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PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS
By Joseph Wallace, M. A.
of the Springfield Bar
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL
1904



Ancestor of Earliene Kaelin

B. D. MONROE - On the roll of public officials in Illinois appears the name of B. D. Monroe and the consensus of public opinion regarding his official service is most favorable. He is now filling the position of assistant attorney general of Illinois, and his record in office has been in harmony with that of his record as a man and lawyer, characterized by a masterful grasp of the situation, unfaltering devotion to the duties of the office and by conscientious obligation.

Mr. Monroe was born in Clay county, Illinois, October 22, 1852, and is a son of Chapman and Susan Monroe. The father was born in Vermont, where he followed the occupation of farming. He removed to Clay county in March, 1849, and there carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1877. Under the parental roof the son spent the days of his boyhood and his early education was acquired in Clay county, after which he attended Wilton College, at Wilton, Iowa, becoming a member of the class of 1874. Following the completion of his literary course he took up the study of law in Louisville, Illinois, under the direction of Felix G. Cockwell and was admitted to the bar in 1883. In 1886 he was elected county judge and was re-elected in 1898. His thorough legal learning and the patient care with which he ascertains all facts bearing upon a case which comes before him give his decisions solidity and an exhaustiveness from which the members of the bar can take few exceptions. He was appointed assista nt attorney general in 1898 to General E. E. Aikin, and was reappointed by H. J. Hamlin in 1901, so that he is now serving for the second term in that important office. He was a very successful lawyer and had a large practice prior to his removal to Springfield. After being chosen to the position of assistant attorney general he came to this city, and during five years of his residence here has made his home at No. 944 South Second street.

In 1880 Mr. Monroe was united in marriage to Miss Viola Brooks, a native of Clay county, Illinois, and unto them have been born six children: Ina, who studied music in Chicago and is now teaching that art there; Earl, who is a student in the law department of the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Arden; Flossie; Blanche; and Olivia. The parents are members of the Christian church, and Mr. Monroe belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,, and he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he has taken a very active part in politics for a quarter of a century. He was closely associated with Governor Tanner in political work and managed the affairs of the party for the chief executive in his portion of the state. In the position of assistant attorney general he stands as the conservator of the rights and liberties of t he commonwealth and has won an enviable place among the leading members of the bar of Illinois.



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