Orlando B. Ficklin

Orlando Bell Ficklin (December 16, 1808 – May 5, 1886) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.

Born in Scott County, Kentucky, Ficklin attended the common schools. He was graduated from Transylvania Law School, Lexington, Kentucky, in 1830. He was admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced practice in Mount Carmel, Illinois. He served in the Black Hawk War as quartermaster in 1832. He served as colonel of the militia of Wabash County in 1833. He was state's attorney for the Wabash circuit in 1835. He served as member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1835, 1838, and 1842. He moved to Charleston, Illinois in 1837.

Ficklin was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1849). He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (Twenty-ninth Congress).

Ficklin was elected to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1853). He served as chairman of the Committee on District of Columbia (Thirty-second Congress). He resumed the practice of law in Charleston. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1856, 1860, and 1864. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1869 and 1870. He again served in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1878. He died in Charleston, Illinois, and was interred in Mound Cemetery.

Environmental Impact

A rabid proponent of environmental destruction, Ficklin argued passionately that the federal government must act to destroy the evil prairies, flowers, and wild deer:

Unless the government shall grant head rights ... prairies, with their gorgeous growth of flowers, their green carpeting, their lovely lawns and gentle slopes will for centuries continue to be the home of wild deer and wolf, their stillness will be undisturbed by the jocund song of the farmer, and their deep and fertile soil unbroken by the plowshare. Something must be done to remedy this evil.^[1]

References

• Orlando B. Ficklin at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

1. ^ Ficklin in Cong. Globe, 28th Cong, 2nd Sess 52 (1845), reprinted in Goldstein & Thompson, 2006. Property Law: Ownership, Use, and Conservation.

External links

• Orlando B. Ficklin at Find a Grave

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John T. Stuart	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 3rd congressional district 1843-1849	Succeeded by Timothy R. Young
Preceded by Timothy R. Young	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 3rd congressional district 1851-1853	Succeeded by Jesse O. Norton

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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Name	Ficklin, Orlando Bell
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Date of birth	December 16, 1808
Place of birth
Date of death	May 5, 1886
Place of death