Elliott Anthony (1827 — 1898) was a prominent

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lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who was active in the founding of the

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Biography

Elliott Anthony was born in

Onondaga County, New York Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives fro ...

on June 10, 1827. He was raised as a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, being born into a family that had been Quaker for generations. In 1845, he enrolled in Courtland Academy and in the fall of 1847, entered

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, graduating in 1850 with high honors. After college, Anthony

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

with

Timothy Dwight V Timothy Dwight V (November 16, 1828 – May 26, 1916) was an American academic, educator, Congregational minister, and President of Yale University (1886–1898). During his years as the school's president, Yale's schools first organized as a uni ...

. In May 1851, he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

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. In June 1851, he spent one year at

Sterling, Illinois Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the ...

. He returned East in July 1852 and on July 14, 1852 married Mary Dwight, a granddaughter of

Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...

and sister of Timothy Dwight V. In November 1852, the couple returned to

, settling in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. With the aid of his wife, in two years Anthony prepared and published a digest of the

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. Four years later, he was elected

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and then Corporation Counsel. In 1858 or 1859, Anthony was appointed General Solicitor of the

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out ...

, which position he held until 1864, when that corporation became consolidated with the Chicago and North Western Railway Company. When that took place, Anthony was employed by the non-consenting stockholders and bondholders, and engaged in a litigation to break up the consolidation. He published a book on railway consolidation in 1865. The case was ultimately argued before David Davis of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and Samuel Hubbel Treat, Jr. of Springfield, and resulted in favor of Anthony's clients. In 1876, he was called again to the position of corporation counsel under

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

Monroe Heath Monroe Heath (March 27, 1827October 21, 1894) was a U.S. politician. He served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1876–1879) for the Republican Party, after winning the 1876 election. He was subsequently reelected the following year, defeating ...

, and took a conspicuous part at that time in the great reform movement in connection with

Thomas Hoyne His Honor, the Mayor, Thomas Hoyne, Esquire (February 11, 1817July 27, 1883) was elected Mayor of Chicago in 1876, but his election was later declared null and void by a Circuit Court. Prior to 1876, Hoyne had led a political career in which h ...

. Anthony early took part in the formation of the

and for more than a quarter of a century was a leader of that organization. He was twice elected to constitutional conventions, called by the people to revise the

Illinois Constitution The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970. The current constitution is referred to as the "Constit ...

— the first time in 1862 and the last in 1869-70. In the last he was chairman of the executive committee that framed the article in the 1870 constitution, relating to the executive department. He was a delegate to the

1880 Republican National Convention The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York as the offic ...

and aided in the nomination of

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. In November 1880, Anthony was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Chicago by a large majority. He was identified with many of the public improvements of Chicago, such as the establishment of graded streets, water works, public parks, public library and cemeteries. In 1894, Anthony served as president of the

Illinois State Bar Association The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is among largest voluntary state bar associations in the United States. Approximately 28,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA memb ...

Works by Elliott Anthony

''A Treatise on the Law of Consolidation of Railroad Companies'' (1865)''The Law of Taxation'' (1877)

References

Charles L. Anthony, ''Genealogy of the Anthony Family from 1454 to 1904'' (1904), pp. 80-81
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Elliott 1827 births 1898 deaths Illinois state court judges Illinois Republicans People from Onondaga County, New York Hamilton College (New York) alumni Illinois lawyers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Members of Illinois constitutional conventions