Broadwell, Charles

Born: 1800-12-03 Hamilton County, Ohio

Died: 1848-01-26

Alternate name: Bradwell

Charles Broadwell was the son of Moses Broadwell, who was a prominent early settler of Sangamon County, Illinois. The family settled there in the summer of 1820. Charles married Helen Carman in Sangamon County on January 9, 1825, and the couple had eight children. In 1833, Charles ran a steam mill on the Sangamon River at Sangamo Town. He was interested in the development railroads and canals in Illinois and was a promoter of education as well. In July 1841, he sold his mill at Sangamo Town and sometime after that settled in Pekin, Illinois. Following the death of Moses Broadwell, whose estate was considerable, there were some disputes within the family, and Charles and other heirs were involved in a case that Abraham Lincoln argued before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Gravestone, Lakeside Cemetery, Pekin, IL; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 142-43; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 9 January 1825, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 24 August 1833, 3:3; 4 April 1835, 3:1; 23 May 1835, 3:3; 23 January 1836, 3:2; 4 November 1837, 2:6; 6 August 1841, 3:4; 3 February 1848, 2:2; U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Sangamon County, IL, 19; Broadwell et al. for use of Thompson et ux. v. Broadwell et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds. The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=138350.