Welcome to the . . . . 
St. Clair County:
County Farm Board Record Index, 1874–1879

Compiled by the Illinois Regional Archives Depository System, 
Southern Illinois University



About the St. Clair County Farm Board Record Index

The St. Clair County Farm Board Record Index was compiled by Barbara Heflin, Assistant Supervisor of the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System. The 1,292 records in the database were extracted from the St. Clair County Farm Board Record (IRAD Accession 6/0024/11).

The County Farm Board Record is a record of meals given to paupers by the St. Clair County Farm between January, 1875 and August, 1879. The record reflects the hardships suffered during a period of depression. It is especially remarkable that the County Poor Farm recorded so much valuable information about persons who were basically transients. Usually the paupers spent no more than one day at the facility. However, some paupers periodically revisited.

The record shows the name, age, nativity, residence, and birthplace of the pauper as well as the date of admission and the date of discharge. All of the information found in the original record has been included in the database. The geographical place names given as birthplaces are literal transcriptions. No efforts were made to correct misspellings.
 


How to obtain copies of St. Clair County Farm Board Record

Although no additional information is available in the original record, copies of the record for individual paupers will be sent upon request. When requesting copies of the original record, please include the name of the pauper and the date of admission. Requests for copies of the original record should be made to the IRAD depository at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Call or write:

Illinois Regional Archives Depository
c/o Morris Library—6632
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-6632

Telephone: (618) 453-3040
Click here for more information about the IRAD Research Policy. Visitors are always welcome to view and search the records for themselves. The Illinois Regional Archives Depository at Southern Illinois University is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The depository is closed on all state holidays and any day that the university library is closed. It is always a good idea to call ahead before planning a visit.