Norman Leslie Freeman, for thirty-one years official reporter of the supreme court of the state of Illinois, was born in Caledonia, Livingston county, New York, May 9, 1823. His ancestry were of English extraction and settled in New England during the early colonial period. His maternal grandmother was a Greeley and belonged to the same family as that of Horace Greeley. His immediate parents were Truman and Hannah (Dow) Freeman, who were both natives of New Hampshire and resided for a number of years at Concord, that state.
Norman L. Freeman was one of a family of eight children who reached maturity, and of all these he appears to have been the last survivor. In 1831 his widowed mother migrated with her family from New York to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived six years, and then moved to Detroit. During his boyhood young Freeman entered the store of David Cooper, a merchant of Detroit, and remained with him about three years. In 1840 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where an older brother was living, in whose store he clerked for a few months, and then entered the academy there. Thence he passed to the Ohio University at Athens, where he completed his literary education.
In 1843, on quitting the university, Mr. Freeman went to western Kentucky and engaged in teaching school. While teaching he devoted his leisure time to reading law and, returning to New York in the fall or winter of 1845, he entered the law office of Kirtland & Seymour, at Waterford, to complete his preparatory studies. In the spring of 1846 he again went to Kentucky and was there admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-three, and began the practice of law at Morganfield in Union county, of that commonwealth.
On December 20, 1849, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Tranquilla Richeson, a daughter of Alfred, of Union county, Kentucky.
In 1851 Mr. Freeman removed with his young wife to Shawneetown, Gallatin county, Illinois, where he practiced his profession with marked success for the ensuing eight years.
In 1859, with a view to recuperate his health, Mr. Freeman and family moved to a farm in Marion county, Missouri, and made it their home for about three years. But the unsettled condition of affairs in that state, occasioned by the Civil war, induced him to return to Shawneetown in 1862 and resume his residency there. It was fortunate for him that he should have returned to Illinois before a vacancy occurred in the office of supreme court reporter. His eminent fitness as a lawyer for the position had been shown in the preparation of his admirable digest, and this circumstance, no doubt, influenced the action of the court when it came to filling the vacancy. At the April term, 1863, of the supreme court, upon the resignation of Judge Peck, the former reporters, the court tendered to Mr. Freeman the appointment of reporter of its decisions, which he accepted and entered at once upon the performance of the important duties of the office. In 1864 he came to Springfield to reside and this city was ever afterward his home, as it still is of his surviving family.
Outside of his office as reporter it does not appear that he ever held or sought to hold any public office. In politics he was originally a Whig and after the dissolution of that party he affiliated with the Democracy, but he was never a partisan politician. His tastes were those of a scholar and literary man, and if he had not devoted himself so exclusively to lawbook making, he might have easily excelled as an author in the field of general literature.
In social intercourse with his fellow men Mr. Freeman always exhibited a genial, kindly nature that was inborn with him. His conversation was alike agreeable and instructive and was often seasoned with Attic wit, but not of the sarcastic kind. He was a true man and a faithful friend.
After a lingering illness at his pleasant abode on South Sixth Street, in the city of Springfield, Norman L. Freeman passed out of this life, on the morning of the 23d of August, 1894, aged seventy-one years, three months and fourteen days. He left surviving him his widow and four children, namely: Mary d.; Elizabeth H., now Mrs. Joseph P. Doyle; William R., and Georgia L., the last named being the wife of John H. Brinkerhoff, of Springfield.
By the learned profession with which and for which he labored, he will long be remembered for his virtues as a man, his ability as a lawyer, and his genius as a law writer, Vivit post funera virtus.
~PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS By Joseph Wallace, M. A., The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1904
Norman L. Freeman was one of a family of eight children who reached maturity, and of all these he appears to have been the last survivor. In 1831 his widowed mother migrated with her family from New York to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived six years, and then moved to Detroit. During his boyhood young Freeman entered the store of David Cooper, a merchant of Detroit, and remained with him about three years. In 1840 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where an older brother was living, in whose store he clerked for a few months, and then entered the academy there. Thence he passed to the Ohio University at Athens, where he completed his literary education.
In 1843, on quitting the university, Mr. Freeman went to western Kentucky and engaged in teaching school. While teaching he devoted his leisure time to reading law and, returning to New York in the fall or winter of 1845, he entered the law office of Kirtland & Seymour, at Waterford, to complete his preparatory studies. In the spring of 1846 he again went to Kentucky and was there admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-three, and began the practice of law at Morganfield in Union county, of that commonwealth.
On December 20, 1849, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Tranquilla Richeson, a daughter of Alfred, of Union county, Kentucky.
In 1851 Mr. Freeman removed with his young wife to Shawneetown, Gallatin county, Illinois, where he practiced his profession with marked success for the ensuing eight years.
In 1859, with a view to recuperate his health, Mr. Freeman and family moved to a farm in Marion county, Missouri, and made it their home for about three years. But the unsettled condition of affairs in that state, occasioned by the Civil war, induced him to return to Shawneetown in 1862 and resume his residency there. It was fortunate for him that he should have returned to Illinois before a vacancy occurred in the office of supreme court reporter. His eminent fitness as a lawyer for the position had been shown in the preparation of his admirable digest, and this circumstance, no doubt, influenced the action of the court when it came to filling the vacancy. At the April term, 1863, of the supreme court, upon the resignation of Judge Peck, the former reporters, the court tendered to Mr. Freeman the appointment of reporter of its decisions, which he accepted and entered at once upon the performance of the important duties of the office. In 1864 he came to Springfield to reside and this city was ever afterward his home, as it still is of his surviving family.
Outside of his office as reporter it does not appear that he ever held or sought to hold any public office. In politics he was originally a Whig and after the dissolution of that party he affiliated with the Democracy, but he was never a partisan politician. His tastes were those of a scholar and literary man, and if he had not devoted himself so exclusively to lawbook making, he might have easily excelled as an author in the field of general literature.
In social intercourse with his fellow men Mr. Freeman always exhibited a genial, kindly nature that was inborn with him. His conversation was alike agreeable and instructive and was often seasoned with Attic wit, but not of the sarcastic kind. He was a true man and a faithful friend.
After a lingering illness at his pleasant abode on South Sixth Street, in the city of Springfield, Norman L. Freeman passed out of this life, on the morning of the 23d of August, 1894, aged seventy-one years, three months and fourteen days. He left surviving him his widow and four children, namely: Mary d.; Elizabeth H., now Mrs. Joseph P. Doyle; William R., and Georgia L., the last named being the wife of John H. Brinkerhoff, of Springfield.
By the learned profession with which and for which he labored, he will long be remembered for his virtues as a man, his ability as a lawyer, and his genius as a law writer, Vivit post funera virtus.
~PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS By Joseph Wallace, M. A., The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1904
Norman Leslie Freeman, for thirty-one years official reporter of the supreme court of the state of Illinois, was born in Caledonia, Livingston county, New York, May 9, 1823. His ancestry were of English extraction and settled in New England during the early colonial period. His maternal grandmother was a Greeley and belonged to the same family as that of Horace Greeley. His immediate parents were Truman and Hannah (Dow) Freeman, who were both natives of New Hampshire and resided for a number of years at Concord, that state.
Norman L. Freeman was one of a family of eight children who reached maturity, and of all these he appears to have been the last survivor. In 1831 his widowed mother migrated with her family from New York to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived six years, and then moved to Detroit. During his boyhood young Freeman entered the store of David Cooper, a merchant of Detroit, and remained with him about three years. In 1840 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where an older brother was living, in whose store he clerked for a few months, and then entered the academy there. Thence he passed to the Ohio University at Athens, where he completed his literary education.
In 1843, on quitting the university, Mr. Freeman went to western Kentucky and engaged in teaching school. While teaching he devoted his leisure time to reading law and, returning to New York in the fall or winter of 1845, he entered the law office of Kirtland & Seymour, at Waterford, to complete his preparatory studies. In the spring of 1846 he again went to Kentucky and was there admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-three, and began the practice of law at Morganfield in Union county, of that commonwealth.
On December 20, 1849, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Tranquilla Richeson, a daughter of Alfred, of Union county, Kentucky.
In 1851 Mr. Freeman removed with his young wife to Shawneetown, Gallatin county, Illinois, where he practiced his profession with marked success for the ensuing eight years.
In 1859, with a view to recuperate his health, Mr. Freeman and family moved to a farm in Marion county, Missouri, and made it their home for about three years. But the unsettled condition of affairs in that state, occasioned by the Civil war, induced him to return to Shawneetown in 1862 and resume his residency there. It was fortunate for him that he should have returned to Illinois before a vacancy occurred in the office of supreme court reporter. His eminent fitness as a lawyer for the position had been shown in the preparation of his admirable digest, and this circumstance, no doubt, influenced the action of the court when it came to filling the vacancy. At the April term, 1863, of the supreme court, upon the resignation of Judge Peck, the former reporters, the court tendered to Mr. Freeman the appointment of reporter of its decisions, which he accepted and entered at once upon the performance of the important duties of the office. In 1864 he came to Springfield to reside and this city was ever afterward his home, as it still is of his surviving family.
Outside of his office as reporter it does not appear that he ever held or sought to hold any public office. In politics he was originally a Whig and after the dissolution of that party he affiliated with the Democracy, but he was never a partisan politician. His tastes were those of a scholar and literary man, and if he had not devoted himself so exclusively to lawbook making, he might have easily excelled as an author in the field of general literature.
In social intercourse with his fellow men Mr. Freeman always exhibited a genial, kindly nature that was inborn with him. His conversation was alike agreeable and instructive and was often seasoned with Attic wit, but not of the sarcastic kind. He was a true man and a faithful friend.
After a lingering illness at his pleasant abode on South Sixth Street, in the city of Springfield, Norman L. Freeman passed out of this life, on the morning of the 23d of August, 1894, aged seventy-one years, three months and fourteen days. He left surviving him his widow and four children, namely: Mary d.; Elizabeth H., now Mrs. Joseph P. Doyle; William R., and Georgia L., the last named being the wife of John H. Brinkerhoff, of Springfield.
By the learned profession with which and for which he labored, he will long be remembered for his virtues as a man, his ability as a lawyer, and his genius as a law writer, Vivit post funera virtus.
~PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS By Joseph Wallace, M. A., The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1904
Norman L. Freeman was one of a family of eight children who reached maturity, and of all these he appears to have been the last survivor. In 1831 his widowed mother migrated with her family from New York to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived six years, and then moved to Detroit. During his boyhood young Freeman entered the store of David Cooper, a merchant of Detroit, and remained with him about three years. In 1840 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where an older brother was living, in whose store he clerked for a few months, and then entered the academy there. Thence he passed to the Ohio University at Athens, where he completed his literary education.
In 1843, on quitting the university, Mr. Freeman went to western Kentucky and engaged in teaching school. While teaching he devoted his leisure time to reading law and, returning to New York in the fall or winter of 1845, he entered the law office of Kirtland & Seymour, at Waterford, to complete his preparatory studies. In the spring of 1846 he again went to Kentucky and was there admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-three, and began the practice of law at Morganfield in Union county, of that commonwealth.
On December 20, 1849, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Tranquilla Richeson, a daughter of Alfred, of Union county, Kentucky.
In 1851 Mr. Freeman removed with his young wife to Shawneetown, Gallatin county, Illinois, where he practiced his profession with marked success for the ensuing eight years.
In 1859, with a view to recuperate his health, Mr. Freeman and family moved to a farm in Marion county, Missouri, and made it their home for about three years. But the unsettled condition of affairs in that state, occasioned by the Civil war, induced him to return to Shawneetown in 1862 and resume his residency there. It was fortunate for him that he should have returned to Illinois before a vacancy occurred in the office of supreme court reporter. His eminent fitness as a lawyer for the position had been shown in the preparation of his admirable digest, and this circumstance, no doubt, influenced the action of the court when it came to filling the vacancy. At the April term, 1863, of the supreme court, upon the resignation of Judge Peck, the former reporters, the court tendered to Mr. Freeman the appointment of reporter of its decisions, which he accepted and entered at once upon the performance of the important duties of the office. In 1864 he came to Springfield to reside and this city was ever afterward his home, as it still is of his surviving family.
Outside of his office as reporter it does not appear that he ever held or sought to hold any public office. In politics he was originally a Whig and after the dissolution of that party he affiliated with the Democracy, but he was never a partisan politician. His tastes were those of a scholar and literary man, and if he had not devoted himself so exclusively to lawbook making, he might have easily excelled as an author in the field of general literature.
In social intercourse with his fellow men Mr. Freeman always exhibited a genial, kindly nature that was inborn with him. His conversation was alike agreeable and instructive and was often seasoned with Attic wit, but not of the sarcastic kind. He was a true man and a faithful friend.
After a lingering illness at his pleasant abode on South Sixth Street, in the city of Springfield, Norman L. Freeman passed out of this life, on the morning of the 23d of August, 1894, aged seventy-one years, three months and fourteen days. He left surviving him his widow and four children, namely: Mary d.; Elizabeth H., now Mrs. Joseph P. Doyle; William R., and Georgia L., the last named being the wife of John H. Brinkerhoff, of Springfield.
By the learned profession with which and for which he labored, he will long be remembered for his virtues as a man, his ability as a lawyer, and his genius as a law writer, Vivit post funera virtus.
~PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS By Joseph Wallace, M. A., The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1904
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