elected as its first mayor. In 1837, following the signing of Missouri Executive Order 44, which is an extermination order, many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fled persecution in Missouri and found shelter in Quincy. Despite being vastly outnumbered by Mormon refugees, residents provided food and lodging for the displaced people. Joseph Smith then led members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints upstream to Nauvoo, Illinois, in hopes of finding a permanent home. Also in 1838, Quincy sheltered the Pottawatomie tribe as they were forcibly relocated from Indiana to Kansas. The 1850s and 1860s brought increased prosperity to Quincy. Steamboats and railroads began linking Quincy to places west, making the city a frequent destination for immigrants. The founding of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1855, and the construction of the Quincy Rail Bridge, were major drivers for creating a transportation hub in the region to further commerce. It is during this time that the city's population grew enormously, from just under 7,000 residents in 1850 to 24,000 by 1870, helping Quincy surpass Peoria in becoming the second-largest city in the state (at that time). One famous former resident of Quincy is George E. Pickett. The future Confederate general as a young man came to Quincy to live, and learn the law, from his uncle Alexander Johnson in the 1840s. Johnson was acquainted with Abraham Lincoln, and Pickett and Lincoln may have even met each other in Quincy. In 1860, Quincy founder and Lieutenant Governor John Wood inherited the governorship after William H. Bissell died while in office. At the time, he was overseeing business interests and the construction of his mansion. The Illinois legislature allowed him to stay in Quincy during his tenure, effectively making Quincy a "second" capitol for the state. His absence from the official governor's office in Springfield provided Abraham Lincoln a space for planning his presidential run. The matter of slavery was a major religious and social issue in Quincy's early years. The Illinois city's location, separated only by the Mississippi River from the slave state of Missouri, which was a hotbed of political controversy on the issue, made Quincy itself a hotbed of political controversy on slavery. Richard Eells, who was a staunch abolitionist, built his home in Quincy in 1835 and sheltered runaway slaves on their way to Chicago. His home became a major