High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) manumitted his slaves in 1819, was secretary to James Madison (1810 to 1815), neighbor and anti-slavery associate of Thomas Jefferson and was the second Governor of Illinois, serving from 1822 to 1826. He is credited with leading a political campaign that was successful in preventing the legitimization of slavery in the Illinois constitution. His brothers-in-law were John Rutherfoord, who served as governor of Virginia, and Andrew Stevenson, who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and American minister to the United Kingdom.