For the first time the most complete history of the Old Slave House is now available. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw tells not only the story of John Hart Crenshaw and his plantation manor, but also the stories of his victims, the ones he kidnapped and sold into slavery.

It's also a history of the saltworks in southeastern Illinois that served as the state's first industry as well as the major excuse to allow slavery in its various forms to operate within its borders.

The house has long been recognized for its ghosts — some have called it one of the most haunted sites in America. It's been recognized for its architecture — that's why it's on the National Register of Historic Places, and in September 2004, it was finally recognized for its history as a station on the "Reverse Underground Railroad" — the network of kidnappers that terrorized free residents of color in the border states with the ever-present threat of capture and sale into slavery.

The author Jon Musgrave cover the closing of the Old Slave House in the fall of 1996 as a journalist for The Daily Register of Harrisburg, Illinois, the closest daily newspaper to Equality. A week after it closed he joined the research team of Ron Nelson and Gary DeNeal that uncovered source after source of evidence that showed that the general stories long in circulation about the house were based on solid evidence.

Buy the book and read the real history of the Old Slave House.

Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois ISBN 0-9707984-1-5 464 pages. 6" x 9" Paperback. $24. Hardcover — SOLD OUT Jon Musgrave, editor. Publisher: IllinoisHistory.com.

The new Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois is a compilation of mostly 19th and early 20th century sources on Gallatin County's fascinating history. In other words you're reading the biography your ancestor wrote probably in his own words and syntax. The complete version of the 1887 History of Gallatin County as published by Goodspeed Publishing Company taken from their five-county history of southeastern Illinois. Everything's included as in the original, with the only changes of additional section headings and paragraph breaks as desperately needed. Not only are the original footnotes still there, but also new ones noting any corrections or addition comments as needed.

Miscellaneous Anecdotes of Early Gallatin County - a collection of writings on everything from the early saltworks to a sketch of the 1891 grand jury.

Military History of Gallatin County - a collection of writings on the military actions of Gallatin County residents from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War with a special focus on the frontier Indian battles in southeastern Illinois during the decade that centered around the War of 1812 as well as some of the actions taking place in the county during the Civil War. Also included will be complete rosters (as best as can be determined) of Gallatin County soldiers in the Black War, Mexican, Civil and Spanish-American Wars.

Gallatin County Biographies - More than 250 biographies will be included here pulled from the 1876 State Atlas of Illinois, the 1883 History of White County (which included chapters on the northern two townships of Gallatin), the 1887 History of Gallatin County, the 1905 Memoirs of the Lower Ohio Valley and the 1912 History of Southern Illinois. Also included are a handful of other miscellaneous biographies from a scattering of sources.

Plus... and probably most important of all to researchers... a full name and subject listing Index in the back of book. Every name is listed, women twice many times, once under their married name and again under their maiden name (if known).
In addition to the new annotated footnotes in the 1887 history portion, all the stories included in the Anecdotes and Military History are printed verbatim from the original source and are footnoted with the source. The idea has been to take all the good stories and original source material that's scattered and put it into one volume. The cover is full-color with a striking picture of the Bank of Illinois building in Shawneetown taken during the Depression.

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Lincoln: Fresh from Abraham's Bosom. ISBN 0-9707984-3-1 80 pages. 5.5" x 8.5" Paperback. $6.95 Special 2004 Election Edition Jon Musgrave, editor. Publisher: IllinoisHistory.com.

Lincoln is a collection of anecdotes and stories told by and on America's 16th President. First compiled during Lincoln's re-election effort the stories paint a picture of a wartime leader who never lost the common touch of his roots. Especially poignant are the tales when you realize that they were compiled in the darkest days of the Civil War when victory was not assured, or even Lincoln's own re-election. In addition to the numerous examples of the president humor, Lincoln: Fresh from Abraham's Bosom also shows Lincoln at his most eloquent and includes his first and second inaugural addresses as well as the famous Gettysburg Address. This 2004 edition comes complete with a new introduction, index, as well as detailed footnotes that help identity names and events long forgotten from the reader's school days.

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Gallatin County, Illinois, Slave & Emancipation Records, 1839-1849 250-plus pages. 8.5" x 11" Spiral-bound. $28. Hardcover. $45. John W. Allen, transcriber; Jon Musgrave, editor. Publisher: IllinoisHistory.com.

Spiral-bound Hardcover

Gallatin County, Illinois, Slave & Emancipation Records, 1839-1849, are all that's left of the second volume of slave records in Gallatin County. Though the first of three original volumes remain in the courthouse, the second volume (1839-1849) and the third volume (1849-1862) disappeared sometime after the 1937 flood. SIU-Carbondale historian John W. Allen found himself in possession of at least the second volume and transcribed those records in 1950. Since then that book has been lost and only the type transcriptions in the John W. Allen papers in Special Collections at SIU Morris Library have remained. Special Collections has given Jon Musgrave permission to publish photocopies of the transcriptions. He's included an introduction explaining how to best use the records as well as a full name and first name only indexes for the book. The records include emancipations of slaves, mulatto apprentices and indentured servants who either lived in, or was brought to, Gallatin County, as well as freedom papers filed with county officials by free residents of African ancestry who came to Southern Illinois. These records include the names of slaves or free persons, as well as those of owners, friends and public officials who vouched for the various claims. The records are priceless for African-American genealogists as they often provide names and locations of previous residences where they lived prior to moving to Illinois. They also provide significant genealogical information in regards to listing mothers, as well as children. Many of the records give detailed descriptions of the subjects involved. Up until 1847, Gallatin County included all of present-day Gallatin and Saline counties as well as the eastern third of Hardin County. Also included in the book are miscellaneous records concerning three early antebellum schools for African-American children and the last entry from the third slave registry, which was published elsewhere before the volume disappeared.

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Persons with questions regarding the books, or on Jon Musgrave's upcoming book projects, can contact Musgrave at jmusgrave@onecliq.net or by phone at 618-964-1730.

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Updated September 1, 2006 by Jon Musgrave
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