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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the national historic
4importance and legacy of Nance Legins-Costley and William
5Costley; and
 
6    WHEREAS, For Juneteenth this year, Tazewell County will be
7dedicating a new memorial in Downtown Pekin to honor Nance
8Legins-Costley and William Costley, a mother and son who were
9both born into slavery and recognized throughout the world as
10the first enslaved individuals emancipated by then attorney
11Abraham Lincoln in 1841; and
 
12    WHEREAS, While born into slavery in 1813, Nance
13Legins-Costley firmly asserted her claim to freedom by age 14,
14beginning what would be 14 years of legal challenges to her
15enslaved status; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Nance Legins-Costley finally gained freedom for
17herself and her children, as their legal status was a direct
18reflection of their mother's, when Abraham Lincoln presented
19her case before the Illinois Supreme Court in the famous
20Bailey vs. Cromwell case in 1841; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Nance Legins-Costley married Benjamin Costley in

 

 

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11840; together, they raised five daughters and three sons,
2living in Pekin for over 50 years; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Nance Legins-Costley became the first and only
4enslaved individual to own property in Pekin in 1849; and
 
5    WHEREAS, William Costley, Nance Legins-Costley's oldest
6son, answered President Abraham Lincoln's call to defend the
7Union during the American Civil War by volunteering for the
8Union Army in 1864, joining the famed 29th U.S. Colored
9Infantry; and
 
10    WHEREAS, William Costley's military service included
11participating in the Siege of Petersburg, where he was injured
12in battle, and the Appomattox Campaign in Virginia in 1865;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, William Costley was transferred with the 29th
15U.S. Colored Infantry to Galveston, Texas, where he assisted
16General Gordon Granger in enforcing the Emancipation
17Proclamation, liberating the last stronghold of slavery in the
18United States on June 19, 1865; and
 
19    WHEREAS, This enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation
20in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 is celebrated and
21observed today as the holiday Juneteenth in the State of

 

 

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1Illinois and by the federal government; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The new memorial in Downtown Pekin and a new
3memorial in the Southside of Peoria are the only permanent
4indicators of Nance Legins-Costley's life, and the new
5memorial in Downtown Pekin will be the only permanent
6indicator of William Costley's life in the State of Illinois;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, The new memorial has been recognized by the
9Illinois Historical Society with official Illinois Historical
10Markers, providing further testimony to the national historic
11impact of the lives of Nance Legins-Costley and William
12Costley; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The new memorial to preserve the legacy of Nance
14Legins-Costley and William Costley's lives was made possible
15by the efforts of Tazewell County Clerk John C. Ackerman, the
16City of Pekin, the Pekin Chamber of Commerce, the Pekin Main
17Street Organization, the Dirksen Congressional Center, the
18Pekin Library, the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical
19Society, the YWCA Coalition for Equality, and Pekin Historian
20Jared Olar; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
22HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

 

 

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1we recognize the national historic importance and legacy of
2Nance Legins-Costley and William Costley; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we urge the citizens of the State of
4Illinois to celebrate the new memorial honoring Nance
5Legins-Costley and William Costley in Downtown Pekin and learn
6more about the impact these fellow citizens of Illinois had on
7the history of the United States; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9presented to Tazewell County Clerk John C. Ackerman, the City
10of Pekin, the Pekin Chamber of Commerce, the Pekin Main Street
11Organization, the Dirksen Congressional Center, the Pekin
12Library, the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical
13Society, the YWCA Coalition for Equality, and Pekin Historian
14Jared Olar
as an expression of our esteem and respect.