Usher Linder
(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.