Scope and Contents:
This collection contains two record books of the Ladies Missionary Society of the Congregational Church in Tonica, Illinois. The first volume is dates 1903 to 1914, and the second is 1915 to 1927.
The village of Tonica, LaSalle County, Illinois, was founded in the mid-19th century as a stop on the Illinois Central Railroad about a hundred miles southwest of Chicago. The Congregationalist Church in Tonica was organized in 1857, with sixteen members. The Ladies Missionary Society of the Congregational Church of Tonica held its first meeting on March 4, 1896. All women members of the church were eligible for membership. The group’s goal was written in their constitution as, "aiding in the missionary enterprises of our denomination both Home and Foreign and by study to become informed in regard to our mission work everywhere also to increase missionary interest and zeal in our community."
This collection consists of two record books from the Ladies Missionary Society of the Congregational Church in Tonica, Illinois. The constitution of the society, as well as meeting minutes from 1903 to 1914, are written in the first volume. The second volume consists of the regular monthly meeting minutes from 1915 to 1927.
The Library purchased this collection with support from the Bruce C. Creamer fund in 2022, along with a record book from the Tonica Music Association (MS 1119) and a record book of the Tonica Grange Number 213 (MS 1121).