words

[loetar44]

I now recall why I thought that Abraham Lincoln spoke the words when he was at the dedication ceremony of Oak Ridge.

The dedication ceremonies were held on May 24, 1860, with as highlight the speech of Lincoln’s friend and former mayor of Springfield James C. Conkling, delivering the key note address. The day of the dedication was a BIG event. It was almost like a holiday for Springfield. Businesses were closed and schools were let out so as many people as possible could attend the ceremony. We know that Lincoln was extremely busy in May 1860. He won the Republican presidential nomination less than a week earlier than the dedication, and Thurlow Weed spoke in private in Springfield with Lincoln on the very same day as the dedication. So, we know that Lincoln was in Springfield that day. We also know that Lincoln also kept close contact with his friends and political contacts, so maybe he went indeed to Oak Ridge, on invitation or simply because he did not want to disappoint his friend (Conkling).

Edward J. Russo / Curtis R. Mann write in “Oak Ridge Cemetery” (p. 18): “Abraham Lincoln is believed to have attended the dedication of Oak Ridge Cemetery in 1860 where he would have heard former mayor James Conkling reflect, ‘When the firful dream of life is over … when man has run his allotted courses and fulfilled his destiny on the earth, here he may find a resting place.” Did Lincoln hear these words? And was he impressed by these words?

Mary Lincoln changed her mind, for reasons that have never been clearly determined. Why did she chose Springfield as the burial place for her assassinated husband? Were it the words of Lincoln himself (spoken to her at the carriage ride along the James River on April 18, 1865)? Or, were it the words of Conkling (spoken at the dedication on May 24, 1860)?

At a ceremony held May 24, 2014, the 154th anniversary of the cemetery’s dedication, Springfield lawyer/historian Richard Hart spoke: “’How solemn, how impressive the scene!’ These are the words spoken by former Springfield Mayor James C. Conkling 154 years ago today at the May 24, 1860 dedication of Oak Ridge Cemetery. Abraham and Mary Lincoln were present (!!!) and heard these words. Later, Mary remembered Mr. Lincoln saying at the time that he wanted to be buried in this quiet place, Oak Ridge Cemetery.” Did Abraham Lincoln explicitly say to Mary: “I want to be buried at Oak Ridge ?”

In the letter(s) Mary wrote to Oglesby, she never declared why she wanted Oak Ridge as burial place. She only wrote that she wanted that “…in accordance with my oft expressed wishes”. That leaves now two questions: (1) why exactly did Mary chose for Oak Ridge, and (2) were the Lincolns indeed at Oak Ridge at the dedication on May 24, 1860?

In Hart's speecht is also the following sentence: "Here to these sacred grounds the remains of Abraham Lincoln were brought on May 4, 1865, just short of five years from the May 24, 1860 dedication that he and Mary HAD ATTENDED"). Hart's speech is here:

http://www.sangamonhistory.org/blog/3009343