[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE CITY OF ALBION'S BICENTENNIAL

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                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2018

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the upcoming 
bicentennial celebration for Albion, Illinois. George Flower of 
Hertfordshire, England, founded Albion (which is the poetic name for 
England) in April 1818, just two miles east of where Morris Birkbeck, 
another affluent Englishman, founded Wanborough. The two villages and 
the area around them became known as the ``English Settlement.''
  While Wanborough eventually faded away with the accidental drowning 
death of Birkbeck in 1825, Albion survived to play an important role in 
Illinois' history. Albion was the birth place of Illinois Governor 
Louis Lincoln Emmerson. He was born in the house which is now the 
Edwards County Historical Society Museum at 212 West Main Street. 
George Flower's brother-in-law, William Pickering, was elected to the 
Illinois State House of Representatives in 1842 and served for ten 
years. He developed a close relationship with Abraham Lincoln. When 
Lincoln was elected President, he gave Pickering his choice of either 
being Minister to England or Governor of the Washington Territory. 
Pickering chose to be appointed Governor of the Washington Territory.
  The City of Albion is planning a three day celebration beginning on 
Friday, October 12, 2018, to commemorate their bicentennial. They will 
have a giant cake, several kettles of chowder, a quilt exhibition, 
music, and much more. On Sunday they plan on having a community-wide 
ecumenical worship service at the stage for all to attend.
  I offer my congratulations to the city of Albion on their 
bicentennial anniversary, and I wish them many more.

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