Kellogg, William

Born: 1814-07-08 Kelloggsville, Ohio

Died: 1872-12-20 Peoria, Illinois

Kellogg moved to Canton, Illinois, in 1837, where he studied law and began a legal practice. He married Lucinda C. Ross, with whom he had five children. In 1849, Kellogg won election to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he remained until 1850, when he became a state judge. His legal career as both a lawyer and a judge frequently brought him into contact with Abraham Lincoln. After five years on the bench, Kellogg successfully ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican and served until 1863. In 1864, Lincoln appointed him minister to Guatemala but Kellogg declined, returned to Illinois, and settled in Peoria.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1319; J. Sterling Morton, Albert Watkins, and George L. Miller, eds., Illustrated History of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE: Jacob North & Company, 1905), 1:517, n2.