Representative William Hartzell

William Hartzell (February 20, 1837 – August 14, 1903) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician who represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives from 1875 to 1879. Over the course of a public career that spanned law practice, congressional service, and judicial office, he participated in the legislative and judicial life of Illinois during the post–Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

Hartzell was born on February 20, 1837, in Canton, Stark County, Ohio. In 1840 he moved with his parents to Danville, Illinois, reflecting the broader westward migration of many American families in the antebellum period. Four years later, in 1844, the Hartzell family relocated to Mexico, where William Hartzell remained for nearly a decade. He lived there until 1853, an experience that exposed him at a young age to life outside the United States during a time of significant political and territorial change in North America.

In 1853 Hartzell returned to the United States and settled in Randolph County, Illinois. Seeking a professional education, he enrolled at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, one of the state’s earliest institutions of higher learning. He pursued legal studies there and graduated in 1859. Following his graduation, he settled in Chester, the county seat of Randolph County, which would remain his home and the center of his professional life for the rest of his career.

After several years of preparation in the law, Hartzell was admitted to the bar in 1864 and commenced the practice of law in Chester, Illinois. He built a legal career during and after the Civil War period, representing clients in a region shaped by river commerce along the Mississippi and by the evolving legal and economic conditions of postwar Illinois. His work as an attorney established his reputation in the community and provided the foundation for his later entry into elective office.

Hartzell was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1875, to March 4, 1879. As a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, he served during a significant period in American history, when the nation was grappling with the final phases of Reconstruction, economic adjustment after the Panic of 1873, and debates over federal power and civil rights. During his two terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the country, representing the interests of his Illinois constituents in national affairs. A member of the Democratic Party, he aligned with his party’s positions in the closely contested political environment of the 1870s. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878, thereby concluding his congressional service after two terms.

Following his departure from Congress in 1879, Hartzell returned to Chester and resumed the practice of law. He continued to be an active figure in the legal community and in local public life, applying his congressional experience to his work at the bar. His standing as an attorney and former Representative eventually led to his selection for judicial office, marking the final major phase of his public career.

Hartzell served as judge of the third judicial circuit of Illinois from 1897 until his death in 1903. In this capacity he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters, contributing to the administration of justice in southern Illinois at the turn of the twentieth century. His judicial service capped a long professional life devoted to law and public service at both the state and national levels.

William Hartzell died in Chester, Illinois, on August 14, 1903. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Chester, the community where he had practiced law, served on the bench, and maintained his home for decades.