Elbridge Hanecy (March 15, 1852 – 1925) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge of both the

Illinois Circuit Court The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the judiciary of Illinois. They are trial courts of original and general jurisdiction. As of 2024, outside of Cook County which has its own circuit court, there are 24 numbered circuits, which may ...

for Cook County and the

Superior Court of Cook County The Superior Court of Cook County was a court in Cook County, Illinois, which existed (under different names) from 1845 up until Cook County's courts were merged in 1964 to form the current incarnation of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The cou ...

. He was the Republican nominee for

mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of city Government of Chicago, government in Chicago, Illinois, the List of United States cities by population, third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsib ...

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

, losing to incumbent

Carter Harrison IV Carter Henry Harrison IV (April 23, 1860 – December 25, 1953) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who served a total of five terms as mayor of Chicago (1897–1905 and 1911–1915) b ...

, and also unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of 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 we ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

Early life, family, and education

Hanecy was born March 15, 1852, the son of William Hanecy and Mary Hanecy (). His parents had both moved to Wisconsin from their native state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

two years before his birth. Hanecy's father died the year Hanecy was born. His father had, previously, served in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

as a non-commissioned officer, and had been a merchant in Springfield,

. Upon moving to Wisconsin, he acquired land in

Dodge County, Wisconsin Dodge County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 89,396. Its county seat is Juneau, Wisconsin, Juneau. The county was created from the ...

, which he used for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

until his 1852 death. After being widowed by Hanecy's father, Hanecy's mother, Mary, remarried to Albert Littell, who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and died on his way home after the war. He finished common school and academy, before studying law. His primary education was in Dodge County

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

, and supplemented by a course he took at the College of Milwaukee.

Career

Early career

Moving to Chicago in 1869, he accepted a position with Field, Leiter & Company, working as a dry goods clerk for them from 1869 until the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

in 1871. After this, he briefly worked with John V. Farwell & Co.

Legal and judicial career

Hanecy turned to studying law. He was an apprentice at the firm Harvey, Anthony, and Galt. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

on September 11, 1874, being admitted to practice law in

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 ...

. He practiced general law in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He practiced law alone until 1889, when he formed the partnership of Hanecy and Merrick with Georg P. Merrick. He practiced general law with his partnership until he was elected a Judge on the

Circuit Court of Illinois Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circui ...

in Cook County in November 1893. He took office December 15, 1893. He was assigned the chancellor of the court in July 1895. He was reelected to the court for a six year term in June 1897, serving until his term expired in 1893. Thrice on the court, he was assigned to be the umpire of the board of arbitration, dealing with disputes between the bricklayers' and stonemasons' associations and their employers. In January 1904, he was appointed to the

for an unexpired term ending that December. After leaving the bench, he returned to practicing law.

Political career

A prominent and active Republican, He was among the city's best-known Republicans for a time. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 1900 Illinois gubernatorial election, being defeated by Richard Yates Jr. at the state convention by a thin margin. Hanecy was politically allied with William Lorimer, being Lorimer's candidate the gubernatorial election. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee in the

1901 Chicago mayoral election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, losing to incumbent

Carter Harrison Jr. Carter Henry Harrison IV (April 23, 1860 – December 25, 1953) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician who served a total of five terms as mayor of Chicago (1897–1905 and 1911–1915) but failed in his attempt to becom ...

In his bid for the Republican nomination, and the general election, he was again supported by William Lorimer.

Machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

Republicans largely backed Hanecy for the nomination ahead of the city nominating convention.

Personal life and death

Hanecy was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. Hanecy married Sarah Barton on March 1, 1876. They had many children together. Hanecy died in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanecy, Elbridge Illinois Republicans Lawyers from Chicago Wisconsin lawyers Judges of the Superior Court of Cook County Circuit court judges in the United States 1852 births 1925 deaths People from Dodge County, Wisconsin