Whoever looks at the records of early government surveys in the archives of southern Illinois counties will note the frequency with which the name of Rectors appears. This is explained by the fact that most of the nine Rectors brothers who came to Kaskaskia in 1806 were employed in the surveying of the public lands. One brother, John, was killed by an Indian in the northeastern part of Saline County on May 26, 1805. Another brother, William, became Surveyor-General.