Representative Courtland Craig Gillen

Courtland Craig Gillen (July 3, 1880 – September 1, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1931 to 1933. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, at the outset of the Great Depression, when he participated in the national legislative process and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents.

Gillen was born on July 3, 1880, in Roachdale, Putnam County, Indiana. He attended local rural schools and completed his secondary education at Fincastle High School, from which he graduated in 1897. Immediately after high school, he began working in education, teaching in common schools and at a high school in Indiana from 1897 to 1904. During these years he combined teaching with further study, reflecting an early commitment to professional advancement and public service.

From 1901 to 1903 Gillen attended De Pauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He then pursued legal studies and enrolled in the law department of the predecessor institution to what is now the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He completed his legal education there and graduated in 1905. Gillen was admitted to the bar in 1904, prior to his formal graduation, and soon thereafter began the practice of law, marking the start of a long legal career closely tied to his home community.

Gillen commenced his law practice in Greencastle, Indiana, where he became a prominent member of the local bar. He was associated with the law firm of Gillen & Lyon. His abilities as a lawyer led to a series of public legal positions: he served as county attorney from 1909 to 1914, providing legal counsel to county officials and representing county interests. He later served as prosecuting attorney of the sixty-fourth judicial circuit in 1917 and 1918, a role in which he was responsible for criminal prosecutions within the circuit. Active in Democratic Party affairs, he was a delegate to the Democratic State convention in 1924, further establishing his profile in state and local politics.

Gillen was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from March 4, 1931, to March 3, 1933. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Indiana, he contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office. His tenure coincided with the early years of the Great Depression, a period of intense economic hardship and major federal policy debates. In Congress he participated in the democratic process and worked to represent the interests of his constituents during this challenging time. He sought to continue his service but was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932.

After leaving Congress, Gillen returned to Indiana and continued his judicial and legal career. In 1934 he was elected judge of the sixty-fourth judicial circuit, also known as the Putnam Circuit Court. He assumed this office on January 1, 1935, and served as circuit judge until his resignation on April 15, 1939. Following his resignation from the bench, he resumed the private practice of law in Greencastle, maintaining his longstanding professional ties to the community.

In his personal life, Gillen married and had three children: Mary Elizabeth, Rachel, and Wayne. He remained a resident of Greencastle for most of his adult life, balancing his roles as attorney, judge, legislator, and family man. Courtland Craig Gillen died on September 1, 1954, in Greencastle, Indiana. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, closing a career that spanned education, law, and public office at both the local and national levels.