Jenkins, Alexander M.

Born: 1801 North Carolina

Died: 1864-02-13

Flourished: Jackson County, Illinois

Jenkins came to Illinois as a youth, settling first in Brownsvillle, where he served as postmaster from 1830 to 1836. After a short stint in business, Jenkins studied law and earned admission to the Illinois Bar. In 1830, he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives, as a Democrat, representing Perry & Jackson counties. Voters re-elected Jenkins in 1832, and during his second term served as speaker of the House. In late 1832, Jenkins was captain of a Jackson County company in the Black Hawk War. In December 1834, Jenkins won election as lieutenant governor, but resigned in 1836 to accept the presidency of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. After the company lost its charter in 1837, Jenkins worked as receiver of public moneys in the U.S. General Land Office at Edwardsville. In 1848, Jenkins was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention. In 1850, he was a practicing attorney in Jackson County. In 1859, he became justice of the Circuit Court of the Third Judicial Circuit, winning re-election in 1861. He was the uncle of General John A. Logan.

Gravestone, Woodlawn Cemetery, Carbondale, Jackson County, IL; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Sangamon County (Chicago: Munsell, 1912), 1:304; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Jackson County, IL, 234; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1832-1844, 12B:518, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.