Representative Albert George Burr

Albert George Burr (November 8, 1829 – June 10, 1882) was a United States Representative from Illinois who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, sitting in the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses from March 4, 1867, until March 3, 1871. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented his Illinois constituents during a pivotal phase of Reconstruction and contributed to the legislative process over the course of his two terms in office.

Burr was born near Batavia, Genesee County, New York, on November 8, 1829, the son of George Washington Burr and Phoebe (Sweet) Burr. In 1829 his father left New York for Illinois with the intention of establishing a homestead and then returning for his family, but he disappeared under circumstances that were never explained and was never heard from again. In 1830, Burr’s mother moved the family to Sangamon County, Illinois, where they began a new life on the frontier. The family’s straitened circumstances required Burr to work from an early age; as a boy he labored in a brickyard and performed other forms of manual work to help support his household.

Largely self-taught, Burr pursued his education while working and eventually obtained the qualifications necessary to teach. He taught school for several years in Vandalia, Illinois, gaining experience in the classroom and establishing himself in the community. In 1850 he moved to Winchester, in Scott County, Illinois, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits as a merchant while simultaneously studying law. After several years of legal study, he was admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced the practice of law in Winchester, building a professional reputation that would later support his entry into public life.

A Democrat, Burr entered state politics at the outset of the Civil War era. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and served from 1861 to 1864, participating in state legislative deliberations during a period marked by national conflict and internal political division. In 1862 he was a delegate to the Illinois state constitutional convention, contributing to efforts to revise the state’s fundamental law. These roles established him as a prominent Democratic figure in Illinois and laid the groundwork for his subsequent election to national office.

In 1866, Burr was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives. He served in the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1871, representing Illinois during the Reconstruction era. During his tenure in Congress, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents as the federal government addressed the political, legal, and economic consequences of the Civil War. After two terms in office, he chose not to run for re-election in 1870 and left Congress at the close of his second term in March 1871.

Following his congressional service, Burr resumed the practice of law, relocating his professional base to Carrollton, Greene County, Illinois. His influence within the Democratic Party continued, and in June 1870 he was elected chairman of the Illinois Democratic State Committee, a position he held until 1872. In this capacity he helped direct party strategy and organization in Illinois during a period of intense political competition between Democrats and Republicans in the postwar years.

Burr’s legal and political career culminated in judicial service. In 1877, when the Seventh District of the Illinois Circuit Court was expanded from two judges to three, he was elected to the newly created judgeship. He served as a circuit judge from 1877 until his death, presiding over a wide range of civil and criminal matters and contributing to the development of the bench and bar in Illinois. His judicial service was noted in later historical accounts of the state’s legal profession.

In his personal life, Burr married twice. His first wife was Alicia A. Anderson, with whom he had two children, Louis and Lucy. After Alicia’s death, he married Mary Harlan (1837–1913); they were the parents of three children, Mary, Albert, and William. Albert George Burr died in Carrollton, Illinois, on June 10, 1882, while still serving on the circuit court. He was buried in Carrollton City Cemetery, where his grave has been noted in later biographical and genealogical works documenting prominent figures of Greene and Jersey Counties and the broader Burr family lineage.