Knapp, Anthony L.

Born: 1828-06-14 Orange County, New York

Died: 1881-05-24 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: 1859-1881

Anthony L. Knapp was a lawyer, state senator, and U.S. representative. Son of Augustus R. Knapp, Anthony moved with his parents from his native New York to Illinois in 1839, settling in Jerseyville, where he completed preparatory studies for a career in law. Anthony read law, earned admission to the Illinois bar, and commenced practicing in Jerseyville. In 1847, he became the private secretary to Governor Augustus C. French. From 1859 to 1861, Anthony represented Jersey County in the Illinois Senate. In 1860, he was living in Jerseyville with his parents and owned real property valued at $3,000 and a personal estate of $600. In December 1861, voters in the Sixth Illinois Congressional District sent him to the U.S. House of Representatives to complete the unexpired term of John A. McClernand. In 1863, Anthony won election, as a Democrat, to the U.S. House in his own right. In November 1863, he married Henrietta E. Smith, with whom he had one son. Not a candidate for re-election in 1864, Anthony served in the U.S. House until March 1865. After leaving Congress, he moved to Chicago, where he practiced law. In 1867, he moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he practiced law for the remainder of his life.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1345; John M. Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis, 1899), 1:397-99; Blue Book of the State of Illinois, 1921-1922 (Springfield: Illinois State Journal, 1921), 582, 630, 631; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Cook County, 27 November 1863, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Jerseyville, Jersey County, IL, 20.