Kitchell, Wickliffe

Born: 1789-05-21 New Jersey

Died: 1869-01-02 Pana, Illinois

One of the earliest lawyers in Crawford County, Illinois, Kitchell came to the Illinois TerritoryIllinois Territory around 1814. He had originally taken up farming but cut his foot and became immobilized. Kitchell served as sheriff early in his residency and began studying law--earning admittance to the bar in 1817. He opened a practice in Palestine and maintained it until 1838, when he moved to Hillsboro. Kitchell won election to the Illinois House of Representative in 1820 and served until 1822. In 1828, voters awarded him a seat in the Illinois Senate, which he occupied until 1832. In 1839, Kitchell was appointed state attorney general and remained in that position until the following year, when he was reelected to the Illinois House from Montgomery County. He later moved to Fort Madison, Iowa, but returned to Hillsboro in 1854.

Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Illinois Historical: Crawford County Biographical (Chicago: Munsell, 1909), 624.