Nathaniel W. Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the

State of 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 ...

. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Delegate to the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

from the Illinois Territory, and for over thirty years as the United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Illinois.

Early life and education

Born on January 5, 1784, in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in what was then District of Kentucky,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

(but became

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 ...

in his lifetime), to the former Penelope Sanford Edwards (1757-) and her husband Col. William H. Pope (1740-1825). Although the youngest boy in his family, Pope could trace his ancestors in Virginia back to around 1650 when Nathaniel Pope moved from strife-torn Maryland into what became called the Northern Neck of Virginia, as did Humphrey Pope and James Pope, probably his brothers. Both this man's parents had been born in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a county located in the Northern Neck of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross. History As originally established by the Virginia colony's ...

, as had his grandfather Worden Pope (1705-1748) and great-grandfather Nathaniel Pope III (1660-1719, sometime called "Bridges" after another of his thrice-widowed mother's husbands), although his grandmother Hester Netherton Pope was born in what was then

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest- ...

. Although the Pope family was well-established in Virginia, its members would only begin holding statewide office after the Revolutionary War, in which they supported the Patriot cause under the leadership of their neighbor, George Washington (whose distant ancestor John Washington had married the daughter of one of the earliest men named Nathaniel Pope. His eldest brother John Pope (1770-1845) was born in

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manass ...

and would also become a lawyer and hold high political office, including in both houses of the Kentucky legislature as well as the U.S. Congress before becoming governor of the

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

. Other brothers included William H. Pope Jr (1775-1844) who was born as the family continued moving westward into Fauquier County, Virginia, and Alexander Pope (1781-1826) and Nathaniel Pope (1784-1850), both of whom were born as the family moved to

in what became the state of Kentucky when he was a boy. His birth family included several sisters who survived to adulthood and married including Penelope Edwards Oldham (1769-1821), Jane Pope Field (1772-1852; also born in Fauquier County) and Hester Pope Edwards (1788-1868; born in Louisville). After a private education appropriate to his class, Nathaniel Pope attended

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

, then

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 t ...

in 1804.

Early career

Admitted to the bar, Nathaniel Pope entered private practice in Ste. Genevieve, Louisiana Territory (now

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

) and across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...

(that became Illinois Territory from March 1, 1809) from 1804 to 1809. When the Illinois Territory was created President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

appointed Kentucky politician John Boyle as the Territorial Governor and Pope as the Territorial Secretary. Although Boyle resigned after three weeks (in order to become Kentucky's Chief Justice) and was succeeded by Ninian Edwards (a lawyer and Maryland politician who was related to Pope's mother and had moved to Kentucky and now the Illinois Territory), Nathaniel Pope served from 1809 to 1816. He was acting Governor of the Illinois Territory in 1809. He was an Illinois Territorial Militia officer in 1812. Pope was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

Congressional service

Pope was elected on September 5, 1816, as a Delegate to the

for a term of two years, serving in the

15th United States Congress The 15th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...

from March 4, 1817 to November 30, 1818. He was a register for the

United States Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

in Edwardsville, Illinois Territory (State of

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

from December 3, 1818) from November 30, 1818 to March 3, 1819.

Notable legislation

Pope was instrumental both in securing the new territory's admission as the 21st State on December 3, 1818 (the statehood resolution passed regardless of the creative counting to achieve the former minimum of 60,000 persons) as well as in adjusting the new state's northern boundary from the southern extremity of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

extending it north to the 42° 30' parallel. Adding the land now included in the thirteen northern counties became very important for Illinois' development, because it included what was to become its largest city (Chicago), although it also slowed

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

's qualification for admission to the Union. Furthermore, Pope drafted the statehood resolution to ensure that 2% of land sales would be used to fund roads and 3% to fund schools, unlike the previous statehood resolutions which required 5% to be used to fund roads.

Federal judicial service

Pope was nominated by President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

on March 3, 1819, to the United States District Court for the District of Illinois, to a new seat authorized by 3 Stat. 502. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

on March 3, 1819, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 23, 1850, due to his death in St. Louis, Missouri. He was interred in the Colonel O’Fallon Burying Ground and later reinterred at the

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...

in St. Louis.

Unsuccessful campaign

Pope was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the

in 1824.

Honor

Pope County, Illinois, was named for Pope, as was the recently closed Nathaniel Pope Elementary School in

North Lawndale North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the great ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois.

References

Sources

"Nathaniel Pope:From Connections and Factional Politics to Champion of Statehood"
from ''Illinois History'', December 1993 *

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Nathaniel 1784 births 1850 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Territory Illinois Democratic-Republicans Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Illinois People from Edwardsville, Illinois People from Kaskaskia, Illinois Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Transylvania University alumni United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States federal judges appointed by James Monroe