Image of Prickett, David (Pricket)

Prickett, David (Pricket)


b. September 21, 1800, in Franklin County, Georgia; d. March 21, 1847, in Springfield, Illinois. As a child, Prickett moved to Kentucky and then to Edwardsville, Illinois. After graduating from Transylvania University, Prickett was admitted to the bar in 1821 and began the practice of law in Edwardsville. Prickett was the first supreme court reporter in Illinois and served as judge of the probate court in Madison County. In 1826, he was elected to the state legislature. During the Black Hawk War, Prickett served as aide-de-camp to General John D. Whiteside. In 1837, he was elected as the state’s attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Illinois, which was then composed of Calhoun, Greene, Macoupin, McLean, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, and Tazewell counties. In 1840, Prickett became treasurer of the board of canal commissioners during the construction of the Michigan and LaSalle Canal. Two years later, he was appointed director of the State Bank of Illinois. Prickett served as clerk for the state house of representatives until his death.
John Palmer, ed., The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1899), 1:172-73. Illustration courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL.