born March 9, 1815, Cecil county, Md., U.S.
died June 26, 1886, Bloomington, Ill.
U.S. jurist.
He earned a law degree from Yale in 1835 and established a law practice in Bloomington the following year. He was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1844. As a state circuit-court judge (1848–62) he became a close friend of Supreme Court of the United States (1862–77). He resigned his seat on the court to accept election to the U.S. Senate (1877–83).