Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a police ledger, correspondence, and ephemera from a sheriff’s department and jail in Union County, Illinois, 1926 to 1950.
Union County is located in southwestern Illinois. The population hovered around 20,000 residents from 1920-1950. Four Union County Sheriffs signed the front of the police ledger: George W. Lyerly (Sheriff 1928-1930), Robert E. Blaylock (1930-1934), E. Clyde McIntosh (1934-1938) and Roy Wilkins (1942-1946).
This collection contains a 1926-1950 police ledger from Union County, Illinois. The brown leather folio measures 17x14 inches and was produced by Pantagraph Printing in Bloomington, Illinois. The ledger lists names, dates, and descriptions of those arrested and taken into custody. Among common crimes such as robbery and disturbing the peace, the ledger also lists arrests for “malicious mischief,” “distributing stolen chickens,” and being “caught in peach orchard.” Also included in this collection are a variety of state warrants, bail postings, and correspondence from the department. One 1947 letter is addressed to the Sugar Rationing Administration in Springfield, Illinois, saying there had been an error and Union County inmates had not received their monthly sugar ration stamps.
The Library purchased this collection in 2022 with support from a gift given by Mary Sue Schusky in memory of her father, Irving Dilliard, Class of 1927.
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