Trail of Tears Spring Meeting Set for April 14

The Illinois Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association will hold its spring general membership meeting at Camp Ground Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Anna on Saturday, April 14, at 1 p.m.

The gathering will kick off the Illinois Trail of Tears Oral History Project and all persons interested in the trail or that might have family stories or information relative to the trail are encouraged to attend.

The meeting will be an informal gathering where those with stories or information relative to their families and the Trail of Tears are invited to share them. Videotaping and audiotaping services will be available to record those stories. Individuals with stories to share may do so in front of a gathered audience, or privately in a small room if they prefer.

Also, everyone is asked to bring family diaries, newspaper clippings, photos, drawings, maps, documents and any other papers they may have relative to the Trail of Tears. Copying and scanning equipment will be available so that copies of these items may be added to the Illinois Trail of Tears Oral History Project and individuals can then take their original photos and papers safely back home with them.

Also, Harvey Henson of the SIU Geology Department along with some of his students will be demonstrating and explaining remote sensing techniques at the Camp Ground Church Cemetery.

The public is invited to the meeting. For more information e-mail Sandra Boaz at popeun@midwest.net or call her at 618-833-8216, or Cheryl Jett at c_jett@charter.net or by phone at 618-567-6895.

To reach Camp Ground Church take I-57 south to Exit 30. Turn west on Route 146. Almost immediately (200 feet) turn back north on Campground Rd. The church and cemetery is at the intersection of Campground Road and Tunnel Lane.

For more information on the Trail of Tears Association check out their website.

Historians Pleased With Trail of Tears Designation

The Southern Illinoisan's Dixie Terry follows up on the recent state designation of the Trail of Tears through Illinois with an interview with Gary Hacker, president of the Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society.

Leaders in Pope, Union and Johnson counties joined together in the past year to write letters of endorsement to legislators encouraging passage of the bill. "This shows what can be done - it gives us an opportunity to preserve our history," Hacker said. "Future generations will be made more aware of the Trail of Tears, following the legislation."

Hacker and others anticipate an increase in tourism in the area, thanks to the recently passed legislation. "The story needs to be told," he added.

Check out the full story at TheSouthern.com website.

Trail of Tears Updates

The Cherokee Trail of Tears is a part of Southern Illinois' history that it not well-marked or widely known. That's due in part to the fact that we are the only state along the trail that does not have an interpretive center along the route to educate tourists to the history.

While there is an effort underway to rectify that situation, two recent developments should help in the future.

The first comes from SIU. Geophysicist Harvey Henson just received a $30,000 grant to search for unmarked Cherokee graves presumably near Campground Church in eastern Union County near Anna.

The National Park Service and the University are roughly splitting the cost for the study, which researchers hope will identify the graves of Cherokee who died in Southern Illinois during the 1838-39 Trail of Tears forced relocation.

Stories passed down through generations said German settlers allowed the Cherokee to bury their dead in the cemetery during the harsh winter that trapped them in the area. Some records indicate about 400 Cherokee died here, but other reports claim the dead numbered up to 4,000.

Last year, Henson began searching the two-acre cemetery with instruments that allow researchers to peer beneath the seemingly undisturbed ground for indications of gravesites. Using magnetic, electric conductivity and ground-penetrating radar instruments, the team confirmed the existence of up to three unmarked graves in a relatively small part of it.

For more information check out the entire news release.

The second event also took place over the fall veto session of the Illinois legislature when they made Route 148 the official state historic route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The Southern has the story.

The National Park Service designated this this official auto route of the national historic trail back in the 1990s, but the state had never followed suit. This will help with future grant applications.