Uri Manly was born in Massachusetts on December 25, 1806. A lawyer in Clark County, Illinois, he also served as the judge of the county court from 1835 to 1843. A Democrat, he also represented Clark as in the Illinois House from 1834 to 1836 and from 1852 to 1854, as well as in the Illinois Senate from 1848 to 1850. He died in Clark County on November 11, 1864.