1860 and 1864 election vote question

[Hess1865]

OK, I don't really know how to go about this question, but here goes-I heard [or read] somewhere that in both Presidential elections that Lincoln won his hometown of Springfield by only 10 votes!
I'm sorry that I can't remember the source of this statement, so please forgive me.
Is this true???
Thanks in advance!

[RJNorton]

Hi Mr. Hess. I found the 1860 results in Paul Angle's Here I Have Lived: A History of Lincoln's Springfield.

The vote in Springfield:

Lincoln...........1395
Douglas.........1326
Breckinridge...31
Bell...............16

In Sangamon County:

Douglas.........3598
Lincoln..........3556
Bell...............130
Breckinridge...77

So, it was close, but Lincoln carried Springfield, and Douglas carried Sangamon County.

[Hess1865]

thank you Mr Norton.
I thought the 10 vote margin was way too slim to be true

[STS Lincolnite]

Does anyone know how the vote totals in Springfield and Sangamon County played out in the 1864 election? Would be interesting to see how his prosecution of the war and issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation affected his political standing in his Illinois home through comparison to the 1860 election.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Scott, no details like above, and Shangamon County only, but I found at least this statement:
"Abraham Lincoln lost his home county of Sangamon by 42 votes in 1860 and by 380 votes in 1864."

http://www.lib.niu.edu/1993/ii931030.html

[STS Lincolnite]

Thanks Eva. Interesting to see that AL lost ground - in Sangamon County anyway. I will try to look for Springfield results as well.

---

Found vote totals for Sangamon County in 1864...

McClellan: 3945
Lincoln: 3563

https://archive.org/details/historyofsangamo01inte

[Gene C]

I wonder if that includes the votes of soldiers in the field that were from Sangamon County?

[LincolnToddFan]

(08-25-2014 08:51 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Scott, no details like above, and Shangamon County only, but I found at least this statement:
"Abraham Lincoln lost his home county of Sangamon by 42 votes in 1860 and by 380 votes in 1864."

http://www.lib.niu.edu/1993/ii931030.html

That is shocking to me.....!!