McCurdy, Nathaniel M.

Born: 1800-XX-XX Maine

Died: 1876-09-29 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Flourished: Fayette County, Illinois

Nathaniel M. McCurdy was a physician, bank director, and state legislator. Little is known about McCurdy's early life and education before coming to Fayette County, Illinois. McCurdy helped establish the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Vandalia, Illinois, in 1831. In 1835, he was a director of the Vandalia branch of the State Bank of Illinois, and a founding trustee of McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois. In 1837, McCurdy was among the founding trustees of the Fayette County Manual Labor Seminary. Five years later, he was a charter member of the Fayette County Masonic Lodge. A supporter of the Whig Party, McCurdy served as an elector for John Tyler in the presidential election of 1844, and in 1852, he was a delegate to the state Whig convention. In 1850, McCurdy was practicing medicine and owned $2,000 in real estate. From 1853 to 1854, McCurdy represented Fayette County in the Illinois House of Representatives.

History of Fayette County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1878), 18, 36, 37, 47; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Fayette County, IL, 386; Robert W. Ross, ed., Historical Souvenir of Vandalia, Illinois (Effingham, IL: National Illustrating, 1904), 65, 74; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 23 May 1835, 3:5; 11 April 1844, 2:7; M. H. Chamberlin, "Historical Sketch of McKendree College," Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society 9 (1904), 349-50; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 3 July 1852, 2:2; Harry Woods, comp., Blue Book of the State of Illinois, 1913-1914 (Danville, IL: Illinois Printing, 1914), 362-64; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2011).