ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES

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JoDaviess County

Established
February 17, 1827 (Laws, 1827, p. 117)

Origin of the name of the county
Named for Joseph Hamilton Daviess, prominent lawyer of Kentucky, United States District Attorney, and Major of the militia. He was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in
1825–1827 — Putnam
1825–1827 — Henry
1823–1825 — Fulton
1821–1823 — Pike
1812–1821 — Madison
1801–1812 — St. Clair

County Seats
1827–  — Galena

History of county governing board
1827–1949 — County Commissioners’ Court
1849–1853 — County Court
1853–  — County Board of Supervisors

Township Government
Adopted — November 2, 1852

Township Names
Apple River — Formed from Thompson on September 13, 1858.
Berreman — Formed from Pleasant Valley on February 14, 1857.
Council Hill — Name changed from Scales on December 6, 1853.
Derinda
Dunleith — Formed from Menominee on March 2, 1865.
East Galena
Elizabeth
Guilford
Hanover
Menominee
Nora
Pleasant Valley
Rawlins — Formed as Grant from West Galena on July 12, 1887; name changed to Rawlins on December 20, 1887.
Rice — Formed as Washington from East Galena on February 22, 1859; name changed to Rice on June 16, 1859.
Rush
Scales Mound — Formed from Council Hill and Thompson on March 7, 1855.
Stockton
Thompson
Vinegar Hill — Name changed from Mann on September 18, 1857.
Ward’s Grove
Warren — Name changed from Courtland in 1865.
West Galena
Woodbine — Name changed from Jefferson on September 13, 1853.

Township Map

Pertinent Databases
Federal Township Plats of Illinois
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950
Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
JoDaviess County Almshouse Registers Index (1846–1938)
Local Governmental Records Database
Name Index to Illinois Local Governments