Sturges, Alvin L.

Born: 1809-03-09 Connecticut

Died: 1896-10-27 Woodburn, Illinois

Flourished: Woodburn, Illinois

Alternate name: Sturgess, Sturgis

Alvin L. Sturges was a merchant, postmaster, and early settler of Woodburn, Illinois. Little is known of his life before moving to Illinois. From April 1849 to January 1854, he served as postmaster of Woodburn. In 1850, he was working as a merchant and owned real property valued at $2,000. In 1852, Sturges served on a three-person building committee to construct a school house for Woodburn. By 1860, he owned $6,000 in real property and had a personal estate of $7,000.

History of Macoupin County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1879), 144; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Woodburn, Macoupin County, IL, 293; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Township 7, Range 8, Macoupin County, IL, 217; Fitz Henry Warren to Abraham Lincoln; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:122, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849),*492; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851),*553; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 522*; Gravestone, Woodburn Cemetery, Woodburn, IL.