Cowardin, Peter G.

Died: 1849-01-20 Logan County, Illinois

By 1829, Cowardin settled in an area of Sangamon County, Illinois that would later become Logan County. That year, he received appointment as road commissioner, and in 1834, he became circuit clerk for Sangamon County. He also served as a justice of the peace. Cowardin was a strong advocate for the creation of Logan County, and in 1840, he constructed the Postville Courthouse for the newly created county. He was a member of the Whig Party.

Lawrence B. Stringer, History of Logan County Illinois (Chicago: Pioneer, 1911), 1:88, 142, 143, 144; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Logan County, 68:139, 69:15, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Raymond N. Dooley, "Lincoln and his Namesake Town," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 52 (Spring 1959), 132; Proceedings of Whig Convention at Pekin, Illinois regarding Candidates for Congress; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 5 May 1838 3:3; Illinois Journal (Springfield), 24 January 1849, 2:6.