From the History of Williamson Co, Milo Erwin, 1876: "Illinois Territory was a slave Territory, and contained several hundred slaves; but the Constitution of 1818 prohibited slavery within the State; and provided for the manumition of the slaves. Most of the citizens of this county were from the South; but few of them brought slaves with them. Wadkins brought a negro with him, which he always called free, and Frank Jordan had two negro slaves with him. These were all that were in this county. Franklin County had a great many slaves, and the excitement on the question of slavery ran very high until 1818. The negroes were sometimes kidnapped and taken South, and sold, and sometimes taken East and freed. When the State was admitted, almost all the negroes were taken to Missouri and sold. When the question of slavery was settled beyond controversy, some of these negroes were brought back and freed, as provided by law. Alexander McCreery went to Missouri and brought back an old negress slave that his father had owned. He also bought her husband, Richard Inge, out of slavery for $300, and settled them upon eighty acres of land which, by frugality, they finally paid for, and ar enow living on, in the northeast part of this county. Four miles southeast of Marion, the Ellis' settled in an early day. They lived quietly, and raised large families. These, and a few negroes in the northeast corner of the county, were all the negroes in the county until after the war, when a few families settled near Marion. It was a presumption of the law that all negroes were slaves, and hence they could not settle in this county without proving their freedom. About the year 1857, a negro girl, living near Marion, was kidnapped by a band of ruffians, who started south with her to sell her into bondage; but such a thing was too grating to the souls of our people. The hue and cry was levied, and she was rescued from the life of a helpless, toiling slave , and restored to the liberty and freedom which God gave to all nature."