Jonathan Cilley

Infobox Congressman
name=Jonathan Cilley


width=200px
state=Maine
district=3rd
party=Democrat
term=March 4, 1837 – February 24, 1838
preceded=Jeremiah Bailey
succeeded=Edward Robinson
date of birth=July 2, 1802
place of birth=Nottingham, New Hampshire, USA
date of death=February 24, 1838
place of death=Washington, D.C., USA
spouse=Deborah Prince Cilley
profession=Politician, Lawyer, Editor
religion=
footnotes=

Jonathan Cilley (July 2, 1802 – February 24, 1838) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office after being killed in a duel by Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky. He was challenged to the duel because he claimed a Virginian was responsible for a newspaper article that charged another Congressman with immorality.

Biography

Jonathan Cilley was a member of one of the leading families of northern New England. A grandson of Major General Joseph Cilley and nephew of Bradbury Cilley, he was born in Nottingham, New Hampshire. He attended Bowdoin College, where he became close friends with future novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and future President Franklin Pierce. Cilley graduated from Bowdoin in 1825. Deciding to stay in Maine, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1828, practicing in Thomaston, Maine. He edited the "Thomaston Register" from 1829-1831 and represented Thomaston in the Maine Legislature in 1831-1836, serving as speaker of the state House in his final two years of service there. He was then elected to the United States Congress, but did not complete his first term.

Legacy

In 1838 after Cilley's death, his longtime friend Nathaniel Hawthorne published two biographical sketches of the late congressman. Jonathan Cilley's brother Joseph Cilley served as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire in 1846-1847. Jonathan Cilley's successor as speaker of the Maine House in 1837 was Hannibal Hamlin, later Vice President of the United States. Cilley's son, Jonathan Prince Cilley, became a Brevetted Brigadier General in the Union Army during the Civil War.

References

*cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Me | pages = 261
*"Memoirs and Services of Three Generations: General Joseph Cilley, First New hampshire Line. War of the Revolution; Johnathan Longfellow, Father of sarah, wife of General Joseph Cilley; Colonel Joseph Cilley, U.S. Senator and Officer in the War of 1812; Honorable Johnathan Cilley, Member of Congress form Maine; Commander Greenleaf Cilley, War with Mexico and War of 1861; General Johnathan P. Cilley, First Maine Cavalry, War of the Rebellion" Reprint from the Courier-gazette, Rockland Maine, 1909
*"Biographical Sketch of Jonathan Cilley" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The United States Democratic review (J.& H.G. Langley, etc., New York), Sept. 1838, vol. 3 issue 9, pp. 69-77 Available online at [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0003-13] (accessed March 8, 2008).
*"Political Portraits with Pen and Pencil. No. IX. Jonathan Cilley" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The United States Democratic review (J.& H.G. Langley, etc., New York), Sept. 1838, vol. 3 issue 9, pp. 67-69. Available online at [http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0003-12] (accessed March 8, 2008).

External links

* [http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nh/cily.html Nathaniel Hawthorne's memorial to Jonathan Cilley] , written in 1838.
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7232987 Jonathan Cilley] at Find A Grave