Prickett, David (Pricket)

Born: 1800-09-21 Franklin County, Georgia

Died: 1847-03-01 Springfield, Illinois

Alternate name: Pricket

As a child, Prickett moved to Kentucky and then to Edwardsville, Illinois. After graduating from Transylvania University, Prickett was admitted to the bar in 1821 and began the practice of law in Edwardsville. Prickett was the first supreme court reporter in Illinois and served as judge of the probate court in Madison County. In 1826, he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives representing Madison County. During the Black Hawk War, Prickett served as aide-de-camp to General John D. Whiteside. In 1837, he was elected as the state’s attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Illinois, which was then composed of Calhoun, Greene, Macoupin, McLean, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, and Tazewell counties. In 1840, Prickett became treasurer of the board of canal commissioners during the construction of the Michigan and LaSalle Canal. Two years later, he was appointed director of the State Bank of Illinois. From 1830 to 1839, Prickett served as clerk of the Illinois House. He was assistant clerk at the time of his death.

John M. Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis, 1899), 1:172-73; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 200, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207. Illustration courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL.