Greenbury Lafayette Fort (October 17, 1825 – January 13, 1883) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

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 ...

Biography

Born in

French Grant The proposed purchase by the Scioto Company is shown in red. The proposed purchase by the Ohio Company is in blue. The final purchase by the Ohio Company is in green. The French Grant is orange., 350px The French Grant (also known as the Frenc ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Fort moved with his parents to

Marshall County, Illinois Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 12,640. Its county seat is Lacon. Marshall County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Marsh ...

, in April 1834. He completed preparatory studies and attended Rock River Seminary. He studied law. 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 ...

in 1847 and commenced practice in

Lacon, Illinois Lacon is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,937 at the 2010 census, down from 1,979 in 2000. History Lacon was named ...

. Fort was elected sheriff in 1850. He served as clerk of Marshall County in 1852, and was a county judge in 1857. He was appointed a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Eleventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, on April 30, 1861. He was promoted through the ranks to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

. He was

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. ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and lieutenant colonel of Volunteers on March 13, 1865. He served as member of the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the I ...

in 1866. Fort was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Forty-third and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1881). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880. He retired from public life. He died in

, January 13, 1883. He was interred in Lacon Cemetery. He married Clara Boal, the daughter of

Robert Boal The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, and was the father of state senator Robert Boal Fort.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort, Greenbury Lafayette 1825 births 1883 deaths Illinois sheriffs Illinois lawyers People from Scioto County, Ohio People from Lacon, Illinois People of Illinois in the American Civil War Union Army officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Illinois state court judges Republican Party Illinois state senators 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers