Alexander Starne (November 21, 1813 – March 31, 1886) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

as a young man and rose to become both 12nd

Secretary of State of Illinois The secretary of state of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of state in the United States. The Illinois secretary of state keeps the state records, laws, libra ...

and 12nd Treasurer of State of Illinois.

Biography

Alexander Starne was born on November 21, 1813, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He attended public schools until he was sixteen and then became a clerk at the T. W. Dyott drug store. After working there for seven years, he moved to

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

, in 1836. He soon relocated to Griggsville, where he opened a general merchandise store. Starne was elected Commissioner of Pike County in 1839 and served for three years. He was then 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to 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 constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, where he served two two-year terms. Starne moved to

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsf ...

and was appointed Clerk of the Pike County Circuit Court. He was elected

Illinois Secretary of State The secretary of state of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 Secretary of State (U.S. state government), secretaries of state in the United States. The Illinois secretary of ...

in 1852, serving one term under Governor

Joel Aldrich Matteson Joel Aldrich Matteson (August 8, 1808 – January 31, 1873) was the tenth Governor of Illinois, serving from 1853 to 1857. Career In 1855, he became the first governor to reside in the Illinois Executive Mansion. In January 1855, during the ...

. When the Republican Party came to power in 1856, Starne was replaced with a Republican candidate. He was a delegate at large to the 1856 Presidential Election, supporting

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

and

John A. Quitman John Anthony Quitman (September 1, 1798 – July 17, 1858) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. As President of the Mississippi Senate, he served one month as Acting Governor of Mississippi (from December 3, 1835, to January 7, 1836) a ...

. Douglas later withdrew in favor of eventual nominees

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

, who won. Starne became President of the

Hannibal and Naples Railroad Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, was a leadi ...

in 1856, moving back to Griggsville. He saw through the completion of the railroad, which later became part of the

Wabash Railway The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

. Starne chaired the State Democratic Convention in 1858. In 1861, Starne was elected a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention. The next year, he was elected

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Seventy-four individuals have occupied the office of Treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Frerichs, a Democ ...

, a position he held for one year under Republican governor Richard Yates Sr. Starne moved to Springfield, the state capitol, where he spent the rest of his life. Starne was selected as an at-large delegate to the 1864 Presidential Election, supporting

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

, the eventual nominee. He supported John D. Caton as vice presidential nominee. He was elected to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

in 1870 and served two two-year terms. Starne was also the longtime owner of the West End Coal Mines as Starne & Sons. He married Rebecca Hatch on September 23, 1840. She died six years later and Starne remarried to Elvira S. Swetland. He had one daughter by his first marriage and three sons and one daughter by his second. He died on March 31, 1886, and is buried in

Oak Ridge Cemetery Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is there, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Opened in 1860, it ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starne, Alexander 1813 births 1886 deaths Secretaries of state of Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party Illinois state senators Politicians from Philadelphia State treasurers of Illinois People from Pittsfield, Illinois People from Griggsville, Illinois 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly