Cedarville Area Historical Society

06/18/2026

Stephenson County is very lucky to have so many historical museums. Although they aren’t open every day they have a variety of open hours as well as open by appointment. Stephenson County Historical Society in addition to weekend hours has hours on Thursday and Friday.

To checkout hours and events of the Stephenson County Museums, click on the link below.

Open 1st & 3rd Saturdays 1-4 pm, June-Sept. Large historical post card and photo display. Inquiries: [email protected]

06/18/2026

Anna Marcet Haldeman-Julius was born on this day, June 18, 1887 to Alice (Addams) and Dr Henry Haldeman. She was a niece to Jane Addams.

Marcet was a stage actress (Stage name Jean Marcet) in her earlier years, a bank officer, author, publisher, playwright and civil rights advocate.

She was married to Emmanuel Julius in Cedarville Il on June 1, 1916. A short time after, Emmanuel added Marcet’s name of Haldeman to his name of Julius. Marcet and Julius had two children: Alice and Henry who both referred affectionately to their mother as Bo-Peep.

Marcet died on February 13, 1941 and as a Freethinker, she wanted a funeral service devoid of religious ideology.. readings from several paragraphs of the service were taken from Little Blue Book No. 1715, entitled "Funeral Services Without Theology. The Little Blue Books was a series of books extremely popular in the 1920s-30s and published by the Publishing company.

At her request, some of Marcet’s ashes were scattered from the high knoll in the Cedarville Cemetery on which the Addams plots are located, into the wooded valley below, a beautiful portion of the-Addams estate.

06/17/2026

On Tuesday June 2nd Dean Vander Zanden attended our monthly board meeting and presented the Cedarville Area Historical Society with $1500 grant which will be used to purchase new IT equipment to be used in the production of YouTube videos and FB live stream programs.

Adkins Energy LLC is a corn-to-ethanol and biodiesel production facility in Lena, Illinois, that processes corn into renewable fuels and co-products like distillers grains and corn oil for livestock feed.

Adkins Energy LLC is very supportive of the community and we thank them for this grant which will allow us to continue producing videos that focus on historical preservation of events and the lives of our community.

Pictured in this photo are Galen Bertram CAHS Treasurer and Dean VanderZanden, Controller-Adkins Energy L

06/16/2026

Velda Baal passed away on June 14, 2026. Velda was born to Rudolph and Phoebe (Ditsworth) Klenz

Velda married Donald Baal on February 14, 1954 and they had two sons: Stephen and Charles.

View Velda J. Baal's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

06/16/2026

Muriel Lincoln was born on this day June 16, 1920 to Theodore and Lydia (Holland) Poynter. Muriel married Orville Lincoln on May 2, 1944 while Orville was in the service. Orville and Muriel had one daughter, Cindy (Emil) Collias of Chicago; one son, Douglas (Jeannie) Lincoln of Freeport.

Muriel passed away June 18, 2006.

06/16/2026

John Untersee Jr was born on June 16, 1928 to John and Hedweig (Brandie) Untersee.

John married Donna Reed on August 6, 1949.

John was a cheesemaker for most of his working years. He and Donna had three daughters Candace Diddens, Julie Green and Cindy Tessendorf and three sons Scott, Kurt and Bob.

John passed away April 5, 2008

06/15/2026

Ryan Meyer of Freeport passed away on June 9, 2026. Ryan was born February 25, 1948 to Kenneth and Eldora (Hutmacher) Meyer. His early years were spent in Scioto Mills and then he moved to Freeport and then Pearl City. He married Jane Kuhlemeyer on April 12, 1969.

View Ryan Lynn Meyer's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

06/14/2026

Thank you to all who came out and supported our fundraiser at Sullivans in Lena. It was great to see members and meet new people. Many thanks to JR and his team who do a great job in setting up/taking down and keeping the operation running. And of course thank you to the volunteers who helped with grilling and serving food. (Not pictured Kelly and Jim)

06/14/2026

On June 14, 1777, a banner of red, white, and blue was woven into history when the Second Continental Congress passed the First Flag Resolution, making our beloved Stars and Stripes the official flag of our emerging Republic.

06/14/2026

Great way to spend an afternoon. Stop by McConnell Area Historical Society.

We will be open today from Noon until 4 pm.

Stop in and explore!