Berdan, James

Born: 1805-07-04 New York, New York

Died: 1884-08-24 Jacksonville, Illinois

James Berdan attended King's College (Columbia) and graduated from Yale College in 1824. Eight years later, he moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he practiced law. An active Whig, he was a delegate to the district Whig convention in 1843 and secretary of the Jacksonville Clay Club in 1844. Voters elected Berdan as county judge for Morgan County in 1849, and he served in that office until 1857. He subsequently worked as secretary of the Tonica and Petersburg Railroad and as a trustee of Illinois College.

Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Morgan County (Chicago: Munsell, 1906), 1:45; John M. Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis, 1899), 1:338; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 11 May 1843, 2:5; 15 February 1844, 2:4.