Sutton, Goyn A.

Born: 1816-04-08 Basking Ridge, New Jersey

Died: 1886-06-14 Springfield, Illinois

Goyn A. Sutton was a carpenter, architect, and city mayor. Sutton received his education in common schools in his native state of New Jersey. He apprenticed as a carpenter in Newark, New Jersey, but decided to emigrate west. In December 1844, he married Sarah M. Fulkerson in Greene County, Illinois. The couple had eight children. Sutton moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1848 to join his brother's carpentry business. He then dabbled in politics, successfully running for mayor of Springfield in 1860 as a Republican and serving one term. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Sutton bought horses for the state to equip its cavalry.

Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916, Sangamon County, 14 June 1886, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Greene County, 19 December 1844, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Joseph Wallace, Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1904), 2:1417-18; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.