Chestnut, John A.

Born: 1816-01-19 Kentucky

Died: 1898-01-14 Springfield, Illinois

John A. Chestnut was an attorney, real estate investor, banker, county clerk, and member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He received a basic education in Kentucky, then read law with P. H. Winchester in Carlinville, Illinois, and earned admission to the Illinois bar in December 1837. He began practicing law in Carlinville, but also served as clerk for Macoupin County from 1838 to 1851. In November 1844, he married Sarah A. Blair and had one child with her before she died in 1849. He was nominated by the Whig Party to represent them in the Illinois General Assembly on three occasions, but never won a position. He was, nevertheless, successful and prosperous. By 1850, he owned $10,000 in real estate. In 1854, he married Kate N. Corbett. The next year, in 1855, he gave up his law practice to pursue work in real estate and banking. By 1860, he had a personal estate valued at $40,000 and real estate valued at another $40,000. After achieving this financial success, he relocated to Springfield, where he soon sustained significant losses in his real estate investments.

History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 137; History of Macoupin County, Illinois (Edwardsville, IL: Brink & McDonough, 1879), 51; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Greene County, 27 November 1844, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Carlinville, Macoupin County, IL, 175; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Carlinville, Macoupin County, IL, 10; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.