Fouke, Phillip B.

Born: 1818-01-23 Kaskaskia, Illinois

Died: 1876-10-03 Washington, DC

Phillip B. Fouke was a clerk, civil engineer, newspaper publisher, lawyer, congressman, soldier, and public servant. Although his formal education was limited, Fouke obtained a position as a clerk, then as a civil engineer before founding and publishing the Belleville Advocate in 1841. He studied law, passed the bar in 1845, and began practicing law in Belleville, Illinois. In June 1846, he married Emma M. Bosbyshell, with whom he had at least four children. He served as prosecuting attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit from 1846 to 1850, then, in 1851, was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1858, he won election as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, and won re-election two years later. By 1860, he owned personal and real property valued at $5,500. During the Civil War, he commanded the Thirtieth Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Infantry at the rank of colonel beginning in late-August 1861, was wounded at the Battle of Belmont in Missouri in November 1861, but remained with his regiment until ill health forced him to resign soon after the Battle of Shiloh. After leaving the U.S. Army, he worked as a public administrator and attorney in New Orleans before relocating to Washington, DC to practice law.

Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois (Philadelphia: J. L. McDonough, 1883), 180, 213; Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1052; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Carroll County, ed. by Charles L. Hostetter (Chicago: Munsell, 1913), 1:174-75; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Jersey County, 15 June 1846, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), St. Clair County, IL, 349.