John Todd Stuart (November 10, 1807 – November 28, 1885) was a lawyer and 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 ...

. Born near

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, Stuart graduated from Centre College,

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

, in 1826. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1828, and commenced practice in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. He was a major 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 ...

in 1832, where he first met

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 ...

, who was in the same battalion as Stuart. He served as member of 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 ...

between 1832 and 1836. Stuart encouraged Lincoln to study law and the two subsequently became law partners, between 1837 and 1841. If not for Stuart's influence, it is conceivable that Lincoln might never have been interested in the law - and thus, might not ever have become president. Stuart was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He was, however, elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839 - March 3, 1843), winning over

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

in 1838. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1842. Stuart established a law partnership with

Benjamin S. Edwards Benjamin S. Edwards (June 3, 1818 – February 4, 1886) was an Illinois lawyer, politician, and judge. Benjamin S. Edwards' Biography Benjamin S. Edwards was born on June 3, 1818, in Edwardsville, Illinois, the son of Ninian Edwards, who was g ...

in 1843, a partnership that would last for forty years. Stuart served as member of 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 ...

between 1848 and 1852. He was the unsuccessful Constitutional Union candidate for

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

in 1860. Stuart was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1865), and served there while Lincoln was president. His vote on the Thirteenth Amendment is recorded as Nay. Stuart was a favorite cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln and as a member of Congress after his election in 1862 over Republican Leonard Swett was a frequent visitor at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

even though he was an anti-emancipation Democrat. He was defeated in 1864 by Republican

Shelby Moore Cullom Shelby Moore Cullom (November 22, 1829 – January 28, 1914) was a U.S. political figure, serving in various offices, including the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois. Life and ca ...

, a Lincoln ally. Following his defeat in 1864, Stuart resumed the practice of law in Springfield. He died there and was interred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery. In the fall of 2007, Centre College (Stuart's alma mater) dedicated Stuart Hall, a building that once housed the College's bookstore but is now a residence hall, in honor of the influence Stuart had over Lincoln's career path as well as Stuart's contribution to law. The firm that he founded in Springfield Illinois, once known as "Stuart and Lincoln," is still operating under the name "Brown, Hay, & Stephens," and includes his great-great-grandson as a partner.

References

Congressional BiographyRobert A. Stuart, Jr.
''Leading Lawyers Network''. Accessed March 4, 2009. *Paul M. Angle, "One Hundred Years of Law," Springfield, Illinois: Brown, Hay and Stephens, 1928.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, John Todd 1807 births 1885 deaths Illinois state senators Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Politicians from Springfield, Illinois Centre College alumni Illinois lawyers Illinois Whigs Illinois Constitutional Unionists American people of the Black Hawk War Abraham Lincoln United States Army officers Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American politicians