1888-1975, Eva Salina 1867-1930, Dorothy Loretta (baby) born 1911, Edna Pearl born 1908, Grover Ayers 1862-1941, Eva Marguerette 1903-1978, and Mildred Hattie 1905-1984. The Earl family lived on Roosevelt Ave., Joliet, Illinois at the time of this picture. Their daughter, Edna, remembers going to … Read more

Real Estate Owners J Surnames

Real Estate Owners extracted from History of Will County, Illinois Wm. LeBaron, Jr., & Co. 1878 Submitted by Margie Glenn J Surnames

Will County Illinois Genealogy Queries

I invite you to enter a query for your Will County ancestors by adding a comment to this page. A few basic rules for posting your query: Example of a good query: Looking for information on John DOE, b: abt 1842 in GA, d: unk. Family tradition has it that John came to Will County abt 1885 with friends he fought with in the Civil War. Old Queries

Miscellaneous Will County Marriages

Johnson & Christensen Elwood Married-At the Presbyterian church Saturday, Feb. 11, 1899, Edward JOHNSON and Anna S. CHRISTENSEN, Rev. C.S.ADAMS officiating. There was between thirty and forty of the most intimate friends of the contracting parties present. After the ceremony a splendid banquet was served at the home of the bride’s parents. The young couple left on the Sunday evening train for an extended wedding trip. They will be at home to friends at the residents on the CHRISTENSEN farm, east of Elwood, in the course of three or four weeks. We all join in wishing them long, happy and … Read more