Illinois. Governor (1883-1885 : Hamilton)

John Marshall Hamilton (1847-1905), Republican Governor of Illinois (1883-1885), was born in Union Co., Ohio on May 28, 1847. His family moved to a farm in Marshall Co., Ill. (1854). Hamilton enlisted in the 141st Illinois Volunteers, a hundred day regiment which saw service in 1864. After being mustered out, Hamilton enrolled at Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.; was admitted to the bar (1870); married Helen Williams (1871) and began practicing law. Hamilton was elected State Senator from McLean County (1876) and ran for Lt. Governor (1880) on the ticket headed by Gov. Shelby M. Cullom. When Cullom was chosen as U. S. Senator on Feb. 6, 1883, Hamilton was sworn in as Governor of Illinois. He sought the gubernatorial nomination in 1884, but the Republican State Convention chose Richard J. Oglesby to head their state ticket. His death occurred in Chicago on Sept. 23, 1905 with burial in that city's Oakwoods Cemetery.

From the description of John Marshall Hamilton correspondence, 1883-1885. (Illinois State Archive). WorldCat record id: 35758863