Shelby Moore Cullom was born in Wayne Co., Ky. on Nov. 22, 1829. His family moved to Tazewell Co., Ill. in 1830. Cullom attended Rock River Seminary, teaching school part time to earn money to continue his studies. In 1853, he moved to Springfield to study law at the firm of Stuart & Edwards. Two years later, he was admitted to the bar and almost immediately was elected City Attorney of Springfield. In 1856, he was elected to the General Assembly and in 1860, he was chosen as Speaker of the House. President Lincoln appointed Cullom a member of the War Claims Commission at Cairo in 1862. In the 1864 campaign, Cullom was a candidate for Congress defeating his former preceptor, John T. Stuart. He was re-elected in 1866, and again in 1868, this time defeating Benjamin S. Edwards. Cullom returned to the Illinois House of Representatives as Speaker of the House in 1873, serving until he was elected Governor in 1876. After winning a second term as Governor, Cullom was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1883 and served as Illinois' Senator until 1913.
After he left the Senate, Cullom was appointed chairman of the Lincoln Memorial Building Commission. Cullom was married twice; first in Dec. 1855 to Hannah Fisher, and on May 5, 1863 to her sister, Julia Fisher. He died in Washington, D. C. on Jan. 28, 1914 and is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois.
From the description of Shelby Moore Cullom correspondence, 1877-1883. (Illinois State Archive). WorldCat record id: 35700272
