Sumner, Norman

Born: 1807-03-16 Rutland, Vermont

Died: 1889-02-21 Kansas

Norman Sumner was a farmer, postmaster, public servant, and Republican. In January 1834, while living in Greenville, Ohio, he married Margaret Carnahan, with whom he eventually had eight children. He was appointed postmaster for the U.S. Post Office in Darke County, Ohio in February 1849 and served in this position until at least 1851. He moved to Logan County, Illinois sometime after 1851, and became an active member of the community. He helped organize the Bethel Christian Church, serving as a church elder and clerk for a time. In 1850, Sumner owned $2,000 in real estate. In 1852, he was appointed postmaster in Big Prairie, serving in that position until the office was moved to Boynton in March 1857. After passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he joined local political efforts to oppose the act and participated in the creation and establishment of the Illinois Republican Party. He served as one of Logan County's delegates to the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention. By 1860, Sumner owned $7,000 in real estate and $1,000 in personal property. In June 1861, the post office in Big Prairie was reestablished and Sumner was again appointed postmaster, a position he held until after the Civil War. In 1862, he served as justice of the peace for Logan County, then served as county coroner from 1864 until after the Civil War.

William S. Appleton, Record of the Descendants of William Sumner, of Dorchester, Mass., 1636 (Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1879), 134-35; Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993, 2 January 1834, Darke County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016); Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1843-1857, 15:261; 1855-1865, 20a:80, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Lawrence B. Stringer, History of Logan County, Illinois (Chicago: Pioneer, 1911), 1:166, 260, 267, 379, 505; 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), 396*; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Darke County, OH, 443; 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), *437; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 24 May 1856, 2:4; 14 June 1858, 2:3, 17 June 1858, 2:3; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Logan County, IL, 163; James N. Adams, comp., Illinois Place Names (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, 1989), 294; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 333; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1865 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866), 54*; Darke County Democratic Advocate (Greenville, OH), 7 March 1889, 8:1; Gravestone, Bethel Cemetery, Emden, IL.