Asahel Gridley (April 21, 1810 – January 25, 1881) was an American politician, lawyer, merchant, and banker. Born in New York, Gridley moved to

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

, when he was twenty-one. He served as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

and was elected to three terms in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

. There, he lobbied to have the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

and Chicago and Alton Railroads pass near Bloomington.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

once defended Gridley during a slander trial and was a frequent collaborator or opponent in the courts. Gridley is also the namesake of

Gridley, Illinois Gridley is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,456 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Gridley was founded in 1869 and named after Ge ...

, and

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted two other McLean County towns.

Biography

Asahel Gridley was born on April 21, 1810, in

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...

. Educated at Pompey Academy, Gridley moved west in 1831 and settled in

, on October 8. He engaged in the mercantile trade with his brother-in-law Ortogrul Covel. Gridley donated $338 to establish the first

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

in McLean County. With the outbreak of the

, Gridley enlisted in the cavalry, assisting General Merritt L. Covel with raising a cavalry company. Gridley was named Covel's first lieutenant and was soon

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

. During the 1840 presidential election, Gridley campaigned on behalf of

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

and ran for a seat on the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

. He was elected and served in the 12th General Assembly (1840–1842). Gridley successfully lobbied the assembly to have the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

build a train station within two miles of Bloomington. Gridley owned much of the land around the station and became very wealthy by selling it to the company. In the meantime, he practiced law with

John M. Scott John Milton Scott (August 1, 1824 – January 21, 1898) was an American attorney, judge, politician and philanthropist from Illinois. Although he did not win election to the Illinois Senate from Bloomington, Illinois, he served on both the Illin ...

in the Miller–Davis Law Buildings. He frequently appeared opposed to or in association with

. Gridley returned to politics in 1850, when he was elected to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from the 11th district. He was re-elected to a second two-year term in 1852. Again, Gridley used his influence to include Bloomington on a rail line, this time for the

Chicago and Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

. He retreated from politics after the dissolution of the Whig Party in the 1850s. During his Senate career, he became acquainted with

J. Young Scammon Jonathan Young Scammon (July 27, 1812 – March 17, 1890) was an early settler in Chicago, Illinois, arriving in the city in 1835. He went on to become politically important as a lawyer, banker, and newspaper publisher. His first wife was Mary ...

, who encouraged him to start his own bank. Gridley founded the McLean County Bank in 1853 with Scammon and J. H. Burch, later purchasing the interests of the other investors. In November 1856, Gridley commissioned Thomas Carlyle and George W. Kent to plat a town north of Bloomington. In his honor, Carlyle and Kent named the new settlement

. Gridley himself laid out two towns near Bloomington: Le Roy and Lexington. Gridley purchased the Bloomington Gas Light and Coke Company in 1857. Gridley died in Bloomington on January 25, 1881, and is buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Asahel Gridley is the namesake of Gridley Township in

McLean County, Illinois McLean County is the largest county by land area in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 169,572. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, IL Metropolita ...

Personal life

Gridley married Mary Ann Enos on March 18, 1836, whom he met during purchasing excursions in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. They had twelve children: Juliet, Albert, Mary, Edward, Diana, Sharon, Asahel Jr., Emily, Grace, Oliver, Rachel, and David. Gridley had an irascible personality and frequently argued with dissenters such as David Davis. In one such instance, a Bloomington businessman sued Gridley for slander. Gridley hired Abraham Lincoln as his defense and won the case; Lincoln argued that Gridley's words could not be slander because everyone knew that Gridley spoke that way.

References

External links

Asahel Gridley
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McLean County Museum of History The McLean County Museum of History is an AAM accreditedList of Accredited Museums institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. It is the principal asset of the McLean County Historical Society, an Illinois nonprofit organization, which was fou ...

Mary Gridley
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gridley, Asahel 1810 births 1881 deaths American people of the Black Hawk War Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois state senators People from Bloomington, Illinois People from Cazenovia, New York Businesspeople from Illinois Illinois lawyers Illinois Whigs 19th-century American politicians People from McLean County, Illinois 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American lawyers