Representative Orlando Burrell

Orlando Burrell (July 26, 1826 – June 7, 1921) was an American Civil War veteran, agriculturalist, local official, and Republican politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois for one term from 1895 to 1897. He was born on July 26, 1826, in Newton, Pennsylvania, and in 1834 moved with his parents to White County, Illinois, a frontier region that would remain his home for the rest of his life. In Illinois he attended the common schools, receiving a basic formal education typical of rural communities of the period, and from an early age engaged in agricultural pursuits, establishing himself as a farmer.

Burrell’s early adulthood was shaped by the agrarian economy of southern Illinois, where he developed the farming interests that would anchor his livelihood before, during, and after his public service. When the Civil War broke out, he was among the local leaders who responded to the Union call for volunteers. In June 1861 he raised a company of cavalry from his community, demonstrating both organizational ability and local standing, and was elected its captain. This company was attached to the First Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, in which he served as an officer during the conflict, gaining the experience and public recognition that later supported his entry into civil office.

Following the war, Burrell returned to White County and resumed his agricultural pursuits while gradually entering public life. He was elected judge of White County, serving from 1873 to 1881, a position that placed him at the center of local judicial and administrative affairs for eight years. After a period back in private life, he continued his public service as sheriff of White County from 1892 to 1894, overseeing law enforcement and county security. Also in 1892, he participated in national party politics as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, reflecting his growing prominence within the Republican Party in Illinois.

Burrell’s congressional career came at a significant period in American history, marked by economic and political realignments in the post-Reconstruction era. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served as a Representative from Illinois in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897. During his single term in office, he contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic deliberations of the House, and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents in national affairs. His service in Congress occurred during debates over tariffs, currency, and agricultural policy, issues of particular relevance to his largely rural district.

In 1896 Burrell stood for reelection to the Fifty-fifth Congress but was an unsuccessful candidate, bringing his federal legislative service to a close after one term. After leaving Congress in March 1897, he retired from public life and returned to White County, where he resumed his agricultural pursuits and lived quietly as a respected elder of the community he had long served in military, judicial, law enforcement, party, and congressional roles.

Orlando Burrell died in Carmi, Illinois, on June 7, 1921. He was interred in Maple Ridge Cemetery in Carmi, closing a life that spanned from the Jacksonian era through World War I and that reflected the trajectory of a nineteenth-century Midwestern farmer who rose to positions of local and national responsibility.