Singleton

James W. Singleton was born in 1811 to a distinguished Virginia family. He was admitted to the bar in 1838, moved to Illinois in 1843 and to Quincy in 1854. During his early years in Illinois he was politically active for Whig candidates, which produced collaboration with another Whig lawyer activist, Abraham Lincoln.

In 1848 Lincoln and Singleton campaigned together for the presidency of Zachary Taylor. They parted ways, however, in 1854 over the Kansas Nebraska Act. Lincoln cast his lot with the new Republican Party while Singleton moved to the Democratic Party and an alliance with U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas.

When the Civil War erupted, Illinois Governor Richard Yates offered Singleton an important commission as a cavalry officer, but he declined. As the war progressed, Singleton became an increasingly strident opponent of the war, calling for a negotiated settlement. This earned him the standing as a foremost “Copperhead.”

Quincy Friends

James Washington Singleton

Despite Singleton’s reputation, Lincoln saw fit to entrust him with an important mission in 1864. The mission involved buying cotton and tobacco in the South with U.S. currency. During that year’s presidential campaign, Singleton acknowledged to Democratic colleagues that the nation had better hopes for a fair and lasting peace with Lincoln than with his own party’s candidate, George B. McClellan.

In spite of his so-called Copperhead identification, Singleton was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1878 and in 1880. Singleton was noted for his hospitality at Boscobel, his estate. Among his guests was Mark Twain.

Singleton died in 1892 and was interred in Winchester, Virginia.
– Dave Costigan

City of Quincy Lincoln Bicentennial Commission 706 Maine Quincy, Illinois 62301