Post by Cliff Krainik on Feb 12, 2004 8:37:41 GMT -5
Lincoln Comes to Dubuque - Part I
by Cliff Krainik
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States and the Great Emancipator of millions of enslaved African-Americans, was born in a one room, dirt floor log cabin on the Kentucky frontier, February 12, 1809. He lived briefly in Indiana before moving with his family to Illinois where he remained for his adult life prior to assuming the office of the presidency. Though self educated, no doubt Mr. Lincoln was a product of "the West" and was influenced by its social customs and immersed in the region's political and economic issues of the day. He noted his Midwest origin and his debt of gratitude to the citizens of Springfield, Illinois in his farewell address early in 1861 - "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man." Lincoln's connection with Illinois has been microscopically studied for well over a century. His formative years in New Salem, his participation in the Black Hawk War, and his four terms in the Illinois General Assembly have all been carefully examined for any insight to explain his meteoric rise to greatness. All of Lincoln's law cases have been meticulously documented and reviewed by The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois. What is not as well known, or even precisely documented, is Lincoln's association with Iowa.
Owned Land in Iowa
During his entire life Lincoln owned only one home, located in Springfield, Illinois. He did, however, hold title to several parcels of land in Iowa given to him by the United States government in gratitude for his three enlistments during the Black Hawk War in the late spring and summer of 1832. Captain A. Lincoln received two parcels of land on the west side of the Mississippi River - in 1852, 40 acres in Howard Township in Tama County, 4 miles north and 2 miles west of Toledo [1], Iowa and in 1856, 120 acres in Crawford County, 7 miles north of Denison and 1 mile east of Schleswig. Lincoln's Crawford County land has been recognized by a two ton granite boulder bearing a bronze historical plaque erected by the Denison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1923. Although Lincoln never personally visited either of his Iowa land holdings, he kept both parcels until the time of his death in 1865. His heirs sold the Tama property in 1874 and his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, held title to the Crawford County property until March 22, 1892. Incidentally, Robert Todd Lincoln, a brilliant attorney and statesman in his own right, was married to Mary Harlan of Mount Pleasant, the daughter of Iowa's United States Senator James Harlan. Robert and Mary with their three children resided at various times in Iowa.
Lincoln first came to Iowa in the fall of 1858 during the midst of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates for the hotly contested Illinois seat in the United States senate. Sandwiched between the debate at Galesburg on October 7th and the Quincy, Illinois engagement of October 13th, Lincoln crossed the Mississippi from Oquawka to deliver a two-hour political address to the citizens of Burlington, Iowa on Saturday, October 9th. A full capacity crowd of 1,200 jammed into Grimes Hall to hear Lincoln present his views on the burning issues of the day - states rights and slavery. Though no printed record of what Lincoln said on that occasion exists, a favorable report about the speaker appeared in the Burlington Hawk-Eye stating - "Those who heard recognized in him a man fully able to cope with the 'Little Giant' (Stephen Douglas) anywhere, and altogether worthy to succeed him." Lincoln remained in Burlington until the following Monday, when he boarded a steamer to returned to Illinois and headed to Quincy for his sixth debate with Senator Douglas.
In addition to his Black Hawk War Iowa land bounties, Lincoln owned seventeen lots in Council Bluffs and "ten acres along the right of way of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad" conveyed to him in security for a loan to an associate, Chicago attorney, Norman B. Judd.Lincoln arrived in Council Bluffs aboard a steamboat on Friday, August 12, 1859 accompanied by O.M. Hatch, Secretary of State for Illinois. Reportedly the visit was part business and part pleasure. Lincoln wanted to view firsthand the land he received in security and to enjoy the vast regions of the plains of Iowa. Lincoln responded to an invitation to speak to the citizens of Council Bluffs and on Saturday evening addressed a large audience in Concert Hall. The town's two partisan newspapers reported conflicting opinions of Lincoln's speech. The Democratic Weekly Bugle gave an unfavorable account of Lincoln's performance, although they admitted that his debates with Senator Douglas had "magnified him into quite a lion" at Council Bluffs. The more friendly paper, the Nonpareil, praised Lincoln's address for the "clear and lucid manner in which he set forth the true principals of the Republican Party." Before leaving Council Bluffs Lincoln attended services of the First Presbyterian Church held in Concert Hall, the scene of his previous night's performance.
by Cliff Krainik
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States and the Great Emancipator of millions of enslaved African-Americans, was born in a one room, dirt floor log cabin on the Kentucky frontier, February 12, 1809. He lived briefly in Indiana before moving with his family to Illinois where he remained for his adult life prior to assuming the office of the presidency. Though self educated, no doubt Mr. Lincoln was a product of "the West" and was influenced by its social customs and immersed in the region's political and economic issues of the day. He noted his Midwest origin and his debt of gratitude to the citizens of Springfield, Illinois in his farewell address early in 1861 - "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man." Lincoln's connection with Illinois has been microscopically studied for well over a century. His formative years in New Salem, his participation in the Black Hawk War, and his four terms in the Illinois General Assembly have all been carefully examined for any insight to explain his meteoric rise to greatness. All of Lincoln's law cases have been meticulously documented and reviewed by The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois. What is not as well known, or even precisely documented, is Lincoln's association with Iowa.
Owned Land in Iowa
During his entire life Lincoln owned only one home, located in Springfield, Illinois. He did, however, hold title to several parcels of land in Iowa given to him by the United States government in gratitude for his three enlistments during the Black Hawk War in the late spring and summer of 1832. Captain A. Lincoln received two parcels of land on the west side of the Mississippi River - in 1852, 40 acres in Howard Township in Tama County, 4 miles north and 2 miles west of Toledo [1], Iowa and in 1856, 120 acres in Crawford County, 7 miles north of Denison and 1 mile east of Schleswig. Lincoln's Crawford County land has been recognized by a two ton granite boulder bearing a bronze historical plaque erected by the Denison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1923. Although Lincoln never personally visited either of his Iowa land holdings, he kept both parcels until the time of his death in 1865. His heirs sold the Tama property in 1874 and his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, held title to the Crawford County property until March 22, 1892. Incidentally, Robert Todd Lincoln, a brilliant attorney and statesman in his own right, was married to Mary Harlan of Mount Pleasant, the daughter of Iowa's United States Senator James Harlan. Robert and Mary with their three children resided at various times in Iowa.
Lincoln first came to Iowa in the fall of 1858 during the midst of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates for the hotly contested Illinois seat in the United States senate. Sandwiched between the debate at Galesburg on October 7th and the Quincy, Illinois engagement of October 13th, Lincoln crossed the Mississippi from Oquawka to deliver a two-hour political address to the citizens of Burlington, Iowa on Saturday, October 9th. A full capacity crowd of 1,200 jammed into Grimes Hall to hear Lincoln present his views on the burning issues of the day - states rights and slavery. Though no printed record of what Lincoln said on that occasion exists, a favorable report about the speaker appeared in the Burlington Hawk-Eye stating - "Those who heard recognized in him a man fully able to cope with the 'Little Giant' (Stephen Douglas) anywhere, and altogether worthy to succeed him." Lincoln remained in Burlington until the following Monday, when he boarded a steamer to returned to Illinois and headed to Quincy for his sixth debate with Senator Douglas.
In addition to his Black Hawk War Iowa land bounties, Lincoln owned seventeen lots in Council Bluffs and "ten acres along the right of way of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad" conveyed to him in security for a loan to an associate, Chicago attorney, Norman B. Judd.Lincoln arrived in Council Bluffs aboard a steamboat on Friday, August 12, 1859 accompanied by O.M. Hatch, Secretary of State for Illinois. Reportedly the visit was part business and part pleasure. Lincoln wanted to view firsthand the land he received in security and to enjoy the vast regions of the plains of Iowa. Lincoln responded to an invitation to speak to the citizens of Council Bluffs and on Saturday evening addressed a large audience in Concert Hall. The town's two partisan newspapers reported conflicting opinions of Lincoln's speech. The Democratic Weekly Bugle gave an unfavorable account of Lincoln's performance, although they admitted that his debates with Senator Douglas had "magnified him into quite a lion" at Council Bluffs. The more friendly paper, the Nonpareil, praised Lincoln's address for the "clear and lucid manner in which he set forth the true principals of the Republican Party." Before leaving Council Bluffs Lincoln attended services of the First Presbyterian Church held in Concert Hall, the scene of his previous night's performance.