Hanson, George M. (of Coles Co., IL)

Born: 1799-03-13 Russell County, Virginia

Died: 1878-08-01 California

Flourished: Coles County, Illinois

A Virginia native, Hanson settled in Paradise Township, Illinois, located in then Clark County, in 1828. He petitioned the Federal Government to establish a post office in the town, and was successful and served as the first postmaster. In 1830, Hanson drafted and circulated a petition for the erection of a new county. He succeeded in getting the bill passed and Coles County was created out of Clark and Edgar counties. After the passing of the bill, Hanson went to the land office and purchased the first tract of land ever purchased in Coles County. Hanson was then elected as a member of the Board of County Commissioners. In 1839, Hanson was associated with a proposed resolution regarding a contested election in Pike County. Hanson was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing Coles County from 1842-1846. He was then elected to the Illinois Senate in 1846, serving two years, representing Clark, Cumberland and Coles counties. Hanson was a minister in the ranks of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1850, Hanson was a minister living in Sutter County, California, where he remained until his death in 1878.

The History of Coles County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr., 1879), 326, 349, 504-506; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 211, 212, 213; Gravestone, Lower Lake Cemetery, Lake County, CA; U.S. Census Office, Fifth Census of the United States (1830), Clark County, IL, 68; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sutter County, CA, 56; Proposed Resolution of Illinois House of Representatives regarding the Contested Election in Pike County.