Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site - Photo by Roland Klose

Before the current state Capitol opened in 1877, the Old State Capitol was the seat of Illinois state government. Behind its massive oak doors, Lincoln tried hundreds of cases - Photo by Dave Janes

William Herndon, worked together from 1844 to 1852. After Lincoln’s death, Herndon traveled the state, pulling Lincoln’s original writings from the files of county courthouses and leaving copies as he visited.

Herndon’s published recollections provide a more intimate look at Lincoln’s life. He had a low opinion of Mary Todd Lincoln, but the feeling was mutual. Herndon believed that the Lincoln children were indulged; they had free run of both the house and their father’s law office, where, to Herndon’s dismay, Lincoln ignored their trashing of his already messy office.

Lincoln’s law cases have been the subject of a decade-long project, the Lincoln Legal Papers, which will eventually publish all of Lincoln’s legal writings. Though popular legend concentrates on Lincoln’s sticking up for the underdog, he collected his biggest fees from the Illinois Central Railroad, which hired him to keep the people of McLean County from taxing the corporation’s land. As Henry Whitney said in the 1880s, “As attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad, I had authority to employ additional counsel whenever I chose to do so, and I frequently applied to Lincoln when I needed aid. I never found him unwilling to appear in behalf of a great soulless corporation.”

Though far less lucrative, the 1858 “Almanac Trial” remains one of Lincoln’s best-known cases. The legend goes that on hearing a witness claim that he saw a murder committed by moonlight, Lincoln produced an almanac showing that the moon wasn’t up at the time. The defendant, “Duff” Armstrong, an acquaintance of Lincoln’s from New Salem, was acquitted. But the case may not have been as open-and-shut as that. Lincoln simply discovered that “moonset,” when the moon falls below the horizon, occurred about an hour after the murder, casting doubt on the witness’ assertion that the moon was directly overhead. Yet, as historian John Walsh has noted, the moon’s position in the sky also depends on the observer’s point of reference — and the moon was, in fact, visible enough to see by. Walsh attributes the famous acquittal less to scientific fact than to the manner in which Lincoln delivered the “evidence,” as well as his closing arguments to the jury. Just what you pay an attorney for — effective representation.

Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, Sixth and Adams, 217-785-7289, www.oldstatecapitol.org. Open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays. Free admission. Donations accepted.

The Lincoln Tomb

Within hours of Lincoln’s death, the Springfield City Council had passed a special resolution seeking to secure the return of the city’s favorite son. During the Washington, D.C., funeral, about 400 people from Illinois attended a special meeting in the White House’s East Room to lobby for the body. Through Robert Todd Lincoln, state politicians convinced Mary Todd Lincoln that her late husband belonged in Springfield. Mary initially resisted. Her first choice was Chicago, followed by Washington. Eventually she relented, and only then was she told that a Springfield committee had already purchased land downtown on which to construct a monument. She put her foot down, and the president was buried at a quieter resting place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Oak Ridge is the largest cemetery in Illinois and the second most visited in the nation (after Arlington National in Washington, D.C.). The striking tomb containing Lincoln and his family (except for Robert, who is buried in Arlington) was designed by Larkin Mead and completed nine years after Lincoln’s death, but it has been restored several times since. Tours are available, and special events are held throughout the year.

Enter the cemetery by going north on Monument Avenue, which lies off North Grand between First and Second streets. While you’re there, you may want to visit the gravesites of several prominent Illinoisans, including governors, poet Vachel Lindsay and United Mine Workers leader John L. Lewis.

Lincoln Tomb, 1500 Monument

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