George Forquer

Who was George Forquer?

George Forquer was a politician who served variously as an Illinois State Senator, Illinois' 5th Secretary of State and Illinois 5th Attorney General. He was influential in creating the Illinois State Library, in part from a donation of his own personal collection. He also laid out and founded the town of Waterloo, Illinois.

Forquer was the older half-brother of Thomas Ford, who was the state's governor from 1842 to 1846. The two shared a law office in Edwardsville, and Forquer aided Ford in his early years as a lawyer and judge.

While in the state senate, Forquer proposed a loan of half a million dollars for the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

He is chiefly remembered for an 1836 speech in the Springfield Court House that backfired on him. Seven Whig candidates for election to the State Legislature were there, as well as seven Democrats. Among the candidates was a young lawyer seeking re-election, Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln's speech, Forquer, although not a candidate, asked to speak for the Democrats. "This young man needs to be taken down" he said, pointing to Lincoln, "and I'm afraid the task devolves upon me."