Orlando Bell Ficklin (December 16, 1808 – May 5, 1886) was a
U.S. Representative from
Illinois.
Early life and education
Born in
Scott County, Kentucky, Ficklin attended the common schools. He was graduated from Transylvania Law School,
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 ...
, in 1830. He was
admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced practice in
Mount Carmel, Illinois. He served in the
Black Hawk War as quartermaster in 1832. He served as colonel of the militia of
Wabash County in 1833.
Political career
In 1835, Ficklin became
state's attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
for the Wabash circuit. He also 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 ...
in 1835, 1838, and 1842. He moved to
Charleston, Illinois in 1837.
Ficklin was elected as a
Democrat to the
Twenty-eighth,
Twenty-ninth, and
Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849). He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Twenty-ninth Congress).
Matson slave case
Although Ficklin worked as co-counsel with
Abraham Lincoln on many cases, in possibly their most famous case, they were on opposite sides. In 1847, Ficklin, his friend
Charles H. Constable
Charles H. Constable (July 17, 1817 – October 9, 1865) was an American attorney, Illinois State Senator, judge, and real estate entrepreneur. He was raised in Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Law. Aft ...
and Usher Linder represented slaves who ran away while in Illinois and believed that they were free, arguing that the
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...
forbade slavery in Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln defended Robert Matson, a Kentucky slave owner who brought the slaves from his Kentucky plantation to work on land he owned in Illinois. Lincoln invoked the right of transit, which allowed slave holders to take their slaves temporarily into free territory, stressing that Matson did not intend the slaves to remain permanently in Illinois.
The judge in Coles County ruled for Ficklin's clients and against Lincoln, and the slaves were set free. Illinois and other free states adopted a principle "once free, always free."
Environmental Perspective
Ficklin argued passionately that the federal government must develop the land, cultivating prairie even if such destroyed the native flowers, and wild deer:
:''Unless the government shall grant head rights ... prairies, with their gorgeous growth of flowers, their green carpeting, their lovely lawns and gentle slopes will for centuries continue to be the home of wild deer and wolf, their stillness will be undisturbed by the jocund song of the farmer, and their deep and fertile soil unbroken by the plowshare. Something must be done to remedy this evil.''
Return to Congress
Voters returned Ficklin to Congress in 1850, and he served in the
Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853). During that session, Ficklin was chairman of the Committee on District of Columbia (Thirty-second Congress). He resumed the practice of law in Charleston. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...
,
1860
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...
, and
1864
Events
January–March
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...
.
In the summer of 1864, Ficklin led a delegation to Washington to secure the release of 15 Coles County men arrested by military authorities for rioting. He requested they be returned to civilian authorities for indictment and trial, and the President granted his request about a week before the November election.
After Lincoln's Presidency
Although a Democrat in an area known for its Copperhead leanings, Ficklin eulogized Lincoln as a statesman and deplored his death.
Ficklin served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1869 and 1870. He again served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1878.
Death and legacy
Ficklin died in
Charleston, Illinois, and was interred in Mound Cemetery.
See also
*
Charles H. Constable
Charles H. Constable (July 17, 1817 – October 9, 1865) was an American attorney, Illinois State Senator, judge, and real estate entrepreneur. He was raised in Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Law. Aft ...
, attorney, judge, and friend of Ficklin.
References
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ficklin, Orlando Bell
1808 births
1886 deaths
Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
People from Charleston, Illinois
Quartermasters
American militia officers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
19th-century American politicians
People from Scott County, Kentucky
Military personnel from Illinois