historical violence database

  • Data : United States : Illinois

Homicide in Calhoun, Henderson, and Williamson Counties, Illinois, 1812-1900

George W. Carpenter, John Lee Allaman, and Milo Irwin

Compiled by Randolph Roth

(October 2009 version)

The following data on homicide in Illinois were compiled by Randolph Roth for his study of American Homicide (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009). The data are from three counties.

  • Calhoun County

    • The data on homicide in Calhoun County, Illinois, are from:

    Carpenter, George W. 1981. "I Want to See a Lawyer": Murder in Calhoun, 1821-1981 and the Story of Our Calhoun Court Systems in the Past 160 Years. Hardin, Illinois: by the author.

    Carpenter studies the county court and the homicide cases that came before it. He relies for the most part on court records.

  • Henderson County

    • The data on homicide in Henderson County, Illinois, are from:

    Allaman, John Lee (1989) Nineteenth Century Homicide in Henderson County, Illinois: A Study of Court Records and the Press Media as Reliable Sources for Writing Local History. Ph.D. dissertation: Illinois State University.

    Allaman’s dissertation examines multiple sources (legal records, newspapers, diaries, local histories, etc.) to describe the homicides that occurred in Henderson County.

  • Williamson County

    • The data on homicide in Williamson County, Illinois, 1812-1875, are from:

    Erwin, Milo (1876) The History of Williamson County, Illinois. Marion: n.p. Reprint (1976) Marion: Williamson County Historical Society.

    Erwin’s history consults court records, newspapers, and oral sources to reconstruct the history of homicide in the county.