Editor’s note: Stan Mitick took the photograph of the Editor.
Naming a person, place, or thing is determined by reason, even if lost to time. We have ample criteria to support the name of Whiteside County. In fact, the name”Whiteside City” would have been more appropriate for our town than Morrison. Charles Morrison, a wealthy New York businessman, was given the honor of the town’s name in 1855, but this was most-likely a ploy to secure his investment capital. Even though business losses left him in no position to help, the name stuck. He never visited Morrison, IL–except when the Morrison Sesquicentennial Committee resurrected him, during the 2005 year-long celebration. Thanks to Rev. Dan Swinson for his portrayal.
Stephanie Vavra explained the significance of Whiteside, during a 1:30 p.m. program on Sunday, October 9, 2016, at Morrison’s Heritage Museum, 202 E. Lincolnway, Morrison, IL. She is a Trustee of the Morrison Historical Society Board.
Above is the only known photograph of Samuel Whiteside. His family moved to Hull’s Landing in 1793, south of Columbia, IL. As a child, he was traumatized during an Indian raid that resulted in the death of a brother and cousin. He escaped with his mother, and they ran into the forest. He spent the rest of his distinguished military career avenging those deaths and protecting white settlers in northern Illinois.
During the Black Hawk War of 1831-1832, Brigadier General Whiteside commissioned 23-year-old Abraham Lincoln as a Captain in the Illinois Militia. Lincoln led a company of volunteers under Whiteside’s command for one month.
Whiteside served as the first Representative (from Madison County) in the 1818 State Legislature and helped choose the State’s Capitol, Kaskaskia. From 1819 to 1821 he served in the Illinois General Assembly. 
On the mantle is the last, 48-star flag that flew atop the USS Whiteside (AKA-90), a 1940’s era Andromeda-class attack cargo ship. The vessel is shown underway in the photograph and below.
Both items were presented to the Whiteside County Board on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, by a veteran yeoman who served aboard the ship, Arlo W. Ericson, of St. Louis, MO. Board Chair James Duffy, left, received the flag from Ericson, right.
