Chew, Henry

Born: 1819-XX-XX Virginia

Alternate name: Shew

Henry Chew was a farmer, public servant, postmaster, and Whig. In March 1844, at a gathering of members of the Springfield, Illinois Clay Club, attendees, including Abraham Lincoln, appointed Chew secretary. In May 1845, members of the Springfield City Council appointed him street commissioner for the city's Fourth Ward. In May 1850, he married Susan Blackmore. Census records from later that year show that he lived in Sangamon County, Illinois with Susan and four children. Also in 1850, he received appointment as postmaster for Chatham, Illinois. In January 1853, he was working as a druggist in Chatham.

Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 7 March 1844, 2:5; 29 May 1845, 2:1; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Livingston County, 8 May 1850, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 152; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 18 January 1853, 3:2; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:172, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 830.