Benjamin Stephenson

Benjamin Stephenson (born July 8, 1769 in Province of Pennsylvania (according to other sources: 18th century in Kentucky ), † October 10, 1822 in Edwardsville , Illinois ) was an American politician who lived in the Illinois Territory between 1814 and 1817 represented as a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives .

Life

Front view of Benjamin Stephenson House in Edwardsville

Stephenson, whose exact date of birth is unknown and in 1788 Virginia settled and in 1809 in Illinois Territory, was on 28 June 1809 by Ninian Edwards , the governor of the territory , for the first sheriff of Randolph County appointed. He later began working as a merchant in Edwardsville and served as a colonel during the British-American War of 1812 before being appointed adjutant general of the Territory in 1813.

On September 3, 1814, he was elected to Shadrach Bond , who in turn was administrator of the finances of the land registry in Kaskaskia , the second delegate of the Illinois Territory in the US House of Representatives and was elected from November 14, 1814 to March 3, 1817. In 1816 he declined to run again, and on April 29, 1816 he was the administrator of public finances in the land registry in Edwardsville and held this office until his death. In addition, he was 1818 delegate of the convention to draft the first constitution of Illinois and 1819 President of the Bank of Edwardsville.

The Benjamin Stephenson House in Edwardsville, built by him in 1820, is one of the oldest existing houses in Illinois. Stephenson County in the state of Illinois, formed on March 4, 1837 from parts of Jo Daviess County and Winnebago County , was named in his honor.

His son James W. Stephenson , who took part in the Black Hawk War in 1832 , was a member of the Illinois Senate and in 1837 a Democratic Party candidate for governor of Illinois.

Web links

• Benjamin Stephenson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)