b. December 16, 1808, in Kentucky; d. May 5, 1885, in Charleston, Illinois. Ficklin was admitted to the bar in 1830 in Belleville, Illinois, and he moved to Mt. Carmel, Illinois, to begin the practice of law. In 1832, he served in the Black Hawk War as a quartermaster. In 1834, Ficklin was elected to the state legislature and also was chosen to be the state's attorney for the Wabash circuit. In 1837, Ficklin moved to Charleston, Illinois, and was elected to the state legislature and was reelected in 1842. From 1843-49 and again from 1851-53, he served in Congress. In 1847, Ficklin opposed Lincoln as counsel in the famous In re Bryant et al. slave case. Active in Democratic politics, Ficklin served as a presidential elector in 1860 and 1884 and as a member of the Democratic National conventions of 1856, 1860, and 1864. He was a delegate to the 1862 state constitutional convention, and from 1878 to 1880, he served in the state senate.