John Wentworth (Illinois)
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John Wentworth (March 5, 1815 – October 16, 1888), nicknamed Long John, was the editor of the '' Chicago Democrat,'' publisher of an extensive
Wentworth family The members of the Wentworth family of both the U.S. and Australia, as listed below, are descended from Thomas Wentworth and Jane, the daughter of Sir Oliver Mirfield. Sir Oliver died about 1522. The American Wentworths of New Hampshire are descen ...
genealogy, a two-term mayor of Chicago, and a six-term member of the United States House of Representatives, both before and after his service as mayor. After growing up in New Hampshire, he joined the migration west and moved to the developing city of Chicago in 1836, where he made his adult life. Wentworth was affiliated with the
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until 1855; then he changed to the
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. After retiring from politics, he wrote a three-volume genealogy of the Wentworth family in the United States.


Early life and education

John Wentworth was born in
Sandwich, New Hampshire Sandwich is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 1,466 at the 2020 census. Sandwich includes the villages of Center Sandwich and North Sandwich. Part of the White Mountain National Forest is in the north, a ...
. He was educated at the New Hampton Literary Institute and at the academy of
Dudley Leavitt Dudley Leavitt (August 31, 1830 – October 15, 1908) was an early Patriarch (Latter Day Saints), patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a Mormon pioneer and an early settler in southern Utah. Biography Leavi ...
. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1836.


Migration west and career

Later that year, Wentworth joined a migration west and moved to Chicago, arriving in the city on October 25, 1836. He became managing editor of Chicago's first newspaper, the ''Chicago Democrat,'' eventually becoming its owner and publisher. Wentworth was admitted to the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1841. He started a
law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...
and entered politics. He was a business partner of Illinois financier
Jacob Bunn :''This article concerns John Whitfield Bunn, Jacob Bunn, and the entrepreneurs who were interconnected with the Bunn brothers through association or familial and genealogical connection.'' John Whitfield Bunn (June 21, 1831 – June 7, 1920)Ill ...
, and the two men were two of the incorporators of the Chicago Secure Depository Company.


Marriage and family

In 1844, he married Roxanna Marie Loomis. In later years, his nephew
Moses J. Wentworth Moses Jones Wentworth (1848–1922) was an American lawyer and politician from Chicago, who served as a member of the 29th, 30th, and 31st General Assemblies in the Illinois House of Representatives, from the 1st District. He was elected as a ...
handled his business affairs, and would eventually manage his estate as well.


Political career

Wentworth started his political involvement as a
Jacksonian democrat Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andr ...
, and promoted these views in the ''Chicago Democrat''. After he supported the
1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ...
mayoral candidacy of William Ogden, including throwing the newspaper behind Ogden's candidacy, he was appointed by Odgen to serve in the post of city printer. Wentworth, after having become active in Democratic politics, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for a total of six terms, five of them 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 ...
: (March 4, 1843March 3, 1851 and March 4, 1853March 3, 1855). He returned to Chicago and affiliated with the
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. Wentworth was first elected mayor in the
1857 Chicago mayoral election In the 1857 Chicago mayoral election, Republican John Wentworth defeated Democrat Benjamin F. Carver by a ten-point margin. The election was held on March 3. Background The Democratic Party were coming off of the success of their presidenti ...
; he served two terms, 1857–1858 and 1860–1861 (being elected to his second term in the
1860 Chicago mayoral election In the Mayoral elections in Chicago, Chicago mayoral election of 1860, Democratic nominee John Wentworth (Illinois politician), John Wentworth defeated Republican nominee Walter S. Gurnee. Both candidates had served as mayor before. Incidental ...
). In his second term, he again affiliated with the Democratic Party. As mayor Wentworth instituted the use of
chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...
s of prisoners in the city as laborers. In July 1857, while serving as mayor of Chicago, Wentworth was charged with assaulting an attorney named Charles Cameron, who was attempting to communicate with his incarcerated client. Cameron testified that Wentworth "seized him by the coat collar and shirt bosom" and forcibly removed him from the prison, alleging that he had resisted officers. Wentworth, after requesting the case be delayed twice, refused to appear in court. The Judge found in favor of Cameron and charged Wentworth amounts of $25 "and costs" and $200. In his effort to clean up the city's morals, he hired spies to determine who was frequenting Chicago's brothels. In 1857, Wentworth led a raid on "the Sands," Chicago's
red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...
, which resulted in the burning of the area. Wentworth served on the
Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently appointed solely by the mayor ...
. In 1864, Wentworth ran again for Congress, as a Republican, and was elected for his last term, serving March 4, 1865March 3, 1867. While he was in the House, there was a controversial vote to settle a boundary issue between Wisconsin and Illinois, with Wisconsin claiming land as far as the tip 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 ...
. Wentworth was promised that if he voted to give the land including Chicago to Wisconsin, he would be appointed to the US Senate. Wentworth declined the offer. According to city historians in
Sandwich, Illinois Sandwich is a city in DeKalb and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 7,421 at the 2010 census and 7,221 at the 2020 census. History The town's history is tied to politician "Long John" Wentworth and his efforts t ...
, Wentworth was one of the key individuals who was responsible for the city getting a railroad stop. The town, which at the time, was called "Newark Station", was given the station, and in turn, the town gave Wentworth the honor of naming the town, which he subsequently named after his hometown, Sandwich, New Hampshire. It is also to note that the boundary line dispute with Wisconsin would have cut through present-day Sandwich, as it straddles the northern border with neighboring LaSalle County, which would have been the State Line had Wentworth not been successful in moving the line north. After retiring from Congress, from 1868 Wentworth lived at his country estate at 5441 South Harlem Avenue in Chicago. He owned about of land in what is today part of the Chicago neighborhood of Garfield Ridge and suburban
Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
. When an author left a manuscript of a history of Chicago with Wentworth for his suggestions, he reportedly removed what did not refer to him and returned the manuscript to its author with the note, "Here is your expurgated and correct history of Chicago."


Family historian

He researched and wrote ''The Wentworth Genealogy – English and American'' - twice, which he published privately. The first two-volume edition, also known as the "private edition", published in 1871, was followed by a second, corrected, edition in 1878, which was published in three volumes, for a total of 2241 pages. The total reported cost for both editions was $40,000. The first of the 1878 volumes chronicles the ancestry of Elder William Wentworth, the first of this family in New England, and his first five generations of New World descendants. The second and third volumes discuss the "Elder's" many descendants and others of the name. John was a fourth great-grandson of William.John Wentworth
Wentworth Genealogy: English and American
vol. 1, p. 140 accessed 6 April 2013


Death

Wentworth died at his estate in 1888, aged 73. He was buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. At his request, his tombstone was a sixty-foot tall granite obelisk that was imported from New Hampshire on two railroad cars. It was, at the time, the tallest tombstone in the west.


See also

* The Wentworth Letter


References


Further reading

* Fehrenbacher, Don E. ''Chicago Giant: A Biography of "Long John" Wentworth'' (1957). * Fehrenbacher, Don E. “Lincoln and the Mayor of Chicago.” ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' 40#4 (1957), pp. 237–44
online


External links


John Wentworth, "First Inaugural Address"
Chicago Public Library
John Wentworth, "Second Inaugural Address"
Chicago Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, John 1815 births 1888 deaths People from Sandwich, New Hampshire Illinois Republicans Mayors of Chicago Illinois lawyers 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Dartmouth College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Members of the Chicago Board of Education