Reuben Ellwood (February 21, 1821 – July 1, 1885) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

Biography

Reuben Ellwood was born in

Minden, New York Minden is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 4,166 at the 2020 census. The town is located at the western edge of the county and south of the Mohawk River, which forms its northern border. It possessed a pos ...

on February 21, 1821, to Abraham and Sarah Ellwood. He attended public schools in New York before moving to

DeKalb County, Illinois DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolit ...

with his family when he was fifteen. There, he worked for a year as a farmhand to William Miller in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. The next year, he traveled to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

to help construct a dam on the Fox River. After working in a Rockford brickyard, Ellwood had saved enough money to purchase a farm near

Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

, which he tended for four years. He then returned to New York to attend Cherry Valley Seminary. Before graduating, he moved to

Glenville, New York Glenville is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. It was incorporated in 1821 from Schenectady. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 29,326. Including the village of Scotia, the town of Glenville encompasses the part ...

to operate a mill. Ellwood became interested in the cultivation of broom corn and ran a successful

broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

business, employing 130 men. He married Eleanor Vedder in 1849; they had six children. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

(Schenectady Co.) in

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion in China, one of the bloodiest revolts that would lead to 20 million deaths. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-d ...

as a Whig. Ellwood was named a delegate to the

1856 Republican National Convention The 1856 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 17 to June 19, 1856, at Musical Fund Hall at 808 Locust Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first national nominating conventio ...

, the party that he would identify with for the rest of his life. He returned to Sycamore in 1857, engaging in the hardware trade, particularly farm machinery. He invested in local farm implement manufacturers and became one of the wealthiest men in the county. Ellwood continued his political aspirations as U.S. Assessor for the 4th Congressional District of Illinois the first mayor of Sycamore. Ellwood was elected as a Republican to the

48th United States Congress The 48th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1883, ...

. He was re-elected to the

49th United States Congress The 49th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 188 ...

, but before its assembling, he died after a long illness in Sycamore on July 1, 1885. Ellwood was interred in Elmwood Cemetery. His brothers followed him to DeKalb County.

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

became a prominent

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

entrepreneur and Chauncey also served as Sycamore mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellwood, Reuben 1821 births 1885 deaths Members of the New York State Assembly People from Minden, New York New York (state) Whigs Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Schenectady County, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

See also

References