Tackaberry, Middleton (Tackabery)

Born: 1808-03-15 Pennsylvania

Died: 1863-06-25 Pekin, Illinois

Flourished: Pekin, Illinois

Alternate name: Tackabery

Middleton Tackaberry was a saddler, public official, postmaster, and county judge. In August 1839, Tackaberry won election to the Pekin Board of Trustees, and the board appointed him collector and street commissioner. He won re-election to the Board of Trustees in 1840. In October 1840, he married Olive Hackett. Tackaberry was elected as a Democrat to represent Tazewell County in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1842. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1844 and 1846, but was elected to a second term in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1848. From December 1844 to February 1849, Tackaberry was postmaster of Pekin. In 1850, Tackaberry was a saddler living in Pekin, and he owned real estate worth $4,000. From 1853 to 1854, Tackaberry served as town mayor, and he was town assessor from 1854 to 1855. He served again as town mayor, from 1857 to 1858. In 1860, he was a local magistrate and owned real property valued at $5,000 and a personal estate of $500. In November 1861, Tackaberry won election as county judge, a position he held until his death.

History of Tazewell County Illinois (Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman, 1879), 391, 567, 614, 615, 616, 713, 714; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Tazewell County, 29 October 1840, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Theodore C. Pease, ed., Illinois Election Returns, 1818-1848, vol. 18 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923), 359, 387, 414, 577; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 211, 216; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:186, 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, 1845 (Washington, DC: J. & G. S. Gideon, 1845), 394*; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1847 (Washington, DC: J. & G. S. Gideon, 1847), *421; 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), *485; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Pekin, Tazewell County, IL, 109; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Pekin, Tazewell County, IL, 85; Gravestone, Lakeside Cemetery, Pekin, IL.