Caldwell, William

Born: 1779-12-15 Suffolk, Virginia

Died: 1844-08-01 Sangamon County, Illinois

Flourished: 1836-1844 Sangamon County, Illinois

As a young child, Caldwell moved with his parents from Virginia to Jessamine County, Kentucky, where he married Nancy Roberts in 1804. They settled initially in Jessamine County, where they raised six children and Caldwell served as a captain in the War of 1812, as sheriff of the county, and as a state legislator, before moving to Sangamon County, Illinois, in 1836. Caldwell settled in Sugar Creek until 1841, when he moved to Curran township. A Whig, Caldwell was elected to represent Sangamon County in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1842-44.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 165-67; Proceedings of Whig Meeting regarding Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; John Clayton, comp., Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 210; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.