[July 30, 2016]      

Bill Donath has completed his latest history of Logan County after five years of research. The title “Generosity: The History of Logan County, Illinois during the Great War 1917-1919” refers to the service Logan County provided to the United States’ war effort during World War I, sometimes referred to as The Great War.

Donath donated a copy of his book to the Lincoln Public Library on Thursday morning in a ceremony in the Carnegie building. Lincoln Public Library Director Richard Sumrall accepted the book on behalf of the library.

“Generosity” is the third book that Donath has written about Logan County. The first two books concern the contributions of the county to the Civil War. “Generosity” has been published just in time for the 100th anniversary of the United States entry into World War I in 1917. While the War ended with an armistice in 1918, it was not considered over until the formal treaty was signed in 1919. Logan County residents continued to serve in Europe until 1919.

Donath said, “I spent five years at the Lincoln Public Library every Friday doing research with their microfilm files. The Lincoln Public Library is a first rate resource for doing research on Logan County.” He also used the resources of the Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society.

Donath said, “I chose the title ‘Generosity’ for good reasons. The first part of my book chronicles Logan County’s overwhelming support of the war effort in all sorts of ways,” Donath said.

Bill Donath’s research has turned up two very important aspects of Logan County’s contribution to World War I. The first is the accurate representation of the number of county residents who served in the war. While official records list the number as 1,500, Bill’s research has confirmed that the number is actually 2,300.

The second is the six scrap books that reside at the library that were compiled by the Logan County War History Committee after the conclusion of the war. The scrap books contain photographs of county residents who served in the military, articles from newspapers throughout the county about residents in the service, statistics about who served, and general memorabilia from the time of what went on in the county to support the United States war effort. These books were a very important source for Donath’s research. He recognized their importance to Logan County history and their fragile condition so he digitized them. They are a tremendous research resource and valuable historical documents and are now available in a digital format. The physical scrapbooks themselves will no longer be available for public use, and will be kept in a controlled environment to preserve them. All thanks to Bill Donath and his tremendous research effort.

Bill Donath’s book is now available at the Lincoln Public Library. A copy may also be purchased at the Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society.

Curtis Fox

Bill Donath (left) presenting his latest book “Generosity: The Story of Logan County, Illinois during the Great War 1917-1919” to Lincoln Public Library Director Richard Sumrall.

 

One of the scrap books at the library that was compiled by the Logan County War History Committee almost 100 years ago.

 

These six scrapbooks were compiled after World War I, The Great War, by the Logan County War History Committee. The books reside at the Lincoln Public Library. They served as an important repository of information for Bill Donath in writing his book.

 

Photographs of some of the Logan County residents who served during the Great War.

 

Newspaper articles from Logan County newspapers chronicling the service of Logan County residents during World War I.