Rawalt, Jonas

Born: 1806 Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Died: 1882-12-22 Fulton County, Illinois

Flourished: Fulton County, Illinois

As a young man, Rawalt moved to Indiana, where he learned the distillery business. In March 1825, in Clarke County, Indiana, he married Deida Robins, with whom he had ten children. Rawalt and his wife settled in Fulton County, Illinois, in 1829, where he established a farm. Rawalt was one of the first county surveyors, serving from 1831 to 1834. He was also the first county school commissioner. First a Whig and later a Republican, voters elected Rawalt to the Illinois House of Representatives for two terms, 1836 to 1838, and 1838 to 1840, representing Fulton County. In 1840, he was one of the first members of the newly organized First New Jerusalem Church (Swedenborgian). In 1850, he was a farmer in Fulton County and owned $5,000 in real property. Rawalt was also a member of the Board of Supervisors for Fulton County, serving from 1850 to 1859. In 1860, he owned $6,000 in real estate and $1,500 in personal property. Rawalt served as a major in the Union Army and commanded the 7th Illinois Cavalry.

History of Fulton County, Illinois (Peoria, IL: Charles C. Chapman, 1879), 536, 845, 847, 988; Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County, Illinois (Chicago: Biographical, 1890), 559-60; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 206-7; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Fulton County, IL, 283; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Fulton County, IL, 158; Gravestone, Greenwood Cemetery, Canton, IL.