Whiteside, John D.

Born: 1797-XX-XX Monroe County, Illinois

Died: 1850-XX-XX Monroe County, Illinois

Whiteside was born and raised in Whiteside Station, Illinois. His father was Col. William B. Whiteside, who served as a captain in the United States Rangers during the War of 1812. In 1819, John D. married Shelah (Celia) Gooding, a union that produced seven children. In 1825, Whiteside succeeded Caldwell Cairns on the Board of County Commissioners for Monroe County and served for two terms, 1825 to 1826, and 1826 to 1828. Monroe County voters elected him as a Democrat to the Illinois House of Representatives for three consecutive terms, 1830 to 1832, 1832 to 1834, 1834 to 1836. He was then elected into the Illinois Senate for one term, 1836 to 1838, representing Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe counties. He resigned from the Senate in 1837 and was elected the state treasurer, serving in that capacity from 1837 to 1841. The Democratic Party offered him its nomination for governor but he declined. President James K. Polk appointed Whiteside as the commissioner to confer with the government of Great Britain regarding complications that existed concerning the Illinois state bonds. During the Mexican-American War, Whiteside was made an Adjutant General, organizing and training volunteer troops. He was also a delegate at the Illinois Constitution Convention in 1847. In 1850, he owned $5,000 in real estate.

Gravestone, Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis MO; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 100, 202, 203, 204, 205; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, St. Clair County, 1 September 1819, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; John Reynolds, The Pioneer History of Illinois (Belleville, Illinois: N.A. Randall, 1852), 347; Combined History of Randolph, Monroe, and Perry Counties, Illinois (Philadelphia: J.L. McDonough, 1883), 142, 159, 160, 449; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Monroe County, IL, 53; Daily Missouri Republican (St. Louis), 7 September 1850, 2:3.