Person:John Hamilton (132)

Information on John Hamilton

From "The United States Biographical Dictionary:

HON. JOHN M. HAMILTON.

BLOOMINGTON.

John Marshall Hamilton, Governor of Illinois, dates his birth at Richwood, Union county, Ohio, May 28, 1847, being a son of Samuel and Nancy (McMorris) Hamilton. His grandfather, Rev. William Hamilton, and a brother of that grandsire, Rev. Samuel Hamilton, were among the pioneer Methodist preachers in what is now the great state of Ohio, going there when it was little more than an unbroken wilderness, and beginning their preaching in log houses.

The grandmother of our subject was a Ewing, and related to General Thomas Ewing, once a conspicuous figure among 'the magnates of the Buckeye State. The McMorrises were Scotch-Irish, from the North of Ireland, and early settlers in Virginia, being related by marriage to General Turner Ashby, the noted rebel, the Youngs and other prominent Virginians, and to Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky, the middle name of our subject coming from the last named family.

In 1854 Samuel Hamilton moved with his family to this state, settling on a farm, in Marshall county, where he still lives, his wife being dead. John was reared on his father's farm, and attended a country school during the winter terms until sixteen years old; in 1864 he enlisted as a private in company I, Illinois infantry, and served about seven months.

Leaving the army and returning to Illinois he attended an academy at Henry, Marshall county, one year, and . then entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and was graduated in 1868, standing third in his class. He taught during the next year in the academy at Henry; was then appointed to the Latin chair in the Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, and while thus engaged in teaching, took up the study of law with Weldon, Tipton and Benjamin.

Mr. Hamilton was admitted to the bar in May, 1870, and after being in the office of his preceptors a few months, formed a partnership with Jonathan H. Rowell, and the firm of Rowell and Hamilton still continues, being one of the leading law firms of McLean county. Their business extends into all the courts of the state and of the United States. A Will county paper thus speaks of Mr. Hamilton as a lawyer and public speaker:

"Mr. Hamilton stands in the highest rank in the legal profession of this state, having enjoyed for a number of years a good practice in both civil and criminal cases in McLean and adjoining counties. Although still a young man, his dignified bearing and manly presence, united with broad and comprehensive qualities of mind and sound judgment, have gained for him an enviable reputation among the leading men of the state. Senator Hamilton is a natural born orator, and his speeches are characterized by a depth of learning, breadth of research, and comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, which shows strength of mind and earnest cultivation, while his command of language, and ready simile and metaphor, and graceful gestures, make it a pleasure to listen to him. Mentally, morally, socially, financially and physically, Mr. Hamilton is sound."

Governor Hamilton was vice-president of the State Bar Association for two terms, and was elected to the state senate for the 28th senatorial district in 1876, and served the full term of four years, being president pro tern, during the last two. He was also chairman of the committee on miscellaneous business and geology and science; was second on the judiciary committee, and likewise was on the committees on education, appropriations, state charitable institutions, etc.

A local journal thus spoke of his work in the senate:

"Mr. Hamilton's public career began in 1876, when he was elected to the senate by a majority of 1,640 over the combined democratic and greenback vote. From the time he took his seat in the senate, Mr. Hamilton addressed himself to his duties with an earnestness and industry that soon won for him the confidence and respect of his constituents, and made him an influential and prominent member of the senate. He introduced and procured the passage of the bill establishing the appellate courts, and was the author of the bill establishing the state board of health, both of which institutions have proven to be of great benefit to the state. The bill providing for the organization of the state militia owes much to his skill and ability as a parliamentarian during the terrible struggle in the senate over its passage in the winter of 1877. Upon the assembling of the 3ist general assembly, Mr. Hamilton was the recipient of an honor that seldom falls upon any man, in being unanimously chosen by the republican caucus as candidate for president of the senate, to which position he was elected, receiving the entire party strength. In this position Mr. Hamilton displayed rare qualifications as a presiding officer, and by his thorough knowledge of parliamentary law, his strict impartiality and uniform courtesy, he won the highest commendations from his fellow senators, without regard to political differences."

Mr. Hamilton made such a good record in the state senate, and so distinguished himself, that in 1880 he was put upon the republican state ticket for lieutenant-governor, and made a gallant fight and successful canvass. As president of the senate he is prompt', impartial, and alert; just the man for the place. In January, 1883, upon the election of Governor Cullom to the United States senate, Mr. Hamilton succeeded him to the governorship of the state. For the duties of this honorable position he was amply fitted, bringing to it a rich and varied experience, and his official acts have uniformly been characterized by wisdom, prudence and foresight.

Mr. Hamilton has taken the scarlet degree in Odd-Fellowship, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and a trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Bloomington. He married in July, 1871, Miss Helen M. Williams, daughter of Professor W. G. Williams, of the Ohio Wesleyah University, and they have three children.

1. ↑ International Genealogical Index. ( The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, 1999-2008).