(1809-1876) Linder was another of the Kentuckians in their thirties that dominated this story.  He had come to Illinois in 1835 to practice law, first in Greenup and then Charleston.  He was elected to the State Legislature the following year and then again in 1846 and 1850. Before the end of that first session he resigned to become the Illinois Attorney General.  He held that office for 18 months, during which Elijah Lovejoy, an Alton abolitionist publisher, was attacked and murdered by slavery supporters.  Linder, instead of prosecuting the slavers, brought charges against Lovejoy's supporters for inciting a riot.  At one time he was a Whig, but had become a Democrat by 1858 when Stephen A. Douglas used Linder's excellent oratorical skills to augment his senate campaign; then Linder served as a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention. During the trial, Linder represented Matson and argued that slaves were chattel property and that the federal constitution required Illinois to return them to their master.  Linder struggled with alcoholism throughout his life and died in Chicago after moving there in an effort to resuscitate his career.