Richard Montgomery Young (February 20, 1798 – November 28, 1861) was a

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

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 ...

. Young was born in Fayette County,

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 ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1816. In 1817, he moved his law practices to Jonesboro, Illinois, and was appointed a captain in the state militia. He served in the Illinois state house from 1820 to 1822 and as a circuit court judge from 1825 to 1837. He resigned his judgeship after being elected to the

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

in 1837 as a member of the Democratic Party. As a federal Senator, he served one six-year term; during the first four of his six years in office he was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Roads and Canals. Upon the end of his term in the Senate, he was appointed to the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the fiv ...

(1843–1847) and then became a land office commissioner by appointment of

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

. He served as the Clerk to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

in 1850 and practiced law in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1851 until his death. Young was the presiding judge at the 1844 trial of the accused killers of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, the founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

. Young owned slaves.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Richard 1798 births 1861 deaths Illinois state court judges Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Clerks of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party United States senators from Illinois Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois Commissioners of the United States General Land Office 19th-century Illinois state court judges 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly 19th-century United States senators