Good try Roger but it's not Dr. Patterson. I should have said Abraham Lincoln.

Eva, you are in the correct time frame.

Hint #1 This gentleman was born in Massachusetts in 1813 and found his way to Ottawa, Illinois in 1834. His father's name was Hercules.

Wild guess as I do not know the date/place of birth or the father's name - is it Henry Dresser, brother of Rev. Charles Dresser? I think some books speculate that Henry Dresser, a carpenter, built the home eventually purchased by the Lincolns, but I don't know there is proof of this.

Interesting guess Roger but it's not Rev. Charles Dresser. I didn't know about the speculation Henry Dresser was the carpenter that built the home bought by the Lincolns.

Hint #2 He was a member of the Illinois State Assembly and reelected in 1842. Three months after Mary and Lincoln wed he married a close friend of Mary Todd.

Is it Lyman Trumbull (who married Julia Jayne, a bridesmaid in the Lincolns' wedding)?

Elihu Benjamin Washburne?

Roger, it's not Lyman Trumbull but you are very very close to the answer. You have the correct event!

Eva, good try but it's not Washburne.

Is it William Hercules Cushman (who married Anna Caesaria Rodney)?

Bravo Roger! It is indeed William Hercules Washburn Cushman. Anna Caesaria Rodney was a bridesmaid at the Lincoln wedding and on Feb. 3, 1843 she married Cushman. He was a prominent figure in his day. Here's a small excerpt related to his role in the Civil War.
" From 1860 until 1865 he owned and controlled the Bank of Ottawa. Colonel Cushman, in 1861, personally organized the 53d Illinois Regiment, which was composed not only of a full quota of infantry, but of a squadron of cavalry and an artillery company of four pieces. This regiment, which was unquestionably one of the finest ever sent to the field, was organized and equipped by the direct authority of President Lincoln, with whom Colonel Cushman was on terms of cordial intimacy."
http://cushmansite.com/Cushman_Gen_site/...01_427.htm

Your prize is a piece of wedding cake just like those served at the Lincoln wedding.

Thanks, Anita! Great prize. I'd love to go back in time and have that piece of cake in the parlor of the Edwards' home where the marriage ceremony took place.

Glad you like the wedding cake. It would be wonderful to travel back in time.

Here's a related question.
Mrs. Edwards teased Mary that because of the short notice of the wedding date she'd have to order refreshments for the reception from what Springfield establishment?

Dickey's?

Well that was quick Roger. You have earned another prize - a big slice of gingerbread.

"Mary, you have not given me much time to prepare for our guests this evening." Then she added, "I guess I will have to send to Old Dickey's for some of the gingerbread and beer." Mary replied," Well, that will be good enough for plebeians I suppose."
http://www.illinoisancestors.org/menard/.../pg33.html

When in New York City, Mary Lincoln had a favorite spot to shop. What was this spot called?

GloveMart

Good try, Gene, but according to my source that's not it. The answer is not one store but rather a name for the spot in New York City where she liked to shop.