Edward Callary - Place Names of Illinois

EDWARD CALLARY

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
Urbana and Chicago

2009 by the Board of Trustees

of the University of Illinois

All rights reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

c 5 4 3 2 1

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Callary, Edward.

Place names of Illinois / Edward Callary.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-252-03356-8 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Names, GeographicalIllinois.

2. IllinoisGeography. I. Title.

F539.C35 2009

917.73dc22 2008012691

TO MY WIFE, JEAN, AND OUR CHILDREN, LAURA AND RAYCHEL

PLACE NAMES ARE THE ARCHIVES IN WHICH THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF A PEOPLE ARE STORED.

In the mid-1990s, at one of the annual meetings of the American Name Society, Kelsie Harder distributed an extensive bibliography of state place name studies. Most states (more than thirty at that time) had at least one comprehensive book dealing with the origins and significance of their place names; neighboring states were well represented, but there was only occasional and partial coverage for Illinois. Although there had been a number of forays into Illinois names, for the most part these were incomplete or outdated and frequently inaccurate, often little more than uncritical repetitions of hearsay and unreliable anecdotes. The most recent serious study, Virgil Vogels Indian Place Names in Illinois, was published in 1962. In the intervening years a great deal has been learned about the origins and evolution of names and the often-contentious, often-indirect processes of naming and name-changing, largely through the efforts of such professional organizations as the American Name Society and its sponsored projects, including the Place-Name Survey of the United States (now the Toponymy Interest Group) created by the ANS to stimulate interest in the collection and classification of names and aid in promoting and publishing the results of place name research.

One of the main reasons that a study of place names in Illinois had lagged behind that in other states was the lack of an umbrella organization to facilitate and act as a clearing house for name research. The situation was remedied in 1980 when Laurence Seits, then at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, founded the Illinois Name Society. Through annual symposia and its publication programs, the INS, later reorganized and expanded as the North Central Name Society (NCNS) provided an outlet for like-minded persons to gather, discuss, and share the results of their research into the sources and development of names, primarily those of Illinois. During the 1980s and early 1990s the INS and NCNS published ten volumes of proceedings and sponsored the Journal of the North Central Name Society. My work in onomastics, especially this book, owes a great deal to the opportunities provided by these organizations.

What, we may well ask, is the value of understanding the origins and development of place names? The simple answer is that our history and culture, our beliefs, ambitions, and dreams, are encapsulated in the names we give our communities, schools, churches, and the myriad natural and artificial features that surround us. The lives of Native Americans (Appanoose, Shabbona, and Waubonsee); French priests and explorers (Mermet, Marquette, and La Salle); national and local leaders (Douglas, Jefferson, and Grant); and less-well-known people from all walks of life (Percy, Songer, and Raymond) are compressed into Illinois place names. When we know the sources of the names and how they came to be applied, we gain useful insights into the political, cultural, and social forces that create and define society. As Donald Orth, former executive secretary of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, has said, Place names are the language in which the nations autobiography is written. My aim in writing this book is to contribute to the autobiography of Illinois.

Among the many people who made this book possible, I would like to recognize Kelsie B. Harder, one of Americas foremost scholars of names, for unfailing encouragement and friendship and Laurence E. Seits, founder of the Illinois Name Society. I am indebted to Michael McCafferty of Indiana University for generous assistance with names likely originating in Native American languages. I have not always followed his advice, but I am much wiser for his enlightening opinions and informed suggestions. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the Interlibrary Loan Department at Northern Illinois University and the directors of the Illinois history collections at Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

I am grateful as well to the following organizations, scholars, local historians, librarians, and resource people for providing specific information and offering many helpful suggestions and apologize to those I may have accidently overlooked:

Marilyn Ames

Dean and Nelda Anthony, Bond County Genealogical Society

Thelma Bishop

Clayton W. Brown, Kildeer

Frank Burkett, Hancock County Historical Society

Kathy Butcher, Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society

the Case-Halstead Library, Carlyle

Jennie Cisna, Mattoon Public Library

the Coles County Historical Society

Barbara Collins, Moweaqua Public Library

Linda Eder, Kane County Genealogical Society

Angela Garrett, Flora Public Library

Betty Gibboney, Lewistown

Cheryl Wixon Gocken, Iroquois County Genealogical Society

Stella Grobe, Lee County Historical Society

Wanda Groennert

Gary Hacker, Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society

Lori Hall, La Salle County

the Hamilton County Historical Society

Linda Hanabarger, Fayette County

Lecta Hortin, White County Historical Society

Martha Hotchkiss, McDonough County Genealogical Society

Noel E. Hurford, Historical Society of Hardin County

Betty J. Irwin, Athens, Georgia

the Jackson County Historical Society

Jenan Jobst, La Salle County Genealogy Guild

Sue Jones, Crawford County Historical Society

Fred Katko, Peoria County Genealogical Society

Jean Kay, Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County

the Kentucky Historical Society

Barbara A. Kessler, Putnam County Historical Society

Larry Lock, Kewanee Historical Society

Lois Lock, Jersey County Historical Society

the Logan County Historical Society

Curt Mandrell, Franklin County Historical Society

Virginia Mansker, Randolph County Genealogical Society

Michael McCafferty, Indiana University, Bloomington

Mildred B. McCormick, Pope County Historical Society

Hugh McMaster

Jan McGowan, Mt. Carroll Township Public Library

Marietta Nolte, Calhoun County Historical Society