Black, James (IL Representative)

Born: 1791-02-01 New York, New York

Died: 1843-10-26 Vandalia, Illinois

Flourished: Vandalia, Illinois

Black moved from New York to Illinois between 1820 and 1825. He settled in Vandalia, where he became a prominent landowner, merchant, and politician. In 1827, he received appointment as postmaster for Vandalia, a position he held until 1832. In 1828, Black won election as a Whig to the Illinois House of Representatives, representing Bond, Montgomery, Shelby, Tazewell, and Fayette Counties. He remained in the House until 1830.

Gravestone, Old State Cemetery, Vandalia, IL; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Fayette County (Chicago: Munsell, 1910), 2:717; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 201.