John REYNOLDS, Congress, IL (1788-1865)

REYNOLDS, John, a Representative from Illinois; born in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia, Pa., February 26, 1788; moved to Illinois in 1800 with his parents, who settled in the vicinity of Kaskaskia; pursued classical studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Cahokia, Ill., in 1812; elected a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court in 1818; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1823; member of the State house of representatives 1827-1829; Governor of Illinois from December 6, 1830, to November 17, 1834, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress; in 1832 took the field as commander of the State militia in the Black Hawk War; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles Slade; reelected to the Twenty-fourth Congress and served from December 1, 1834, to March 3, 1837; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1843); again a member of the State house of representatives in 1846 and 1852 and served during the latter term as speaker; unsuccessful candidate for election to the State senate in 1848; unsuccessful candidate for State superintendent of schools in 1858; engaged in newspaper work; died in Belleville, St. Clair County, Ill., on May 8, 1865; interment in Walnut Hill Cemetery.

Bibliography

Harper, Josephine L. “John Reynolds, The ‘Old Ranger’ of Illinois, 1788-1865.” Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1949.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present