Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for your smart guesses, Roger and tblunk! I'm sorry, it's neither, and I'm sorry to admit I didn't want to make it too easy, and the New Salem days hint was probably a little red herring. The following not, I promise:
Hint #3: Although this person saw A. L. the first time on that occasion, he lived in Springfield, and did so most of his life.

[Gene C]

Herndon ?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Kudos, Gene! It was Herndon's recipe, and actually he was drunk when he created this dish.

Petersburg newspaper editor John Hill recalled (as he told to Ida Tarbell in 1896) witnessing this in a restaurant, and ended: ",...and [Herndon]was about to duplicate, when I persuaded him to go with me to the hotel, and finally put him to bed. This is one of many instances."

Gene, your prize is a dinner à la Herndon (and I consider awarding all guessers as my hints were so distracting ...)

[LincolnToddFan]

I am not surprised that Herndon was drunk when he came up with his recipe for "oyster stew". It sounds disgusting!

[L Verge]

He didn't even come close to making true oyster stew. It's actually quite good if made correctly -- once you get used to what the oysters look like bombing around in the broth.

[Gene C]

In 1978 a packet of personal letters was uncovered that had been hidden for almost a hundred years. What well known person of the Civil War era wrote the letters?

[LincolnToddFan]

Gene,

Was it Mary Todd Lincoln?

[Gene C]

Nice try, but no.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Edward Bates? Or Judah Benjamin?

[Rogerm]

Were they written by Abraham Lincoln himself?

[RJNorton]

Ulysses S. Grant?

[Eva Elisabeth]

Sorry, can't wait any longer now to post the third one that came to my mind - Carl Schurz?

[Gene C]

Sorry no. I'm heading out the door, the next clue will be in about 2 hours

[Gene C]

Clue #1.

This packet contained 35 letters written over an eighteen year period, all written to the same person.

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Clue #2

The letters were written between 1864 and 1882. They were recovered from a bank vault.

[Gene C]

Clue # 3

The letters were written to this person's son-in-law, who had been a teller at the First Tennessee Bank in Memphis where the letters were stored. I'd tell you who he is , but then you could look him up on Google, and what fun would that be?