Samuel D. Lockwood
Encyclopedia
Samuel Drake Lockwood was an Illinois
politician who served as the state's Attorney General
, Secretary of State, and Supreme Court Justice.
Lockwood was born in Poundridge, New York
. His father, Joseph, was an hotelier. His mother was Mark, née Drake. Samuel was the oldest of four. His siblings were Jesse (b.1791), Rebecca (b.1792), and Cornelius (b.1793). Joseph died of yellow fever
in 1799, two days after Cornelius died of the same disease. The following year, Mary married Duncan McCall and moved to Canada with Rebecca, leaving Samuel and Jesse at a private school in New Jersey
for a few months before being taken in by their uncle, Francis Drake. He studied law with Drake and was admitted to the bar in Batavia, New York
in 1811.
Lockwood practiced law in Batavia for a year before relocating his practice to Sempronius, New York
for about a year and a half. From 1815 until August 1818, he had a law partnership in Auburn, New York
with George B. Throop. Lockwood ended that practice when he decided to move to the new state of Illinois
. In 1818, he and a friend, William H. Brown descended the Ohio River
, disembarking at Shawneetown
. They walked across the state to Kaskaskia
and Lockwood eventually settled in Carmi
.
In 1821, Lockwood was elected Attorney General
. During his brief term as Attorney General, Lockwood successfully prosecuted the only known duel to come to trial in Illinois. He resigned after only a year when Governor Edward Coles
appointed him as Secretary of State when Illinois' first Secretary of State, Elias Kane
, was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives
. Three months later, Lockwood received an appointment as the Receiver of Public Moneys from President James Monroe
. One of the reasons Lockwood accepted the appointment from Madison was that it would afford him the time and money to ensure that Illinois would remain a free state. Lockwood received an appointment to the First Board of Canal Commissioners. Lockwood was given the duty of contracting with engineers to survey the route of the Illinois and Michigan Canal
. Also in 1824, The Illinois Supreme Court
was reorganized by the legislature and Lockwood was appointed a judge on the Supreme Court and remained on the court until 1848.
In the 1820s, Lockwood resisted the adoption of a pro-slavery Constitution for Illinois, but he was one of the framers of Illinois' second Constitution, in 1848.
In his retirement, he returned to Batavia, New York, where he died at age 85.
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,...
politician who served as the state's Attorney General
Illinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
, Secretary of State, and Supreme Court Justice.
Lockwood was born in Poundridge, New York
Pound Ridge, New York
Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2010 census.The town is located in the eastern corner of the county, bordered by New Canaan, Connecticut, to the east, Stamford, Connecticut, to the south, Bedford, New York, to the west and...
. His father, Joseph, was an hotelier. His mother was Mark, née Drake. Samuel was the oldest of four. His siblings were Jesse (b.1791), Rebecca (b.1792), and Cornelius (b.1793). Joseph died of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in 1799, two days after Cornelius died of the same disease. The following year, Mary married Duncan McCall and moved to Canada with Rebecca, leaving Samuel and Jesse at a private school in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
for a few months before being taken in by their uncle, Francis Drake. He studied law with Drake and was admitted to the bar in Batavia, New York
Batavia (city), New York
Batavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
in 1811.
Lockwood practiced law in Batavia for a year before relocating his practice to Sempronius, New York
Sempronius, New York
Sempronius is a town in Cayuga County, New York, USA. The population was 895 at the 2010 census. The town was named after a Roman military and political leader by a clerk interested in the classics....
for about a year and a half. From 1815 until August 1818, he had a law partnership in Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
with George B. Throop. Lockwood ended that practice when he decided to move to the new state of 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,...
. In 1818, he and a friend, William H. Brown descended the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, disembarking at Shawneetown
Shawneetown, Illinois
Shawneetown is a city in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,410 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gallatin County...
. They walked across the state to Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia, Illinois
Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. In the 2010 census the population was 14, making it the second-smallest incorporated community in the State of Illinois in terms of population. A major French colonial town of the Illinois Country, its peak population was about...
and Lockwood eventually settled in Carmi
Carmi, Illinois
Carmi is a city in White County, Illinois, along the Little Wabash River. The population was 5,240 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of White County.-Demographics:...
.
In 1821, Lockwood was elected Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
. During his brief term as Attorney General, Lockwood successfully prosecuted the only known duel to come to trial in Illinois. He resigned after only a year when Governor Edward Coles
Edward Coles
Edward Coles manumitted his slaves in 1819, was secretary to James Madison , neighbor and anti-slavery associate of Thomas Jefferson and was the second Governor of Illinois, serving from 1822 to 1826...
appointed him as Secretary of State when Illinois' first Secretary of State, Elias Kane
Elias Kane
Elias Kent Kane was one of the first U.S. Senators from Illinois.He was born in New York City, attended the public schools, and graduated from Yale College in 1813....
, was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
. Three months later, Lockwood received an appointment as the Receiver of Public Moneys from President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
. One of the reasons Lockwood accepted the appointment from Madison was that it would afford him the time and money to ensure that Illinois would remain a free state. Lockwood received an appointment to the First Board of Canal Commissioners. Lockwood was given the duty of contracting with engineers to survey the route of the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...
. Also in 1824, The Illinois Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
was reorganized by the legislature and Lockwood was appointed a judge on the Supreme Court and remained on the court until 1848.
In the 1820s, Lockwood resisted the adoption of a pro-slavery Constitution for Illinois, but he was one of the framers of Illinois' second Constitution, in 1848.
In his retirement, he returned to Batavia, New York, where he died at age 85.