Letter Regarding the Death of U.S. Representative Jonathan Cilley
An undated letter discussing the death of United States Representative Jonathan Cilley from Thomaston. The author is unknown, but they may have been J.A. Chandler, the clerk of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Before his election to Congress, Cilley served as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. He was the son-in-law of Hezekiah Prince, a merchant from Thomaston.
Jonathan Cilley, an abolitionist, was challenged to a duel by James Watson Webb, a newspaper editor from New York, after Cilley accused him of corruption. William Graves, a legislator from Kentucky, served as Webb's stand-in and killed Cilley on February 24, 1838.
Jonathan Cilley, an abolitionist, was challenged to a duel by James Watson Webb, a newspaper editor from New York, after Cilley accused him of corruption. William Graves, a legislator from Kentucky, served as Webb's stand-in and killed Cilley on February 24, 1838.