Petition of Peter Pruyne and Others to William F. Thornton, 20 July 18371
Vandalia 20th July 1837To Genl ThorntonSir the undersigned having heard with regret that you design to resign your Station
as President of the Board of canal commissioners beg leave to say that they would regard such a result as deeply affecting the progress
of the work and to express their hope that you will continue in your station untill
the next session of the General Assembly2
Very Respectfully yourObt[Obedient] Servant
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A P DunbarNinian W EdwardsWm L. D. EwingW. W. HappyWm A MinshallJoseph MortonI CourtwrightJ. H. MurphyGeo ScarboroughCyrus A. DavisThos AtwaterGeorge HinshawJohn StuntzR. L. WilsonWilson LagowJohn DawsonSaml G. ThompsonJohn J HardinJoseph HueyJos: GreenJno A. SomervilleJas ShieldsJ. H LyonsE. D. BakerD. WoodJ. K DuboisW J HankinsM. AldrichSaml ConnelyR N CullomA McCormickWilliam McMurtryPeter Green<Page 3>
Robert StuartW A Richardson<Page 4>
Genl ThorntonPresent2Governor Joseph Duncan appointed Thornton as President of the Board of Canal Commissioners in 1836. In 1837,
the position became elective and the legislature elected Thornton to the Board. Thornton was re-elected to his office in March 1839
and he served until 1841.
John H. Krenkel, Illinois Internal Improvements, 1818-1848
(Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch Press, 1958), 31-32, 38, 41, 46, 123, 125; Report of the Canal Commissioners of Illinois to Governor John R. Tanner
(Springfield, IL: Phillips Brothers, 1901), 105.
Autograph Document Signed, 4 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).