Harvey, William

Born: 1794-XX-XX Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Died: 1855-09-25 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

When a young man, Harvey went to Washington County, Maryland where he married Eliza Rice in 1829. Their union produced five children. Harvey moved his family to Springfield, Illinois in November 1835. Harvey was a Springfield constable, county tax collector, deputy sheriff of Sangamon County, Illinois, and won election as sheriff of Sangamon County in 1846. He was a Whig. In 1850, Harvey owned $400 worth of real estate. Abraham Lincoln knew Harvey well, as Harvey served summonses and writs in more than 240 of Lincoln's legal cases in Sangamon County Circuit Court.

U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 125; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 363-64; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 23 May 1844, 2:7; Receipt for 1845 Illinois and Sangamon County Taxes; For cases involving Harvey, search "Harvey, William," Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.