In force March 1, 1835.
AN ACT concerning Religious Societies.
1Preamble.
Whereas, petitions are frequently presented to the legislature of the State to incorporate religious societies; and, whereas, if said acts of incorporation were
granted, it would lead to an endless system of partial legislation; and whereas, all
religious societies, of every denomination, should receive equal protection and encouragement
from the legislature, and no one society be granted exclusive privileges:2 Therefore:
Religious societies may become incorporated.
May elect or appoint trustees.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That it shall be lawful for the members of any society or congregation heretofore
formed in this State for purposes of religious worship, and for members of any society or congregation
which may hereafter be formed for the purpose aforesaid, to purchase a quantity of
land not exceeding five3 acres, and to erect or build thereon, such houses and buildings as they may deem
necessary for the purposes aforesaid, and to make such other use of the land, and
make such other improvements thereon as may be deemed necessary for the comfort and
convenience of such society or congregation; and such society or congregation may assume a name and elect or appoint any number
of trustees, not exceeding ten, who
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shall be styled trustees of such society or congregation by the name assumed, and
the title to the land purchased and improvements made, shall be vested in the trustees,
by the name and style assumed as aforesaid.
Appointment how verified.
Sec. 2. Immediately after the election or appointment of trustees by any society or congregation
as aforesaid, the persons elected or appointed, shall make a certificate, under their
hands and seals, stating the date of their election or appointment, the name of the
society or congregation, and the length of time for which they were elected or appointed,
which shall be verified by the affidavit of some one of the persons making the same,
and shall be recorded by the recorder of the county in which such society or congregation
may be formed, and the said trustees shall hold their office for and during the period
stated in the certificate aforesaid. And at the expiration of their term of service
and forever thereafter, at the expiration of the term of service of any trustee elected
or appointed as aforesaid, the said society or congregation shall elect or appoint
successors, who shall, in like manner, continue in office for such period as may be
limited by the society or congregation, and a certificate of their election or appointment
shall be made by the trustees whose term of service shall have expired, which shall
be verified by affidavit, and recorded as provided in the election or appointment
of trustees in the first instance.
Shall have perpetual succession.
Their powers.
Sec. 3. The trustees elected or appointed under the provisions of this act, and their successors,
shall have perpetual succession and existence, and the title to land herein authorized
to be purchased, and to the buildings and improvements thereon, shall be vested in
the said trustees by their assumed name, and their successors forever; and the same
shall be held for the uses and purposes herein named and no other; and such trustees shall be capable in law, to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded,
answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, and in all courts of law or equity
whatsoever, in and by the name and style assumed as aforesaid; and shall have power,
under the direction of the society or congregation, to execute deeds and conveyances
of, and concerning the estate and property herein authorized to be held by such society
or congregation; and such deeds or conveyances shall have the same effect as like
deeds or conveyances made by natural persons: Provided, That no deed or conveyance shall be made of any estate held as aforesaid, so as
to defeat or destroy the interest or effect of any grant, donation or bequest which
may be made to any such society or congregation, but all grants, donations, and bequests
shall be ap-
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propriated and used as directed by the person or persons making the same.
Society to fill vacancies.
Sec. 4. Every society or congregation formed as aforesaid, shall have power to provide for
filling vacancies which may happen in the office of trustee, and also to remove trustees
from office, and to adopt such rules and regulations in relation to the duties of
trustees, and the management of its estate as the members may deem proper, not inconsistent
with the constitution and laws of this State or the United States.
When any society shall be dissolved.
Sec. 5. Upon the dissolution of any society or congregation formed under the provisions of
this act, the estate and property of such society or congregation shall revert back
to the persons, their heirs and assigns, who may have given or contributed to the
purchase of, or payment for the same, according to their respective rights. A failure
to elect or appoint trustees at any time when, by the provisions of this act, such
election or appointment should be had, shall not work a dissolution of the society
or congregation, but the trustees last elected or appointed, shall be considered as
in office until another election or appointment shall take place.
This act shall take effect on the first day of March next.
Approved, Feb. 6, 1835.
1On January 15, 1835, Cyrus Edwards introduced in the Senate the petition of members of the Baptist church in Lower Alton requesting incorporation. The Senate referred the petition to a select committee.
From that select committee, Edwards then introduced SB 59 in the Senate on January 19. On January 27, the Senate amended and passed the bill.
On February 2, the House of Representatives rejected a motion to table the bill until July 4, by a vote of 15 yeas and 33 nays,
Abraham Lincoln voting nay. The House passed the bill by a vote of 35 yeas to 15 nays, Lincoln voting
yea. On February 6, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 412, 418, 437, 469; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 256, 278, 324, 353, 404, 445, 448, 454; Illinois House
Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 399, 401, 411.
2As early as 1811, some states adopted general incorporation acts, and as populations
grew and demand increased by the 1840s, most states in the east and emerging Midwest
used general incorporation acts in a variety of areas because they saved time and
money. Many people during this period viewed specialized legislation as a privilege
of the elite and viewed general incorporation laws as more democratic.
E. G. White, Law in American History, Volume 1: From the Colonial Years Through the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 265-66; Lance E. Davis and Douglass C.
North, Institutional Change and American Economic Growth (London: Cambridge University Press, 1971), 138.
Printed Document, 3 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at their First Session (Vandalia, IL:
J. Y. Sawyer, 1835), 147-49, GA Session: 9-1,