William McMurtry (February 20, 1801 – April 10, 1875) was the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and a colonel in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. McMurtry was born in

Mercer County, Kentucky Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,772. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county was formed from Lincoln County, Virginia in 1785 and is named for Revolutionar ...

. William's parents were James and Elizabeth (Lucas) McMurtry. His great-grandfather, John McMurtry fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

; dying in the Battle of Cowpens. He and his family settled in Crawford County, Indiana in 1818. It was here that William married Ruth Champion (1795–1864, also of

), on November 23, 1826. In 1829, William and his young family moved to

Knox County, Illinois Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 49,967. Its county seat is Galesburg. Knox County comprises the Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Knox County was ...

along with his father and brother James and his wife. It was here that William McMurtry's home remained until his death. McMurtry was appointed in Knox County's first ever election in 1830 as foreman of the grand-jury of the Circuit Court. In 1832 he was elected as the county's first school commissioner. From 1836 to 1840, William was a 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 1842 he was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he stayed until being added to the Democratic ticket of Governor Augustus French after the previous

Lt. Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

Joseph Wells decided not to run again. During his time in office, 1849–53, a new state constitution was adopted as well as the

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out ...

was completed. After his term as

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, William ran for office in the US Congress in 1854 in Illinois' 4th Congressional District losing to Opposition/Republican Party candidate

James Knox James Robert Knox GCC (2 March 1914 – 26 June 1983) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. After years as a Vatican diplomat, he served as Archbishop of Melbourne from 1967 to 1974, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worshi ...

. This effectively was the end of McMurtry's political career, with respect to seeking elected office. McMurtry was known as a close personal friend of fellow Illinois Democrat

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 ...

and remained a prominent voice in the state's

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the years before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. During 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 ...

, McMurtry organized a group of between 70 and 90 men from Knox and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

counties — which consisted of nearly all the able-bodied men from the area — to form a company of mounted rangers with him serving as captain and his brother James serving as sergeant. At the outset of the

, he organized and led as colonel the 102nd Illinois Infantry, which was made up of men from Knox County. William McMurtry though only served a couple of months before receiving an honorable discharge due to poor health attributed to his advanced age. At home, McMurtry was known as a bright man, despite only modest formal education, who was an avid reader and good neighbor. William was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and treasurer of the local Grand Lodge. He and his wife Ruth had five children. William McMurtry died in

Henderson, Illinois Henderson is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 255 at the 2010 census, down from 319 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Henderson is located in northwes ...

; a town founded near his farm home after he and his family had settled there.

References

History of Knox county, Illinois (1878)

Portrait and biographical album of Knox county, Illinois (1886)

History of Knox County, Illinois: its cities, towns and people (1912)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McMurtry, William 1801 births 1875 deaths 19th-century American politicians Lieutenant Governors of Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party Illinois state senators American people of the Black Hawk War People of Illinois in the American Civil War People from Mercer County, Kentucky People from Knox County, Illinois Union Army colonels