John Lourie Beveridge correspondence, 1873-1877.
Series title: Governor, John Lourie Beveridge correspondence
Illinois. Governor (1873-1877 : Beveridge)John L. Beveridge (1824-1910), Republican governor of Illinois (1873-1877), was born in Greenwich, N.Y. on July 6, 1824. He moved to Illinois (1842); studied at Granville Academy and Rock River Seminary; and moved to Tennessee where he taught school, studied law and married Helen Judson (1845). After being admitted to the Tennessee bar, Beveridge returned to Illinois, settling first in Sycamore (1851) and then moving to Chicago (1854). During the Civil War, Beveridge helped raise the 8th Regiment Illinois Cavalry and served as a major in that regiment. Two years later, Beveridge became Colonel of the 17th Cavalry, which he commanded at the war's end, being mustered out with the rank of brevet Brigadier General. After the war, Beveridge was Cook County sheriff for four years.Beveridge was elected to the State Senate (1870) and served briefly in the General Assembly before being chosen Congressman-at-Large to succeed John A. Logan when he moved from the House to the U.S. Senate. In January 1873, Beveridge resigned his Congressional seat after being elected Lt. Governor. A few weeks later he succeeded to the Governorship when Gov. Oglesby was elected to the U.S. Senate. After leaving office, President Arthur appointed Beveridge Asst. U.S. Treasurer at Chicago (1881), a position he held until the Cleveland administration. Beveridge moved to Hollywood, Calif., when he died on May 3, 1910.Correspondence primarily concerns law enforcement matters such as strikes, mob disorders, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings, posses, militia law, extraditions, prizefights, bigamy, bastardy, grand juries, penitentiaries, wardens, jail escapees, commutations, executive clemency, and pardons. Correspondence also provides information concerning immigration, the Chicago Fire of 1871; the Constitution of 1870; the State House; insects; hog cholera; flax cultivation; geological surveys; oil; swamp lands; land patents; revenue laws; public charities; insane asylums; foreign insurance companies operating in Illinois; the Black Hawk War; internal improvement claims; Gatling-gun experiments; volunteers for Indian wars; dikes; canals, dams, and waterpower; state institutions and commissions; and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. The correspondence also contains letters and lists of volunteers compiled for a potential war with Spain or against the Sioux Indians in response to the Battle of the Little Big Horn.Record Series 101.017, Governor's Records, John Lourie Beveridge Correspondence, Illinois State Archives.Beveridge, John L., 1824-1910.Governors Illinois Powers and duties.Fires Illinois Chicago History 19th century.Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876.Indians of North America Wars 1815-1875.Mental health facilities Illinois.Geological surveys Illinois.Industrial relations Illinois.Finance, Public Illinois.Illinois Politics and government.Chicago (Ill.) History 1875-View this collection description in WorldCat.org: