Lincoln and the Logan County Court Houses

[STS Lincolnite]

(10-11-2015 02:15 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Scott, thank you for such a terrific post!! I once came across a comment in a book that said when there was a break on the circuit all those men traveling with Lincoln would go home to be with their families, but Lincoln would stay put and not go back to Springfield. We may have discussed this on the forum awhile back, but I don't recall what was said. Scott, based on what you know, can you comment?

Roger, I too seem to vaguely remember this being discussed in another thread as well, but don't remember which one.

The idea that other lawyers went home while Lincoln did not, came from comments Judge Davis made in one of Herndon's interviews in 1866: "In my opinion I think Mr. Lincoln was happy - as happy as he could be, when on this Circuit - and happy no other place. This was his place of Enjoyment. As a general rule when all the lawyers of a Saturday evening would go home and see their families & friends at home Lincoln would refuse to go home."

I would really have to study the topic further but there are probably several reasons Lincoln may have remained away when others went home. My initial thoughts follow:

First, I don't know if all the lawyers traveled the whole circuit as Lincoln did. If perhaps they only traveled to a couple of the county seats - the ones closer to home, it would be much easier to get home on a weekend and then back by the time court proceedings began again. Springfield was situated in the southwest corner of the circuit and in the earlier years when traveling by horseback, there is no way he could get home to Springfield and then back to some of the county seats on weekend. In later years, when railroad travel was available, Lincoln may have in fact gone home more regularly on the weekend.

Second, the living conditions on the circuit could range from mediocre to horrible according to Guy Fraker's book. I suspect that Lincoln's hardscrabble life prior to becoming a lawyer made him much more tolerant of such a lack of amenities. It is only speculation on my part, but I would guess most of the lawyers were raised in and were used to a much higher standard of living. They headed for home any opportunity they had just for a break from the sometimes dreadful living conditions.

Third, I think Lincoln was a ambitious. He was a lawyer and aspiring politician. He clearly understood that he could better get to know potential clients and voters by spending time with them outside of the courtroom and did so to further his career. He went the extra mile in this regard and did what some others might not have been willing to do. According to reports he enjoyed the "social time" while riding on the circuit and became quite popular. The fruits of that labor are evidenced by the town of Lincoln, IL being named after him because of the reputation he gained while riding on the circuit.

Some seem to think that the only reason he did not regularly go home while riding the circuit was because he was trying to avoid Mary. I don't agree. There certainly may have been times when he stayed out even when he could have gone home. Possibly in order to avoid some sort of domestic responsibility or hardship but I hardly think he would be the first spouse in history to do that. Also, the time people like Washington and Adams were away from their wives in order to further their careers was far greater than Lincoln's. No one claims it was all to stay away from their wives (accepting that their wives were not known to have the mood swings that Mary had). When the available info is taken in its entirety (and I am not saying all the available info is in this post - I also seem to remember some reports from fellow circuit riders that Lincoln did in fact go home from time to time but I didn't have time to look for it just now) it's really not that strange to me that Lincoln stayed out on the circuit.

It is an interesting question posed, and I would be interested to hear the thoughts of others.