Richard Jones Hamilton (August 21, 1799 – December 12, 1860) was an American politician and judge. Hamilton was born in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, but 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 ...

in his early adulthood where he held numerous public offices. Hamilton was a member of the Democratic Party. In the 1830s, Hamilton moved to

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, where he served as a county judge, the recorder of deeds,

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

, clerk of the Circuit Court, clerk of the Cook County Commissions Court, and also held several minor municipal offices 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 ...

. In the 1840s, Hamilton twice won election to the

Chicago Common Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

(city council) as a Democrat. He was a Democratic

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come to ...

, and was the Democratic Party's unsuccessful nominee for

lieutenant governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...

Early life and career

Hamilton was born August 21, 1799, in

Mercer County, Kentucky Mercer County is a county located in the central part of 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 i ...

. He was educated at Shelbyville Academy and Shelbyville College. At the age of seventeen, Hamilton took a job as a shop clerk. In 1818, he moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. In 1820, he left

for

, moving to Jonesboro. In Jonesboro, he initially worked as a teacher. However, he left this job in 1821 after being appointed a cashier at the newly established Illinois State Bank.

Politics and government

In 1826, Hamilton was appointed a justice of the peace for Jackson County by the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

. In 1827, he was admitted to the bar after studying law. In 1829, Hamilton practiced law throughout Illinois' southern circuit. In 1831, Hamilton lost his employment as a state bank cashier following the bank's closure. Soon after, the state legislature appointed him in February to serve as the inaugural

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

of newly created

. He held the judgeship until late-1835. That year, he was also made the inaugural Cook County recorder, holding that office from 1831 until 1839. In 1831, he also was made the inaugural

clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County is the Court clerk, clerk of Circuit Court of Cook County, located in Cook County, Illinois. Office description The office was first established in 1831, the year that Cook County was created. In 18 ...

, holding that office until 1841. J. Young Scammon served as his deputy clerk of the from 1835 through 1836 (taking this role after the previous deputy clerk, Henry Moore, could not continue in it).Multiple sources: * * * In December 1831, he was appointed clerk of Cook County, an office that he held until August 1837. In 1832, Hamilton also became clerk of the Cook County Commissions Court, holding that office until 1837. He also held several minor offices in the city of

at this time. In 1840, Hamilton won election to the

(city council) 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 ...

. In 1849, Hamilton was elected to a non-consecutive second term on the Common Council. Hamilton was a Democratic

in the 1852 presidential election. In 1856, Hamilton was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for

. Hamilton was a supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, and many progressive movements.

Personal life

In 1822, Hamilton married Diana W. Buckner. He became

widowed A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for ...

after her death in 1834. In 1835, he remarried to Hariette L. Hubbard. He was widowed a second time after she died in 1843. In 1843, he married his third wife Priscilla P. Tuley. Hamilton was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and served as an officer of the Grand Lodge Of Illinois. He was also a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

. Hamilton died in Chicago on December 26, 1860. He was buried with Masonic honors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Richard J. People from Mercer County, Kentucky People from Louisville, Kentucky People from Union County, Illinois Schoolteachers from Kentucky Schoolteachers from Illinois Illinois Democrats Politicians from Chicago County judges in the United States Clerks American justices of the peace Cook County Recorders of Deeds 1852 United States presidential electors Chicago City Council members American Freemasons People from Jackson County, Illinois Clerks of the Circuit Court of Cook County Cook County Clerks