Recently I
visited Hardin County, Illinois, the county of my birth. While there, I stopped
to visit the Illinois Iron Furnace built in 1837, two years before the county
was formed. I had visited it before as my family used to have picnics under the
trees near the furnace when I was a child.
The furnace had fallen
into disrepair, but had been restored
with display boxes telling the story of the furnace and the surrounding
community. Interesting reading, but not exciting until I came to the last
box. In that box was a roster of workers
in 1850, including my great-great-grandfather, Morgan Smith, and his oldest
son, Rufus.
The 1850
Hardin County, Illinois census shows Morgan was age 46 and born Virginia and
Rufus was age 21 and born in Kentucky.
The occupation for both men was moulder, just as shown on the roster of
the Illinois Iron Furnace, so I knew their occupations, but I had never put it
together with the iron furnace. There it
was in black and white. This is where they worked. This is how they supported their family.
The moral of this story? Never pass up a chance to learn
something about your ancestor even if
the source seems unlikely.
Hardin County, Illinois
Photographed 3 November 2016
Illinois Iron Furnace Display Box
1850 Iron Furnace Roster
Fillers Moulders
Morgan Smith, Rufus Smith
Click on the photos for easier reading
Click on the photos for easier reading
Published 8 November 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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