By: John Gresham, Pub. 1900, reprinted 2025, 300 pages, New Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-1-63914-627-7. Douglas county was created in 1859 from Coles County. It lies in the Central-eastern portion of the state. The early settlers of this region came mainly from the eastern states such as, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia as well as others. The first 100 pages of this book covers things as: early settlement, life on the prairie, life on the farm, pioneers, agriculture, courts, railroads, military records covering the Civil War, history of the various townships, followed by approximately 200 pages of 175 biographical sketches of these early settlers. These biographies were submitted by the family for which they are covering. This alone makes them uniquely authentic. The biographies of these early settlers predate the creation of the county showing birth places and dates in the early 1800's.