Jesse W. Fell

Jesse W. Fell (1808-1887), a Bloomington businessman, founded Illinois State University, originally Illinois State Normal University. He called upon his attorney friend Abraham Lincoln to draw up the bond of guarantee for the Board of Education on May 5, 1857. Fell would later nominate Lincoln for the United States Senate. 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... Illinois State University quadrangle, Felmley Hall of Science Illinois State University, originally named Illinois State Normal University, was founded in 1857 by Jesse W. Fell (1808-1887), and was the first public institution of higher education in the state. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861–1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A coq is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ...

Life

Fell was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and moved to Bloomington, Illinois in 1831. After opening up the town's first law offices, he turned the practice over to a young lawyer, David Davis (senator), in 1836, and became a land claims adjuster. State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... Bloomington is a city located in McLean County, Illinois. ... David Davis III (March 9, 1815 - June 26, 1886) was a United States Senator from Illinois and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

Fell then founded the city's first newspaper, The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate, on January 14, 1837. He married Hester Brown in January 1838, and in 1840, the couple moved to Adams County near Quincy to start a fruit nursery. Adams County is the name of a number of counties in the United States. ...

Six years later, Fell returned to Bloomington and began acquiring land and working as an agent for the Alton & Springfield Railroad to secure the right of way through McLean County. McLean County is the name of several counties in the United States: McLean County, Illinois McLean County, Kentucky McLean County, North Dakota This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

He also got back into the publishing business, joining with Charles Merriman to resurrect a failing newspaper, The Whig, which was rechristened The Intelligencer in 1851. It took the name The Pantagraph in 1853.

Fell also is credited with developing much of the town of Normal, known in the 1850s as North Bloomington

Death

Fell died at his home in Normal on Feb. 25, 1887.

Miscellaneous

Illinois State University has an aboreteum covering its main quadrangle named for Fell. Illinois State University quadrangle, Felmley Hall of Science Illinois State University, originally named Illinois State Normal University, was founded in 1857 by Jesse W. Fell (1808-1887), and was the first public institution of higher education in the state. ... In architecture a quadrangle, or more colloquially, quad, is a space on a college or university campus usually but not always enclosed on four sides by buildings. ...