Levi Boone
Encyclopedia
Levi Day Boone served as mayor of Chicago
, Illinois
(1855–1856) for the American Party (Know-Nothings).
, the seventh son of Squire and Anna Grubbs Boone. His father, Squire, was a nephew of Daniel Boone
's, making Levi Boone's great-nephew. Young Levi lost his father at the age of 9 when Squire finally succumbed to wounds he suffered at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
Despite the poverty the family was plunged into by the death of Squire Boone, Levi graduated from the medical school of Transylvania University
in Lexington, Kentucky
in 1829 at the age of 21. He moved to Illinois and eventually established a practice in Hillsboro
. In 1832, he served in the Black Hawk War
, first in the cavalry and then as a surgeon. In 1833, Dr. Boone married Louise M. Smith, daughter of Theophilus W. Smith
, Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, with whom he had 11 children.
Medical Board and served as the organization's first secretary. Boone had a medical practice with Charles V. Dyer
. He was elected the first president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1850.
In 1843, he contributed to the rift in the congregation of Chicago's First Baptist Church by giving a lecture on the scriptural basis of slavery.
Though not a Teetotaler, Boone was a Temperance
advocate and worked to prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol.
Supported by a coalition of Know Nothings and temperance advocates, Boone was elected mayor on an anti-immigrant platform, along with 7 aldermen running on the same ticket. Although Boone won, there were claims that the votes of German
and Irish
immigrants in Bridgeport, which had only recently (1863) been incorporated into the city, had not been counted.
During his only year in office, he reorganized the Chicago police, combining the Day Police and the Night Watch into a single police force with 3 eight-hour shifts and requiring the police for the first time to wear uniforms. No foreign-born police were retained in the reorganization, and all new appointments were native-born Americans. He barred all immigrants from city jobs.
Anticipating the passage of a Maine law
to prohibit the sale of beverage alcohol by referendum in June of 1855, he got the city council to pass an ordinance which raised the cost of liquor licenses by from $50 to $300 a year, while limiting the term to 3 months, and attempted to enforce an old and disregarded ordinance to close taverns on Sundays. Many saw this as a means of attacking German immigrants and on April 21, the move sparked the Lager Beer Riot
after several tavern owners were arrested for selling beer on a Sunday.
Boone did not run for re-election in the mayoral election of 1856.
In 1862, Boone was arrested and briefly held in Camp Douglas
on suspicion that he had helped a Confederate prisoner to escape.
He is buried in Rosehill Cemetery
.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(1855–1856) for the American Party (Know-Nothings).
Early Life
Boone was born near Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, the seventh son of Squire and Anna Grubbs Boone. His father, Squire, was a nephew of Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
's, making Levi Boone's great-nephew. Young Levi lost his father at the age of 9 when Squire finally succumbed to wounds he suffered at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
Despite the poverty the family was plunged into by the death of Squire Boone, Levi graduated from the medical school of Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
in 1829 at the age of 21. He moved to Illinois and eventually established a practice in Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Illinois
Hillsboro is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,359 at the 2000 census, and 6,106 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Montgomery County.-History:...
. In 1832, he served in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
, first in the cavalry and then as a surgeon. In 1833, Dr. Boone married Louise M. Smith, daughter of Theophilus W. Smith
Theophilus W. Smith
Theophilus Washington Smith was an Illinois Supreme Court Justice from 1825 until his resignation on December 26, 1842. He holds the distinction of being the subject of Illinois's first impeachment trial, held in 1833....
, Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, with whom he had 11 children.
Chicago Years
Arriving in Chicago in 1835, he helped organize the Cook CountyCook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
Medical Board and served as the organization's first secretary. Boone had a medical practice with Charles V. Dyer
Charles V. Dyer
Charles Volney Dyer was a prominent Chicago Abolitionist and Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad.-Early life:...
. He was elected the first president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1850.
In 1843, he contributed to the rift in the congregation of Chicago's First Baptist Church by giving a lecture on the scriptural basis of slavery.
Though not a Teetotaler, Boone was a Temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
advocate and worked to prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol.
Supported by a coalition of Know Nothings and temperance advocates, Boone was elected mayor on an anti-immigrant platform, along with 7 aldermen running on the same ticket. Although Boone won, there were claims that the votes of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
immigrants in Bridgeport, which had only recently (1863) been incorporated into the city, had not been counted.
During his only year in office, he reorganized the Chicago police, combining the Day Police and the Night Watch into a single police force with 3 eight-hour shifts and requiring the police for the first time to wear uniforms. No foreign-born police were retained in the reorganization, and all new appointments were native-born Americans. He barred all immigrants from city jobs.
Anticipating the passage of a Maine law
Maine law
The Maine law, passed in 1851 in Maine, was one of the first statutory implementations of the developing temperance movement in the United States.-History:Temperance activist Neal Dow helped craft this law...
to prohibit the sale of beverage alcohol by referendum in June of 1855, he got the city council to pass an ordinance which raised the cost of liquor licenses by from $50 to $300 a year, while limiting the term to 3 months, and attempted to enforce an old and disregarded ordinance to close taverns on Sundays. Many saw this as a means of attacking German immigrants and on April 21, the move sparked the Lager Beer Riot
Lager Beer Riot
The Lager Beer Riot occurred in Chicago, Illinois in 1855 after Mayor Levi Boone, great-nephew of Daniel Boone, renewed enforcement of an old local ordinance mandating that taverns be closed on Sundays and led the city council to raise the cost of a liquor license from $50 per year to $300 per...
after several tavern owners were arrested for selling beer on a Sunday.
Boone did not run for re-election in the mayoral election of 1856.
In 1862, Boone was arrested and briefly held in Camp Douglas
Camp Douglas (Chicago)
Camp Douglas, in Chicago, Illinois, was a Union Army prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate soldiers taken prisoner during the American Civil War. It was also a training and detention camp for Union soldiers. The Union Army first used the camp in 1861 as an organizational and training camp for...
on suspicion that he had helped a Confederate prisoner to escape.
He is buried in Rosehill Cemetery
Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago
Rosehill Cemetery is a Victorian era cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. The name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the area was previously called "Roe's Hill", named for nearby farmer Hiram Roe...
.