Minshall, William A.

Born: 1802 Virginia

Died: 1852-11-05 Rushville, Illinois

Sometime before 1833, Minshall moved to Illinois and settled in Rushville. He married Rebecca Jabine in August 1833. A Whig, he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1832, 1836, and 1840; he lost election to that body in 1834 and again in 1846. In 1847, he was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He practiced law in Rushville and in 1849, he won election as a circuit court judge. As a judge, he presided over at least four cases in which Abraham Lincoln was an attorney. Minshall held that position until his death in 1852.

State Bank of Illinois v. Gibson, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135271; Macon v. Petersburg, Illinois, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135040; Morris et al. v. Nance et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135171; Pantier et al. v. Garman, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135170; Theodore C. Pease, ed., Illinois Election Returns, 1818-1848, vol. 18 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923), 263, 276, 301, 346, 416, 459; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Schuyler County, IL, 317; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 12 November 1852, 3:1; Combined History of Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois (Philadelphia, W. R. Brink, 1882), 136; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Schuyler County, 4 August 1833, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.