Union County: School land, classroom records and Dongola village decisions
Investigate early school-land sales, school registers and Dongola village records through the IRAD regional depository in Carbondale, with catalog spans and practical questions to ask.
Sources checked October 29, 2026. Holdings checked against official catalogs and repository descriptions. Staff-confirmed details are identified below; other holdings are based on published sources. No name-level search; dates do not guarantee complete coverage or online images.
STOP 01 / SIU IRAD
School land: financing education before the classroom record
An early school-land sale series offers a land-transaction route. The later district record can support a separate question about school administration.
School Land Sale Record 1831–1841 · Accession 6/0300/05
School District Record 1859–1940 · Accession 6/0331/01
A focused question to ask
Which lands or districts are represented, and are entries indexed by purchaser, legal description or district?
Evidence limit: A school-land transaction is not evidence that a child attended school. These separate series do not establish a direct connection between an early parcel and a later district.
STOP 02 / SIU IRAD
Classroom records: identify the school before searching a name
Daily registers and high-school permanent records are distinct series. Give the school or district and approximate years to narrow the request.
School Teachers' Daily Registers 1883–1966 · Accession 6/0331/03
School Student Permanent Record, High School 1901–1935 · Accession 6/0331/02
A focused question to ask
Which schools are covered, what indexes survive, and are there access restrictions for the requested student and years?
Evidence limit: County catalog dates do not establish coverage of every school, year or pupil. A missing entry in one volume is not proof that a child never attended.
STOP 03 / SIU IRAD
Dongola: distinguish village decisions from magistrate proceedings
Trustees’ minutes document village governance; police-magistrate dockets are a separate local judicial route. Match the record creator to the question.
Dongola: Village Trustees' Minutes 1900–1991 · Accession 6/0422/01
Is there a subject or name index, and which volume would cover my local issue or case in the target year?
Evidence limit: A docket entry is not proof of guilt or a final outcome. Village minutes do not enumerate all residents, and the two series should not be treated as one record.
IRAD is an Illinois Secretary of State program administered by the Illinois State Archives. Depository location: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Direct IRAD research requests to the regional depository, not the university’s separate archives or special collections.
Call before visiting the IRAD facility in the Library Storage Building, 1835 University Press Drive, Carbondale. It is separate from the main library. Follow the statewide telephone/mail request policy; reduced summer hours and university closures can affect access.
Start with no more than two names, approximate dates, the county and the record type. Include the township or school where known and the accession number above. Ask whether an index exists, which volumes survive and what copying will cost. For an unindexed series, agree on a manageable search before requesting a long period. The statewide policy directs research requests to telephone or mail rather than email; wait for a response before sending another request. See the statewide research policy ↗.
Request template: I am researching [person or place] in [locality] around [years]. Your catalog lists [title], accession [number]. Which volume covers that period, is it indexed, and how can I consult or obtain the relevant pages? Please let me know any gaps, restrictions and copying charges.
Collection dates at a glance
The table lists IRAD series with verified date spans. Community collections above may have different or unspecified coverage and separate access rules. Catalog spans are starting points, not guarantees of every year, locality or individual. Use the Research Planner to compare your years with these cataloged series.
Selected cataloged series for Union County
Record series
Catalog dates
Accession
School Land Sale Record
1831–1841
6/0300/05
School District Record
1859–1940
6/0331/01
School Teachers' Daily Registers
1883–1966
6/0331/03
School Student Permanent Record, High School
1901–1935
6/0331/02
Dongola: Village Trustees' Minutes
1900–1991
6/0422/01
Dongola: Police Magistrate Dockets
1912–1931
6/0422/02
Keep the record and your interpretation separate.
Save the depository, collection, accession number, volume, page, dates and any copy correspondence. Record uncertain names as uncertain. A shared road, school or signature can suggest an association; it does not establish a family relationship.
Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.