George Cadwell (February 21, 1773 – August 1, 1826) was an American pioneer, politician, and physician from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. After Cadwell studied medicine in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, he married a daughter of

Matthew Lyon Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 – August 1, 1822) was an Irish-born American printer, farmer, soldier and politician, who served as a United States representative from both Vermont and Kentucky. Lyon represented Vermont in U. S. Congress, Congre ...

. He left with Lyon to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, but then settled in the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...

after a dispute about slavery. He served in the government of Madison County, then 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 ...

when the state was founded in 1818. He served three two-year terms, then resumed the practice of medicine.

Biography

George Cadwell was born on February 21, 1773, in

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the name ...

. He attended school in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and then studied medicine in

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

. Cadwell married Pamelia Lyon, the daughter of

in 1797. He settled with her family in

Fair Haven, Vermont Fair Haven is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,736 at the 2020 census. Within the town is located the census-designated place of Fair Haven. The town is noted for its late 19th century residential and com ...

. He helped her father publish ''The Scourge of Aristocracy and Repository of Important Political Truth'', a paper attacking U.S. president

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. The

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the United States. The Naturalization Act increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the Alien Friends Act allowed th ...

forced the family to flee the state, and in 1799, they settled at what is now

Eddyville, Kentucky Eddyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,554 at the 2010 census, up from 2,350 in 2000. The Kentucky State Penitentiary is located at Eddyville. The town is consi ...

. Matthew Lyon became a prosperous slave trader, which disappointed the anti-slavery Cadwell and his brother-in-law John Messinger. Messinger and Cadwell left Lyon in 1802 to settle in the

. Cadwell purchased opposite Gaboret Island on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, about north of

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south-w ...

, in what is now

St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County is the oldest county in Illinois; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River, bordering Missouri. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. At the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 257,400 ...

. He built a cabin, farmed, and practiced medicine. Cadwell was appointed a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for St. Clair County on July 9, 1809. When Madison County, Illinois Territory was created in 1812, which included his farm, Cadwell was named a justice for that county. In August 1813, he was named commissioner of the county court of common pleas, responsible for managing taxes. That December, he was appointed judge of the same court. The next December, he was appointed Judge of the Madison County Court. Cadwell then moved to Edwardsville after purchasing land from Thomas Kirkpatrick. After

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

was admitted as a state in 1818, Cadwell was elected to the

1st Illinois General Assembly The 1st Illinois General Assembly, consisting of the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives, met from October 4, 1818, to March 31, 1819, during the first two years of Shadrach Bond's governorship, at The Kaskaskia State House. ...

as a

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

. In December 1820, he was named President ''pro tempore'' of the senate after Lieutenant Governor

Pierre Menard Pierre Menard (7 October 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a fur trader and U.S. political figure. Pierre Menard was born at St. Antoine-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal, Canada, third in a family of ten children. His father was Jean Baptiste Ménard, ...

requested a leave of absence. He resigned the next month. He was re-elected in 1820 and moved near what is now Lynnville, at the time still a part of Madison County. During this session,

Greene County, Illinois Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 11,843. Its county seat is Carrollton. A notable archaeological area, the Koster Site, has produced evidence of ...

, was created. Cadwell's farm now stood in the new county, so he represented it when elected to the next general assembly. He was also considered a representative of the new Pike County. After the 3rd General Assembly, Cadwell purchased a plot of land in Morgan County. The land was largely timbered and Cadwell harvested sugar and syrup until the 1850s. He platted part of his claim as the town of Quincy, hoping to secure the location of the county seat. However, the county commissioners instead settled on

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Cadwell spent the rest of his practicing medicine as the first physician in Morgan County. He built the first frame house in the county and created the Morganian Society, an anti-slavery group. He was named the first postmaster in the county. Cadwell had two sons and eight daughters; both sons died before adulthood. He died in Morgan County on August 1, 1826, and was buried in Diamond Grove Cemetery in Jacksonville. He was the great-grandfather of state senator Epler Cadwell Mills.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadwell, George 1773 births 1826 deaths Illinois state senators People from Greene County, Illinois People from Madison County, Illinois People from Monroe County, Illinois People from Wethersfield, Connecticut Physicians from Illinois Physicians from Connecticut Illinois postmasters People from Fair Haven, Vermont People from Eddyville, Kentucky American justices of the peace