Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Proctor, William (of Lewistown, IL)

Born: 1795-10-13 Dunstable, Massachusetts

Died: 1879-01-24 Lewistown, Illinois

William Proctor was a tanner, merchant, and farmer. Son of a Revolutionary War veteran, Proctor himself served in the War of 1812. In 1818, he moved to Illinois, and in 1820, he settled in Sangamon County. Proctor was among those who organized the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield. In 1824, Proctor married Laura Warner, with whom he had two children. In June 1828, Proctor moved to Lewistown, Illinois, where he lived for the remainder of his life. In his early years in Lewistown, he made his living as a tanner. In 1850, Proctor was a merchant there with $15,000 in real property. He was a founding member of the Presbyterian Church in Fulton County, and he served as an elder. He was a Republican and a supporter of Abraham Lincoln in the senatorial election of 1858. By 1860, he was engaged in farming and owned real property valued at $20,000 and a personal estate valued at $4,000.

History of Fulton County Illinois (Peoria, IL: Chas. C. Chapman, 1879), 809; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Lewistown, Fulton County, IL, 187; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Lewistown, Fulton County, IL, 15; William Proctor to Abraham Lincoln