Illinois' William P. Black-- Part 3: Born in Kentucky, Moved to Danville, Illinois

The following information is from The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

WILLIAM PERKINS BLACK  (1842-1916)

Born in November 11, 1842, in Woodford County, Kentucky.  After his father, the Reverend John Black died, his mother, Josephine Culbertson Black,  moved the family to Danville, Illinois, to be near her brother.  James Culbertson.  Soon thereafter, she married Dr. William Fithian.

Fithian served in the Illinois legislature in 1834 with Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln successfully represented Fithian in a lawsuit in 1850.  During the 1858 campaign for U.S. Senate, Lincoln stayed at the Fithian home in Danville and spoke  briefly to a crowd of well-wishers.  This was not the site of a Lincoln-Douglas Debate, however.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, William Black was enrolled as a ministry student at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.  Along with his brother, John C. Black, he enlisted in the 11th Indiana Infantry Regiment and fought at the Battle of Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia) on June 11, 1861.

--Old Secesh