Dougherty, William L.

Born: 1830-XX-XX Illinois

Born as the son of prominent Illinois citizen John Dougherty, William L. Dougherty was an attorney, Democrat, and Mason. In 1850, he lived with his parents in Jonesboro, Illinois, where he practiced law. In April 1858, he served as a member of the pro-Buchanan Democratic State Central Committee. In June of that year, he also served as a delegate to the Democratic State Convention held in Springfield, Illinois. In the same month, he was nominated for appointment as U.S. district attorney. He did not receive the latter appointment; President James Buchanan instead appointed him U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Illinois.

William Henry Perrin, ed., History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois (Chicago: O. L. Baskin, 1883), 1:310; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Jonesboro, Union County, IL, 231; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 26 April 1858, 2:3; 7 June 1858, 3:1; 10 June 1858, 2:3; Nelson D. Elwood, Proceedings of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Illinois (Chicago: Chas. Scott, 1858), 56; Lyman Trumbull to Abraham Lincoln; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1859 (Washington, DC: William A. Harris, 1859), 171.