Paddock, Orville

Born: 1805-12-16 Vermont

Died: 1867-12-25 Madison County, Illinois

Flourished: 1840-1852 Springfield, Illinois

As a child, Paddock accompanied his parents in moving from Vermont to Illinois, settling just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Paddock became a dry-goods merchant in St. Louis, and in 1834, he married Mary Elizabeth Baily. By 1840, Paddock had relocated to Springfield, Illinois, where he was employed in commerce as a partner in the firm Hurst & Paddock. In 1842, he retained Logan & Lincoln and declared bankruptcy. Politically, Paddock was a Whig. In 1849, Paddock was recommended by Lincoln and others for the position of pension agent in Springfield, but the post went to Lincoln's close friend William S. Wallace instead. In 1850, Paddock was employed as a clerk in Springfield and in 1852, he announced that he was opening a commission and forwarding business in Alton, Illinois, and he relocated there.

Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 12 July 1834, 3:5; U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Sangamon County, IL, 9; In re Paddock, 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; Illinois Journal (Springfield), 4 November 1847, 3:4; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 91; Memorandum concerning Orville Paddock and William S. Wallace; Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 2:45; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 29 March 1850, 3:5; 20 August 1852, 3:2; Whig City Meeting; Gravestone, Paddock-Flagg Cemetery, Moro, IL; Centennial History of Missouri (St. Louis: S. J. Clarke, 1921), 4:422-23; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Madison County, IL, 84.