Representative Charles Slade

Charles Slade (c. 1797 – July 26, 1834) was a Jacksonian member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois in the early nineteenth century. Born in England around 1797, he immigrated to the United States as a child with his parents, who settled in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended the public schools there, receiving a basic education typical of the period. Little is recorded about his early years in England or his family’s circumstances prior to emigration, but his subsequent career in Illinois reflects the opportunities available on the American frontier in the years following the War of 1812.

By 1818 Slade had moved west to the Illinois Territory and became one of the early settlers in what would become Clinton County. In that year he founded the town of Carlyle, Illinois, which was named after his grandmother’s family, reflecting a personal and familial connection to the town’s identity. In Carlyle he quickly established himself as a leading local entrepreneur. He engaged in a wide range of mercantile pursuits, operating a store, a mill, a toll road, a tavern, and a ferry. These enterprises were central to the economic development of the area and positioned Slade as a prominent figure in the emerging community.

Alongside his business activities, Slade entered public life at the local and state levels. He held several local offices in and around Carlyle, participating in the organization and administration of local government during Illinois’s formative years as a state. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving in 1820 and again in 1826. His legislative service coincided with a period of rapid population growth and political consolidation in Illinois, and it helped establish his reputation as a Jacksonian Democrat aligned with the populist and expansionist policies associated with President Andrew Jackson.

Slade’s growing prominence led to his appointment as United States Marshal for Illinois, a federal law enforcement and judicial position he held from 1829 to 1833. As U.S. Marshal, he was responsible for executing federal court orders, managing the custody and transport of prisoners, and overseeing various aspects of federal authority within the state. His tenure as marshal further strengthened his political standing and provided him with experience in federal administration at a time when Illinois was still transitioning from frontier conditions to more settled governance.

In 1832 Slade sought national office and was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress. In that contest he defeated a strong field that included former Illinois governor and United States senator Ninian Edwards, future United States senator Sidney Breese, and two other candidates. He took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4, 1833, representing Illinois during a period marked by debates over banking, internal improvements, and federal–state relations. Although his service in Congress was cut short, his election over such prominent rivals underscored his influence within Illinois’s Democratic ranks and the broader Jacksonian coalition.

Slade’s congressional career ended abruptly when he died in office near Vincennes, Indiana, on July 26, 1834. He succumbed to cholera, a disease that was then a recurring and often deadly scourge in the United States. Because of the highly contagious nature of cholera, he was given a quick Masonic funeral near Vincennes, reflecting both public health concerns and his membership in the Masonic fraternity. His exact burial site is unknown, a not uncommon circumstance in cholera deaths of the era. In recognition of his service, a cenotaph was later erected in his honor in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where many members of Congress who died in office are memorialized.

Slade’s family continued to play notable roles in American history after his death. One of his sons, Joseph A. “Jack” Slade, became a well-known Western gunfighter and stage line superintendent, a figure later associated with the lore of the American frontier. In 1838, Slade’s widow, Mary Kain Slade, married Elias Dennis, who would go on to serve as a Union general during the American Civil War. Through these family connections, Charles Slade’s legacy extended beyond his own brief congressional service into the broader narrative of nineteenth-century American expansion and conflict.