PURPLE, Norman Higgins, jurist, born in Exeter, New York, 29 March, 1808; died in Chicago, Illinois, 9 August, 1863. After attending the district schools, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1880, and in 1837 removed to Peoria, Illinois. In 1840-'2 he was state's attorney for the 9th judicial circuit of Illinois, and from 1845 till 1848 he was associate judge of the supreme court. He was once a candidate for United States senator, and in 1860 was a delegate to the Democratic national convention in Charleston, South Carolina He published "Statutes of Illinois relating to Real Estate " (Quincy, 1849) and "A Compilation of the Statutes of Illinois of a General Nature in Force, January 1, 1856 " (2 vols., Chicago. 1856). These works were adopted by the general assembly.