Background
Joel Aldrich Matteson was the son of Elnathan and Eunice (Aldrich) Matteson. He was born on August 8, 1808 in Watertown, New York, where he worked as a boy on his father's farm and attended the local schools.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Joel Aldrich Matteson
Edit ProfileCareer
He then worked in a store in Prescott, Ontario, taught school and engaged in business in Brownsville, N. Y. , and in 1831 went South and worked as foreman on the first railroad in South Carolina. At the age of twenty-five he established himself on a farm in Kendall County, Ill. During the speculative boom of 1836 he sold his land and moved to Joliet, where he went into business. The period was one of rapid development and of great enthusiasm for internal improvements, the legislature authorizing some 1, 300 miles of railroad, the construction of canals, and the distribution of a cash bonus to those counties which did not share in the improvements. Matteson secured large contracts for work on the Illinois and Michigan canal in 1838, which he executed with great ability. In 1842 he was elected to the state Senate on the Democratic ticket and was reelected in 1844 and 1846. In his private affairs and as chairman of the Senate committee on finance he showed himself a practical business man and, although he lacked the art of public speaking, was put forward by his party on account of his executive ability. In 1852 he was elected governor of Illinois, serving from 1853 to 1857. He favored internal improvements and liberal banking laws, and belonged to the moderate antislavery group. During his administration he did much to restore the credit of the state, which had been sadly strained by the excesses of the internal-improvement era, and to liquidate its debt. For the fiscal years 1853-54 principal and interest to the amount of $3, 950, 037 were paid on the state debt, and in four years the payments aggregated $11, 129, 236. The system of free schools was first introduced into Illinois during Matteson's administration, and the cause of education in general received impetus. While in office (1855) he was a candidate on the Democratic side for the United States Senate against Abraham Lincoln, the Whig candidate, and others. A deadlock ensued and Lincoln withdrew in favor of Lyman Trumbull, who was elected. Upon the conclusion of his term Matteson retired to private life a popular and respected man. The following year, however, a grave scandal developed in connection with the theft and refunding of certain canal scrip, in which Matteson was unfortunately implicated. In 1839 a large number of ninety-day warrants had been issued by the canal commissioners, payable at the Chicago branch of the State Bank; these had been paid and the vouchers had been packed in a box without being cancelled or destroyed. In the same box were the original check books of the canal commissioners, in which a number of blank checks had been signed but never used. Governor Matteson had ordered the box containing these papers conveyed to his office, and later presented $107, 450 of the old canal scrip and $10, 100 of the unused checks, properly filled out, to the canal commissioners, receiving in return state bonds as provided for by an act of 1847. He testified that he bought the warrants at sundry times and of sundry persons, but could not tell who they were or where they lived. The evidence of Matteson's guilt seemed conclusive, but he was permitted to turn over to the state for its indemnification property to the value of nearly $250, 000, which was practically the amount of the stolen securities together with the accumulated interest paid on them. Matteson had become interested in the railroad construction then rapidly going on and in 1847 had been associated with H. N. Ridgley and James Dunlap of Springfield in the purchase of the Northern Cross Railroad. During his later years his home was in Chicago, where he died on January 31, 1873.
Achievements
Connections
On October 7, 1832, he married Mary, daughter of Calvin Bacon and Clarissa (Sterling) Fish. They had three sons and four daughters.
References
-
Born
-
Died
January 31, 1873 (aged 64) -
Nationality
American -
Political Party
Democratic