Greenbury Lafayette Fort (October 17, 1825 - January 13, 1883) was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

Born in French Grant, Ohio, Fort moved with his parents to Marshall County, Illinois

Marshall County, Illinois

The median income for a household in the county was $41,576, and the median income for a family was $48,061. Males had a median income of $35,765 versus $21,452 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,065...

, in April 1834.
He completed preparatory studies and attended Rock River Seminary.
He studied law.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1847 and commenced practice in Lacon, Illinois

Lacon, Illinois

Lacon is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,979 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lacon is located at ....

.

Fort was elected sheriff in 1850.
He served as clerk of Marshall County in 1852.
County judge in 1857.
He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Eleventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, on April 30, 1861.
He was promoted through the ranks to lieutenant colonel and quartermaster.
Brevetted major and lieutenant colonel of Volunteers March 13, 1865.
He served as member of the State senate in 1866.

Fort was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Forty-third

43rd United States Congress

The Forty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth...

 and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1881).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1880.
He retired from public life.
He died in Lacon, Illinois

Lacon, Illinois

Lacon is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,979 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lacon is located at ....

, January 13, 1883.
He was interred in Lacon Cemetery.