William Waits Gillham b. 9 Jan 1872 Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A. d. 20 Apr 1928 Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.: FamRoots.Org

1872 - 1928 (56 years)

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Name	William Waits Gillham
Born	9 Jan 1872	Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
Gender	Male
Died	20 Apr 1928	Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
Buried	Diamond Grove Cemetery, Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
Notes	U.S. Census Ward 2, Jacksonville, Morgan County, IL 1910: "William W. Gilliam, age 38 b. Abt. 1872 Illinois, parents b. Kentucky, self-employed mortician, and wife Eva D., age 35 b. Abt. 1875 Illinois, father b. Kentucky mother b. Illinois. Father-in-law: Leven M. Davenport, age 76 b. Abt. 1834 Kentucky, father b. Kentucky mother b. Ohio, widowed. Fanny Hogan, age 25 b. Abt. 1885 Missouri parents b. Missouri, Mulatto, servant." HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS & HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY (Munsell Publishing, 1906.): "GILLHAM, William Waits, a well known undertaker of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born on the old Gillham homestead, fifteen miles west of Jacksonville, January 9, 1872, the son of William A. and Rebecca (Waits) Gillham, who were natives respectively of Illinois and Kentucky. The founder of the American family was Thomas Gillham, a native of Northern Ireland and of the Presbyterian faith, who came to the United States in 1730 and settled in Virginia. He was the father of seven sons and four daughters, and all his sons and his four sons-in-law served in the Revolutionary War. The author of a "History of the State of Illinois," published in 1849, says that the Gillhams were strong supporters of morality and order. Though born in a slave State they recognized the corrupting influence of that institution, and firmly opposed its introduction into Illinois. The same authority claims that the Convention party of 1824 owed its defeat to the Gillham family and their kinsmen, who, in an almost solid phalanx, cast 500 votes against the proposition to make Illinois a slave State. James Gillham, one of this stalwart company and the grandfather of William W. Gillham, moved to Illinois from the Carolinas in 1805, taking up Government land in what was afterward Morgan County, and is now in Scott County which has remained in the same name, as when preempted from the Government. James Gillham died in 1869, honored and beloved by a host of friends. Judge William A. Gillham was born on this farm in September, 1833. He was educated at McKendree College and Illinois College. He served four years as County Judge of Scott County, and was widely known for the impartiality and inflexible justice of his judicial rulings. In 1856 he was united in marriage with Rebecca Waits, who was born in 1836, in Harrison County, Ky. He departed this life at the old home, June 27, 1902. William W. Gillham attended the public schools in boyhood, afterward graduating from Eureka College, and from the United States School of Embalming in New York. After finishing his preparation for practical life, he located in Winchester, Ill., where, in 1896 he established the firm of Gillham & Barton, undertakers. In 1898 he moved to Jacksonville, where he established a rapidly increasing business. Mr. Gillham is a member of the Illinois State Undertakers' Association. On November 27, 1901, Mr. Gillham was united in marriage with Eva Davenport, of Jacksonville, daughter of L. M. and Adeline (Magill) Davenport. Fraternally, Mr. Gillham is affiliated with the A.F. & A.M., Jacksonville Lodge, No. 570; Illinois Lodge, No. 4, I.O.O.F.; K. of P. Lodge, No. 152; M.W.A. Lodge, No. 912; D.O.K.K. Lodge, No. 62; and Delaware Tribe, I.O.R.R. Religiously, Mr. Gillham is a very active member of the Christian Church, in which he was elected Deacon in 1904. He also has the honor of serving on the board which supervises the erection of the new Christian Church edifice in Jacksonville." Find-A-Grave: "William Waits Gillham, Birth: Jan. 9, 1872, Illinois, U.S.A. Death: Apr. 20, 1928, Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A. (WIFE EVELYN DAVENPORT MARRIED 27 NOV. 1901 MORGAN CO. ILLINOIS. ILLINOIS DEATH CERT.-2690186. FATHER WILLIAM ASBURY GILLHAM AND REBECCA ANN WAITS.) (WILLIAM ASBURY WAS BORN 6 SEP. 1834 ILL. DIED 27 JUN 1902 ILL. DEATH CERT.- VOL-1 PAGE- 52 CERT.-49 WEST OF RIGGSTON, SCOTT CO. ILL. BURIED GILLHAM CEMETERY, SCOTT CO., ILL. WIFE REBECCA ANN BORN SEP. 1837 HENDERSON CO., KENTUCKY DIED 26 MAR. 1906 SCOTT CO., BURIED GILLHAM CEMETERY SCOTT CO., ILL. CHILDREN CARRIE, MARTHA GERTRUDE, JAMES EDWARD, MAUDE ANNETTE (GORDON), JESSE LOFTON. JOHN WESLEY, WILLIAM WAITS, NANNIE E.
Person ID	I37441	Complete
Last Modified	14 Jun 2011

Father	William Asbury Gillham, b. 6 Sep 1834, Illinois, U.S.A. , d. 27 Jun 1902, Illinois, U.S.A. (Age 67 years)
Mother	Rebecca Waits, b. Sep 1837, Harrison County, Kentucky, U.S.A. , d. 26 Mar 1906, Scott County, Illinois, U.S.A. (Age ~ 68 years)
Married	Abt. 1856	Illinois, U.S.A.
Family ID	F18042736	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family	Eva D. Davenport, b. Abt. 1875, Illinois, U.S.A , d. Abt. 1961, Illinois, U.S. (Age ~ 86 years)
Married	27 Nov 1901	Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
Last Modified	14 Jun 2011
Family ID	F18042729	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

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	Born - 9 Jan 1872 - Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
	Married - 27 Nov 1901 - Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
	Died - 20 Apr 1928 - Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.
	Buried - - Diamond Grove Cemetery, Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A.

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Court House of Morgan County, Illinois, U.S.A., built 1869

"White & Borgognoni Architects, P.C., June 8, 2009:

The following historical information was obtained from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, prepared in April 1986. The Morgan County Courthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Three successive courthouse buildings have served Morgan County. The third, and present, courthouse building was completed in November 1869. The building is a three-story, detached, limestone masonry block example of an eclectic blend of the towered Italianate Villa with the French Second Empire style. The unmatched towers at three corners of the building give emphasis to the vertical, architectural design. The architect for the building, Gurdon P. Randall, of Chicago, designed courthouses, schools, and churches in the Midwest. The Morgan County Courthouse is an excellent example of his work. When completed, the building cost $204,000.00 to construct.

Exterior Design and Modifications

The exterior walls of the present courthouse were constructed of limestone, quarried at Joliet, Illinois and shipped to Jacksonville by rail. Smooth sawn blocks were used for the wall surfaces. Rusticated blocks of stone were used at the base of the building and to create quoins at the corners of the building, and give a solid permanence to the structure. Extruded belt coursings, corner piers, paneled friezes, and scroll-shaped stone cornice brackets were used to emphasize the monumental character of the building’s design. Stone hoods cap the round-top windows. The roofs of the main building are straight-line mansards. The towers at the southwest, southeast, and northeast corners of the building have straight-line mansard roofs. The northeast tower is the flue for the building’s heating plant. The mansard roof of the main building is interrupted by a low gable roof facing east and west. A flat section of roofing is located behind
the upper edge of the main mansard roofs. Arched-top dormers, constructed of wood, break out of the mansard roofs of the southwest and southeast towers. Originally, bulls-eye windows were located in the east tower and front mansards."