Sidney Breese

Sidney Breese

Sidney Breese (born September 7, 1800 in Whitesboro , Oneida County , New York , †  June 27, 1878 in Pinkneyville , Illinois ) was an American lawyer and politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of Illinois in the US Senate .

Life

In his home state, New York, Sidney Breese attended Hamilton College in Clinton and Union College in Schenectady , where he graduated in 1818. He then moved to Illinois, where he was admitted to the bar, and began practicing in Kaskaskia . In 1821 he also served as postmaster in this city. From 1822 to 1826 he was district attorney for the Third District Court of Illinois, between 1827 and 1829 then district attorney. In 1831 Breese became the first clerk to the Supreme Court of Illinois .

As a member of the state militia, he took part in the Black Hawk War in 1832 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . He then returned to his legal practice and served as a judge for the second judicial district of Illinois from 1835 until he was finally appointed to the Supreme Court in 1841 and served there for a year.

In 1843, the Illinois State Legislature elected him US Senator. Breese held his mandate in Washington, DC from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1849 and was during this time, among other things, chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia , before he left Congress after a failed re-election . He initially continued his political career and sat in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1851 to 1852 , at times as its speaker .

Eventually Breese turned back to justice. From 1855 to 1857 he was a judge at the District Court of Illinois, then until his death on June 27, 1878 again a member of the Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice from 1867 to 1870 as well as 1873 and 1874 .

The place Breese in Illinois is named after Sidney Breese.

Web links

• Sidney Breese in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Sidney Breese in the database of Find a Grave (English)