Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Nance Legins-Costley

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, December 29, 2023

1. Nance Legins-Costley Marker

Inscription. Nance Legins-Costley is known to history as the first enslaved person Abraham Lincoln helped free. She was born in 1813 into indentured servitude in Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory, to slaves Randol and Annachy Legins. In 1827 in Springfield, Nance, a slave of Col. Thomas Cox, was auctioned and bought by Nathan Cromwell for $151, but she refused consent to the contract and was punished severely. She challenged her servitude in court, but in the Illinois Supreme Court case Nance v. Howard (1828) she was ruled the ward and servant of Cromwell, who brought her to Pekin in 1829. Cromwell sold Nance to David Bailey of Pekin, but when Nance said she had never consented to indentured servitude, Bailey allowed her to live nearby as a free woman. He declined to pay the promissory note after Cromwell's death in 1836 since Nance said she was free. Bailey was sued in Cromwell v. Bailey (1838) and lost, but he appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court in the landmark case Bailey v. Cromwell (1841), in which his attorney Abraham Lincoln argued successfully for the freedom of Nance and her first three children. Justice Sidney

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Breese affirmed Lincoln's legal reasoning relying on the language of the Northwest Ordinance and the Illinois Constitution, that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude” may exist in Illinois. This affirmed Illinois' standing as a free state and helped close the indenture loophole by which slavery had endured. Nance married Benjamin Costley in Pekin and raised eight children. Their eldest son, William, was a Union Civil War soldier present at Juneteenth. In the 1870s, the Costleys moved to Peoria, where Ben died in 1883 and Nance in 1892. They and their son Leander are among the many buried in Moffatt Cemetery.

Erected 2022 by Abraham Lincoln Association • William G. Pomeroy Foundation • Illinois State Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Law Enforcement • Women. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the Illinois State Historical Society series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1841.

Location. 40° 39.794′ N, 89° 37.947′ W. Marker is in Peoria, Illinois, in Peoria County.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, December 29, 2023

2. Nance Legins-Costley Marker

Featured marker is on the right.

It is at the intersection of Southwest Adams Street and South Griswold Street, on the right when traveling west on Southwest Adams Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3917 SW Adams St, Peoria IL 61605, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Illinois River Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Moffatt Cemetery Veterans Memorial (here, next to this marker); Peoria's Moffatt Cemetery (a few steps from this marker); Fort Crevecœur (approx. 1.8 miles away); Frank Lloyd Wright / The Francis W. Little House (approx. 2.2 miles away); Pettengill-Morron House (approx. 2.4 miles away); George Washington Carver Community Center (approx. 2.4 miles away); Woodward Home (approx. 2.4

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miles away); Bradley University Football (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Peoria.

Also see . . . Nance Legins Costley. Born into a culture that persistently denied African Americans their right to freedom, Nance Legins Costley proved herself to be a woman of singular bravery and resilience when she took an important public stand for her own legal emancipation, setting a precedent that helped numerous others secure their own freedom. (The Randolph Society) (Submitted on January 12, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 12, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 452 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 12, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.