Richard James Oglesby
Born: July 25, 1824
Birthplace: Floydsburg, Kentucky
Father: Jacob Oglesby 1791 – 1833
Mother: Isabel Watson 1792 – 1833
1st Wife: Anna Elizabeth White 1835 – 1868
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois)
2nd Wife: Emma Susan Gillett 1845 – 1928
(Buried: Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart, Illinois)
Signature:
Children:
Richard “Dickey” Oglesby 1859 – 1865
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois)
Anna “Little Sissie” Oglesby 1861 – 1862
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois)
Olive Olga Oglesby Snider 1863 – 1950
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois)
Robert Oglesby 1865 – 1928
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois)
Richard James Oglesby Jr. 1874 – 1913
(Buried: Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart, Illinois)
Felicite Louise Oglesby Bolognetti 1874 – 1954
(Buried: Campo Cestio, Rome, Italy)
John Dean Gillett Oglesby 1878 – 1939
(Buried: Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart, Illinois)
Jasper Ernest “Jap” Oglesby 1882 – 1935
(Buried: Latham Cemetery, Elkhart, Illinois)
Occupation before War:
Farmer, rope – maker and carpenter in Decatur, Illinois
1846 – 1847: 1st Lt. Company C, 4th Illinois Volunteers
1847: Served in the Battle of Vera Cruz, Mexico
1847: Helped Captured Santa Anna’s Cork Leg at Battle of Cerro Gordo
1849: Participated in the California Gold Rush
1858: Unsuccessful Candidate for United States Congressman
1860: Illinois State Senator
Civil War Career:
1861 – 1862: Colonel of 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment
Known to his troops as “Uncle Dick”
1862: Served under Grant at the Battle of Fort Henry, Tennessee
1862: Served under Grant at the Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee
1862: Brigadier General, Union Army Volunteers
1862: Wounded in the chest and back at Siege of Corinth, Mississippi
1862 – 1864: Major General of Union Army Volunteers
1863: Left Wing Commander in Western Tennessee & North Mississippi
1864: Resigned from the Union Army to run for Governor of Illinois
1865 – 1869: Governor of Illinois
1865: Present in the room when President Lincoln died
Occupation after War:
1865 – 1869: Governor of Illinois
Advocate for improving quality care of mentally ill and disabled
1869 – 1872: Attorney in Decatur, Illinois
1873: Governor of Illinois
1873 – 1879: United States Senator from Illinois
1875 – 1879: Senate Chairman of Committee on Public Lands
1879 – 1885: Attorney in Decatur, Illinois
1885 – 1889: Governor of Illinois
1889 – 1899: Lived at his farm called Oglehurst in Elkhart, Illinois
Died: April 24, 1899
Place of Death: Oglehurst Farm in Elkhart, Illinois
Cause of Death: Bad health
Age at time of Death: 74 years old
Burial Place: Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart, Illinois
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