Lincoln - Douglas Debate
On October 15, 1858, the seventh debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, for the Illinois Senate seat, was held in Alton, Illinois. In July 1858, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates, which were held throughout the State. Douglas was an incumbent Democrat, and Lincoln was a former Whig, turned Republican. At around 1:00 p.m., approximately 5,000 citizens gathered at the northeast corner of the Alton City Hall, where a large stand, decorated in patriotic bunting, had been erected. Seating was provided for the ladies. The Chicago and Alton Railroad provided half-priced train fare for the event, while others came by steamboat, horse, or by foot. Lincoln and Douglas had arrived by steamboat, coming down from Quincy, Illinois, before daybreak. Lincoln received friends at the Franklin House on State Street, while Douglas received friends at the Alton House on Front Street. A military company paraded through the streets, accompanied by a band. Excitement was in the air, and people walked up and down the streets of Alton, cheering on their favorite candidate, while businesses were decorated with banners of their chosen party. Below are the newspaper articles chronicling the event in detail. Although Lincoln lost the Senatorial election to Douglas, he gained a wide reputation through his speeches, and went on to become the 16th President of the United States in 1861.
MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE LAST GREAT DISCUSSION
Lincoln – Douglas Debate in Alton
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 14, 1858
Let all take notice, that on Friday next, Hon. S. A. Douglas and
Hon. Abraham Lincoln will hold the seventh and closing joint debate
of the canvass at this place [Alton]. We hope the country will turn
out to hear these gentlemen. The following programme for the
discussion has been decided upon by the Joint Committee appointed by
the People’s Party Club and the Democratic Club for that purpose.
Arrangements for the 15th inst.:
The two committees – one from each party – heretofore appointed to
make arrangements for the public speaking on the 15th inst., met in
joint committee, and the following programme of proceedings was
adopted, viz:
1. The place for said speaking shall be on the east side of City
Hall.
2. The time shall be 1:30 o’clock p.m., on said day.
3. That Messrs. C. Stigleman and W. T. Miller be a committee to
erect a platform; also, seats to accommodate ladies.
4. That Messrs. B. F. Barry and William Post superintend music and
salutes.
5. Messrs. H. G. McPike and W. C. Quigley be a committee having
charge of the platform, and reception of ladies, and have power to
appoint assistants.
6. That the reception of Messrs. Douglas and Lincoln shall be a
quiet one, and no public display.
7. That no banner or motto, except national colors, shall be allowed
on the speakers’ stand.
On motion, a committee, consisting of Messrs. W. C. Quigley and H.
G. McPike be appointed to publish this programme of proceedings.
Signed, W. C. Quigley and Henry G. McPike
Note: To the above, it should be added that the Chicago, Alton & St.
Louis Railroad will, on Friday, carry passengers to and from this
city at half its usual rates. Persons can come in on the 10:40 a.m.
train, and go out at 6:20 in the evening.
LAST JOINT DEBATE BETWEEN LINCOLN AND DOUGLAS
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 21, 1858
The seventh and closing debate between Messrs. Douglas and Lincoln
came off at this city [Alton] yesterday afternoon. The day was not
the best – the morning being somewhat cloudy with indications of
rain. At an early hour, the country began to arrive. It came on foot
– on horseback – by carriage – by lumber-wagon – and by all other
conveyances possible. The steamer “Baltimore,” from St. Louis,
brought up its load of those desirous to hear the great debate. At
half past ten o’clock, the train on the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis
Railroad, freighted with its gatherings from Springfield, Auburn,
Girard, Carlinville, Brighton, Monticello [Godfrey], and we know not
how many other towns, steamed slowly into the city with its burden
of eight rail cars. The other passenger trains of the forenoon and
early part of the afternoon demonstrated, too, that the names of
Lincoln and Douglas have a hold upon the country. About noon, the
extra steamer, “White Cloud,” landed upon the levee with its quota
of the denizens of St. Louis. With the earliest arrival, the rooms
of Messrs. Douglas and Lincoln, who reached the city before daylight
– coming down the river from Quincy – became the centers of
attraction. Mr. Lincoln received at the Franklin House, and Mr.
Douglas at the Alton House. The train of the Chicago, Alton & St.
Louis Railroad brought down the Springfield Cadets, a fine military
company, who paraded through our streets, accompanied by Merritt’s
Coronet Band, discoursing sweet music. At a later hour, the band of
the Edwardsville delegation also gave us a display of its power “to
charm the sense and soothe dull care away.”
By the hour of 12:00, the great American people had taken possession
of the city. It went up and down the streets – it hurrahed for
Lincoln and hurrahed for Douglas – it crowded to the auction rooms –
it thronged the stores of our merchants – it gathered on the street
corners and discussed politics – it shook its fists and talked
loudly – it mounted boxes and cried the virtues of Pain Killer – it
mustered to the eating saloons, and did not forget the drinking
saloons – it was here and there and everywhere, asserting its
privileges and maintaining its rights. Immediately thereafter,
couples and triplets and singles of its 6,000 component parts betook
themselves to the neighborhood of the stand prepared for the
speaking.
Over the stand, which was located on the eastern side of the City
Hall and Market building, the Stars and Stripes floated out upon the
breeze. Mr. Henry Lea displayed several banners and flags. One was
inscribed “Illinois born under the Ordinance of 1887 – she will
maintain its provision,” another, “Lincoln not yet trotted out,” and
a third, “Free Territories and Free Men. Free Pulpits and Free
Preachers. Free Press and a Free Pen. Free Schools and Free
Teachers.”
Mr. E. H. Goulding notified everybody in this style, “Squat Row for
‘Old Abe’ and Free Labor.” A cord stretched from the store of Mr.
Isaac Scarritt to that occupied by Dr. Bow & Barr, sustained a large
flag bearing the mottoes, “Old Madison for Lincoln,” and “Too late
for the Milking.” The national colors floated proudly from the
flagstaff of the Courier office.
The Douglas men concentrated their whole energies in one grand,
magnificent, superb, right-royal banner, which was suspended over
Third Street, between the store of Mr. Henry Lee and the Baok
Building. The words, “Popular Sovereignty,” “National Union,” and
“S. A. Douglas, the People’s Choice,” were surmounted by a very
buzzard-like bird, ready poised to swoop down upon his prey, and
surrounded by five stars, intended, as we suppose, to represent the
four states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, which have
already put their knives to the throat of Mr. Douglas, and Illinois,
which will do so in November, after which he will be ready,
politically, for the buzzard.
The hour of two having nearly arrived, the great American people,
having gathered all its parts, or so many of them as would consent
to be gathered to the first floor of the city hall building, and the
ground between that and the Presbyterian Church, Messrs. Lincoln and
Douglas made their appearance upon the stand.
As previously agreed, Judge Douglas opened the debate in a speech of
an hour. Although appearing very well, his voice was completely
shattered, and his articulation so very much impeded that very few
of the large crowd he addressed could understand an entire sentence.
Nearly all his speech was a repetition of his previous charges of
amalgamation, negro-equality, &c., against the Republican Party; and
he labored and twisted them, and rolled them as sweet morsels under
his tongue, till his own friends were disgusted with his pertinacity
and falsehood. Having nearly exhausted himself and his hour also on
this terrible bug-bear, the Judge then ventured upon one of the most
important, and to him, the most fearful act of his life. He actually
attacked Buchanan and his administration, and berated them to his
heart’s content. His friends here were not prepared for this bold
step on the part of their leader, and opened wide their eyes in
astonishment. What – had their Little Giant – their terrible leader
stood so long calmly and meekly by when the heads of his friends,
one after another in rapid succession, rolled before him in the
dust, and not a word of rebuke or condemnation! And now, at the very
heels of an election, more important to him than any other of his
life, he plucks up courage and denounces the President in terms
admitting of no mistake as to his feelings. With this exception, his
speech was not different from his previous efforts. It was flat and
unsatisfactory, unredeemed by a single sparkle of wit or patriotic
elevation.
The hour and a half reply of Mr. Lincoln was an effort of which his
friends had every reason to be proud. One by one, he took up the
oft-exploded charges of Douglas against the Republican Party, and
scattered them to the winds, and charged back upon him his own army
of sins of omission and commission, with terrible effect. Not a
single point was left unanswered of all the charges Douglas made,
and so convincing was the array of testimony he produced, so clear
and logical every deduction drawn from them, and so honest and
candid was he in all his assertions, the Douglasites themselves were
forced to admit that they had not only underrated the native
strength of the man, but that he was greatly misrepresented in their
papers. His reply was, in fact, a complete vindication of himself
and the Republican Party, from the foul slanders sought to be heaped
upon them, and as a vindication, could not be successfully answered.
Douglas’ half-hour rejoinder was both in better spirit and better
taste than his opening. It was not, in fact, a rejoinder at all. It
was principally a series of charges against Mr. Lincoln about his
Mexican War votes, which he then introduced so that Mr. Lincoln
could have no opportunity of replying. Brave Little Giant! Cunning
Little Giant! Magnanimous Little Giant!
As we intend to publish the speeches in full in a few days, we shall
not further speak of them now. The discussion has been longed for by
the Republicans of this city and vicinity, and their expectations
have been more than realized. As the Democracy of the States of
Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania has been thrashed out, so was
Mr. Douglas thrashed out by Mr. Lincoln yesterday.
DOUGLAS MEETING HELD LAST NIGHT
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 21, 1858
The Douglasites held a meeting last night opposite the bank, just
under that great buzzard displayed across the street. J. H. Sloss,
Esq., Douglas candidate for the Legislature, Spread-Eagle Merrick of
Chicago, H. W. Billings, Esq., of Alton, Railroad Attorney Z. B.
Job, Esq., railroad candidate for the Legislature, and J. E.
Coppinger, Esq., anti-railroad, were the speakers.
Sloss made a very fair talk with but little effect. Spread-Eagle
Merrick mounted his favorite bird and had not got down to earth when
we went to press. Billings whispered railroad – talked railroad –
screamed railroad - blessed the Courier - and announced his
intention to make an exclusive railroad speech. Job railroaded
everything, Jon Gillespie included, giving the impression that he
was running against Joe for the Senate. He admitted he could not
make a speech, and all agreed with him.
Coppinger spoke next. He said he was not a candidate (away went one
of the lanterns); that he had served the people in the city council
(two more lanterns removed and one of Post’s store doors closed);
that he was opposed to railroads (all the lights taken away and
doors closed); and that he would not support Buck (the box on which
he stood was here knocked from under him by the Douglas
Railroaders); and the meeting adjourned sine die.
DOUGLAS CORNERED – REFUSES TO ANSWER
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 21, 1858
Yesterday, Douglas kept his temper until Dr. Hope got after him, and
then he flew into a rage and called the Doctor an ally of the
Abolitionists. The occasion was this: Dr. Hope stepped up to Douglas
after the speaking was over, and asked him if he would permit Hon.
F. P. Blair to state what conversations took place last winter
between them. The Little Giant flew into a rage, called Hope an
associate and ally of the Abolitionists, and flatly and pointedly
refused to permit Blair to tell a word. Blair knows something,
evidently.
DR. THOMAS HOPE GIVES A SPEECH
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 21, 1858
Last evening there was assembled at Temperance Hall the largest
Democratic meeting which has been held in the city the present
canvass. The occasion was a speech from Dr. Hope, the Administration
candidate for Congress in this district. The Republicans, according
to the Doctor, were very bad indeed, but oh, their smell was nothing
compared to the Douglasites. The occasion was embraced to pay
particular attention to Messrs. Billings and Metcalf of Alton, and
other recent converts to Douglasisms, and his review of their course
was a scathing one.
The Doctor has a holy horror of abolitionism, and for him to be
charged with being its ally, as was charged upon him by Douglas a
few days ago, appeared to excite his utmost ire. The way he
denounced the Little Giant was anything but pleasing to his friends.
That part of it the Republicans did enjoy, certainly.
The speech was full of statistical information, having evidently
been prepared with considerable care, and was well delivered.
Democrats present pronounce it the best speech the Doctor ever
delivered.
THE SPRINGFIELD CADETS
At the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Source: Alton Weekly Courier, October 21, 1858
The Springfield Cadets visited our city on the occasion of the joint
debate between Lincoln and Douglas, and their beautiful appearance
and excellent training merit a notice from us. Their officers are as
follows: Captain Mather; First Lieutenant W. H. Lathan; Second
Lieutenant Lloyd; and Third Lieutenant Strichlen.
Immediately after the arrival of the 10:30 o’clock train, on which
they came down, they formed, and preceded by Merrit’s Cornet Band,
which by the way, is one of the finest that has visited our city
lately, they paraded through our principal streets, attracting
general attention. In the afternoon, at the cease of the discussion,
they again formed, and after marching about the city awhile down in
front of the Courier office, they displayed their knowledge of
military tactics. Their evolutions were exceedingly well performed.
They drew a large crowd of observers, and well they might. The
beauty of their uniforms, their general neatness of appearance, the
certainty and rapidity with which they moved at the word of command,
combined to make them justly admired and praised.
EX-GODFREY RESIDENT URGES BRONZE STATUTES OF LINCOLN & DOUGLAS -
WAS AT THE DEBATE
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September 5, 1906
Former Mayor H. G. McPike has received the following letter from Dr.
James Squire, formerly of Godfrey, now practicing his profession in
Carrollton, Ill., and is self-explanatory:
"Dear Sir: I saw the statement in a St. Louis paper you made about
the debate between Lincoln and Douglas in Alton in 1858. I was
there, and as a boy climbed up on the platform on the east side of
the Alton City Hall and sat there at the feet of Lincoln and
Douglas. I remember how they looked and spoke - remember the sweet,
pleasant smiles and ringing invectives, and great truths expounded
by Lincoln; the poor voice and oratorical gestures of the 'Little
Giant,' Douglas, who was plainly out of health, or 'cornered,' and
could not answer the man who proclaimed the doctrines of the
emancipation - who said, 'this government cannot stand one-half
slave, one-half free,' etc. I have always quoted that day and my
position on the platform as one of the bright days and spots of my
history, and have often thought as I passed along how nice it would
be to see those men in bronze statues, one on each side of that
place, on a pedestal, and it would be attractive to all people
visiting Alton. Beautify that hallowed spot! The last meeting place
of the two greatest men of Illinois, if not of this country, as the
speech delivered that day in Alton made Lincoln President and
secured emancipation. The legislature should make an appropriation
to help erect the statues, and if Madison county will elect men of
strong character to represent her in the legislature, no doubt help
could be secured in part from the state to commemorate those two
giants and that one spot. You, as presiding officer of that meeting,
Mr. McPike, should start this movement, and I know you can, and
believe you will inaugurate it and see that it reaches a successful
consummation. I write this only to congratulate you on the accuracy
of the details of that debate as given by you between the two
greatest men on earth at that time, 1858. I am willing to do
anything I can to help, and I urge that justice be done to the
debaters and I also am anxious to show that Alton was on the map in
the past, and I hope she will be in the future as a 'great city.'"
ALTON LADY REMEMBERS DEBATE DISTINCTLY
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, December 18, 1907
Mrs. Catherine Dietschy, widow of Joseph Dietschy, who resides at
614 East Fourth Street, is one of the surviving Altonians who
listened to the Lincoln-Douglas debate in this city, and she
remembers the occasion and much of the speech of Douglas distinctly.
She says there was a big crowd present on the east side of the city
hall, and that Douglas, who was a "little, short, heavy man," who
kept his head bobbing backwards and forward - sometimes violently
bobbing all through his speech. After the speaking she says Douglas
was taken to St. Louis on a handsomely decorated steamboat. The
Lincoln-Douglas organization might be able to secure some valuable
information from Mrs. Dietschy, and if not valuable, certainly some
interesting information concerning that verbal battle of
intellectual giants.
SURVIVORS OF LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, December 19, 1907
Below is a list of persons who sent their names to the Alton
Telegraph as having been present at the Lincoln-Douglas debate in
Alton, October 15, 1858. If no city of residence is given, they
resided in Alton. There is no doubt a large number of others living
in Alton and elsewhere whose names are not given.
Lucas Pfeifenberger
Mrs. K. Dietschy
Edmond Beall
John Haley
Edward Ashwell Smith
Fredrucj A. Hummert
Ferdinand Volbracht
John Diamond
Mrs. A. Johnston
Rev. Jotham A. Scarritt
John L. Blair
Edward P. Wade
L. H. Yager
Henry Guest McPike
Thomas M. Long
George H. Davis
George D. Hayden
Jacob L. Watkins
Joseph W. Cary
Henry Watson
Joseph Einsele
Louis Stiritz, Clifton Terrace
A. A. Neff
Ebenezer Marsh
Harry Basse
Landolin Walter
Frank H. Ferguson
Thomas Dimmock, St. Louis
Mrs. S. Sotier
George Dickson
J. Magnus Ryrie
George W. Carhart
William Jarman
Joseph I. Lamper
R. J. Young
Wolf Laudener
Dr. George Worden
L. H. Kelly
Emanuel H. Boals
George Henry Weigler
Albert Wade
Hiram S. Mathews
Christian Wuerker
George W. Cutter
Patrick J. Meiling
William Flynn
Gaius Paddock
Beda Schlageter
Charles Holden
Harrison Johnson
John Hoffman
Thomas O'Leary
John Bauer
Rudolph Maerdian
Archibald L. Daniels
John Mills Pearson, Godfrey
Nicholas Challacombe, Melville
Dr. Titus Paul Yerkes, Upper Alton
Capt. Henry A. Morgan, Upper Alton
R. R. McReynolds, Upper Alton
Capt. Troy Moore, Upper Alton
George Barclay Weed, Girard
Mrs. Letitia V. Rutherford
James Barr, Nevada, MO
Lewis Megowan, Upper Alton
Edwin M. Hugo, Upper Alton
Andrew Fuller Rodgers, Upper Alton
William R. Wright, Upper Alton
James Seyboldt, Troy
William Cowper McPike, Atchison, Kansas
John Seaton, Atchison, Kan.
Jacob Preuitt, Bethalto
Louis Houck, Cape Girardeau, MO
Dr. James Squires, Carrollton
Roger W. Atwood, Chicago
William Russell Prickett, Edwardsville
Christian Schwartz, Edwardsville
Shadrach Bond Gillham, Upper Alton
James W. Davis, St. Louis
Michael A. Lowe, Upper Alton
Dr. Joseph Pogue, Edwardsville
August Baker, Melville
NOTES:
The Abraham Lincoln – James Shields debate was held in Alton on
October 15, 1858. The debate was held outside the newly-constructed
Alton City Hall, located on what is today the Lincoln-Douglas Square
at the foot of Market Street.
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS STORIES BROUGHT OUT BY SEMI-CENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION OF DEBATE
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, December 20, 1907
Anent the proposed celebration in this city in October next year of
the debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas on October
15, 1858, many interesting stories are told of by the older people
of the occasion and the amenities that passed between the eminent
speakers on the occasion. Great interest was stirred among the
residents of the territory 75 to 100 miles around Alton. People came
in all kinds of vehicles, some of them traveling for two days and
nights. Some of them estimated the crowd at ten thousand, but this
no doubt is larger than the actual number.
Thomas M. Long, city engineer, then deputy United States marshal
under President Buchanan, happened to be in Edwardsville at the time
on business and organized a crowd to come over to Alton. Something
like twenty to thirty vehicles were used to convey the people from
the county seat. All along the way, Mr. Long says that the
procession was enlarged by farmers wagons filled with people, and
when the procession reached that part of the city where Washington
street now is, there must have been 200 vehicles of all kinds in
line. Mr. Long got a good position in company with the late Z. B.
Job and others, and heard the speakers distinctly. He says there was
intense feeling and much enthusiasm, and the points made by the
speakers were loudly applauded.
F. A. Hummert was at that time a lad, and with his father came in a
wagon from Fosterburg to attend the debate. Mr. Hummert has a very
vivid recollection of the men and what they said; of the crowd and
its great size, and of the way the partisans of the two men cheered
and applauded their favorites.
G. B. (Bradley) Weed was a boy at the time and lived in Alton and
attended the meeting. He tells of his feelings and give interesting
data of the occasion. Mr. Weed has lived in Girard since he moved
away from Alton, and is now practicing his profession, a druggist,
although he is 69 years of age. The writer remembers him well as
being one of the pupils of the old school that formerly was on the
site of the Garfield school.
R. J. Young says he was present and heard the debate. He says that
the speakers addressed each other as "Abe" and "Steve." During the
addresses Mr. Douglas said something about "Abe" which drew a long
and loud volley of applause from the Democratic section of the
crowd. After the applause, Mr. Lincoln responded: "Well Steve, I see
you have a big lot of friends here in this little city of Alton, but
there will be another time. You may beat me this time, but in the
next race the longest pole will knock the persimmon on the highest
limb." This was a remarkable prophecy, for Douglas did beat Lincoln
that time. Two years afterwards the two men were opposing candidates
for the Presidency, and Lincoln won the big persimmon. He carried
Alton, which had always been Democratic at prior elections, giving
Lincoln a majority of 13, and was in line with the entire North.
John S. Leeper of this city was present at the Freeport meeting and
gives his impressions of both men. After Douglas closed his part of
the debate in which he belabored Lincoln in his usually caustic and
telling manner, Lincoln arose, and with great solemnity announced:
"I now propose to stone Stephen." Stephen no doubt had many sore
spots on his anatomy as "Abe" threw political stones at Stephen
until the latter was almost ready to cry out. "Bold enough." There
was great good humor between the two men, and they were seen to walk
away from the meeting arm in arm and laughing over the jokes they
perpetrated on each other.
Charles S. Leech was among those who listened to the debate. He was
then as now a resident of Alton. He was 18 years of age at the time.
Mr. Leech was walking along Piasa street on his way to the speakers'
stand east of city hall. A few yards in front of him was Lincoln,
accompanied by Amasa Barry and B. B. Harris, both now deceased, and
heard part of the talk indulged in by the three men. Messrs. Barry
and Harris ..... [unreadable] Lincoln about ..... to engage in ....
"Little Giant," as .....in those days. Mr. Leech has a very distinct
recollection of Douglas' voice, something on the order of the baying
of an immense mastiff, "wow," "wow," as if at some distance. When
near Douglas his words came slow and deliberate, very distinct.
Lincoln, on the other hand, was a quick speaker, with a high-keyed
voice, and every word could be very plainly heard at a distance.
Charles A. Rodemeyer of Upper Alton says he remembers the debate
between Lincoln and Douglas, which occurred in 1858, as well as if
it occurred yesterday. He says he was a small boy then, but he was
always on hand when there was any excitement on and he stood very
close to the two speakers while they were talking and afterward
shook hands with Douglas. Mr. Rodemeyer says a man named Merritt
from Chicago spoke right after the debate and he has heard no one
say anything about that in speaking of the famous debate.
Mr. Edward Rogers, also of Upper Alton, says he remembers the debate
very distinctly and remembers many things said by both speakers.
ALTON WILL HAVE BIG ART EXHIBIT DURING LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE
CELEBRATION
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September 26, 1908
In another column will be found a local ad by W. H. Wiseman, the
photographer, who is asking Altonians and others to contribute to a
big art exhibit which will be given at his place, fort Wiseman,
October 12-17. St. Louis artists have already agreed to send some of
the finest collections of paintings, etc., ever seen in Alton, and
Mr. Wiseman himself will have on exhibition many remarkably fine
specimens of his own work done with his new $250 camera. There will
be on display a suit of armor taken from a Moro chief after he was
killed by a United States soldier in the Philippines during the
Spanish War. The armor is made of bronze and weighs seventy-five
pounds. The chief was a small man weighing only about ninety pounds,
and the exhibit for this alone will be of great interest. Among
other things to be displayed will be a five-foot-long photograph of
the Standard Oil refinery site and buildings, which was taken by Mr.
Wiseman for the Standard Oil company from a tower one hundred and
eight feet high, which was built especially for the purpose. This is
pronounced by those who have seen it to be the finest piece of
photographic work ever seen in Alton. Mr. Wiseman has also had a
tower built on the Alton bridge and from this he will take an eight
feet long photograph of Alton on the river front. He is waiting for
weather conditions to improve a little and the river to become
higher before taking this last picture. The exhibit will bring many
fine art specimens and curious things generally to Alton, and all
who can contribute to its interest ought to do so, as the studio
will probably be visited by thousands of out of town visitors during
the time the exhibition will be on.
BRONZE MEMORIAL TABLET ARRIVES FOR LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE
MEMORIAL
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, October 6, 1908
The bronze memorial tablet to be placed on the city building to mark
the place where the famous closing debate between Abraham Lincoln
and Stephen A. Douglas took place October 15, 1858, arrived this
morning and is in the custody of Jacob Wead, who will make
arrangements for having it set in place. The tablet will be placed
on the panel in the east side of the city hall building, on the
Market street side, between the two fire escapes. It will be set
about eight feet from the ground to put it out of the way of people
who might deface it or mar its beauty in any way. The tablet is
severely plain. The lettering is raised and is of the plainest kind.
The inscription on the tablet is as follows: "1858-1908. Erected by
the Citizens of Alton commemorating the Closing Debate Between
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, which took place here,
October 15, 1858." The tablet will be set in place before the time
for its unveiling but will not be open to the view of the public
until the morning of October 15, when the veil will be drawn by John
Bowman, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Bowman. Mr. Bowman is
chairman of the committee which is in charge of preparations for the
celebration and his son was chosen in recognition of is valuable
services in behalf of the semi-centennial.
SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, October 15, 1908
Fifty years ago today, the last of the series of debates between
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas took place at Alton. The
semi-centennial observance of the debate today was a gigantic
success. The interest in the anniversary celebration far exceeded
what was expected. Alton had been preparing for the anniversary day
by making a thorough house cleaning. The city never looked prettier
in her autumnal dress, and it never looked neater or cleaner after
the strenuous exertions of the city government. It never looked more
attractive either from the point of view of the artistic decorator.
The decorations were quite an important feature of the occasion, and
elicited many favorable comments from those who were back in their
old home to spend the day and see what Alton had been doing in the
many years they had been absent. Those who feared there might be
lack of interest in the celebration were greatly mistaken. It was
the reawakening of old memories to many of the old residents of
Alton. It aroused the interest of hundreds of one-time residents
here who flocked to Alton for the day from all parts of the country.
Some had come from Denver and other western points. Some were here
from New York, some from the north and some from the south. Alton's
homes were filled with guests. The hotels were filled and there were
many who had difficulty in finding places to stay. Among the
visitors were great numbers who heard the debate of fifty years ago.
The committee did not believe there would be so many, and the demand
for badges far exceeded the supply. Alton probably had more old
people in her borders today than she ever had in her history. The
hundreds of old men, ranging from 90 years of age downward to 62 and
63, who were here, made the occasion a notable one in this respect
alone. Among the oldest who were present as veterans and were given
seats in the carriages were Captain Troy Moore of Upper Alton and
Hon. George H. Weigler of Alton, both past 90 years of age and both
well preserved. There were other "younger" men who were between 80
and 90, the number of them being so large that it would require a
long roll to contain them. From that down to 60 years there were
many who had heard the debates and who had not been in Alton in many
years. The day was a complete counterpart of the date of the
original debate. The air was warm and balmy, the skies were blue and
everything in Nature helped to make the celebration what it was
desired it should be. Preceding the unveiling of the tablet was the
parade of the school children, military bodies and the city officers
and those of the celebration. It was a thrilling sight. The parade
was formed on Ridge street according to a plan prepared by the Grand
Marshal, Col. A. M. Jackson. One by one the bodies fell in line
marching down Second street toward the city hall. Fifteen hundred
flags had been provided for the children of the Alton and Upper
Alton public and parochial schools. There was not near enough, and
the younger children had been ruled out of the parade because they
were thought to be too young to march. The following was the
formation of the parade: Grand Marshal and aides from Alton High
school, mounted; automobiles and carriages, Western Military Academy
band and cadets, Naval Militia, Shurtleff college, Upper Alton
schools, Alton Y. M. C. A., White Hussars band, Board of Education,
High School and Garfield School pupils, St. Mary's pupils, Humboldt
school pupils, St. Patrick's and Cathedral schools, Lovejoy,
Douglas, Washington annex and McKinley annex schools, Lincoln and
Irving schools; reception committee, G. A. R. drum corps. The parade
started moving about 10:15 a.m. There was wild enthusiasm among the
marchers. Each section of the parade carried a banner denoting its
identity. When the city hall was reached by the marchers it was
almost impossible for the children to be massed in close enough to
hear anything of the program. The audience was packed solidly with
people who could not be moved, and after vainly trying to get close
enough to the speakers stand to hear what was going on, many
hundreds of the audience scattered out and moved around the city. An
incident of the gathering was the efforts of some of the old timers
trying to get themselves straightened out. They were puzzled coming
to the new Alton. They could not get their bearings, the changes had
been so radical since they came, and prior to the beginning of the
program the old folks were working hard to find out where some of
their old landmarks were and how to get around the city. At the
opening of the program the White Hussars band played and the
Invocation by Rev. Fr. E. L. Spalding, rector of SS. Peter and
Paul's Cathedral, followed. The formal presentation of the memorial
tablet by Rev. A. A. Tanner of the Congregational church followed.
Rev. Tanner made a lengthy and scholarly address, dwelling on the
historic features of the occasion. At the conclusion of his address,
the unveiling of the tablet was done by John Drummond Bowman, son of
Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Bowman. The tablet of bronze had been set in the
panel of the wall on the east side of the city hall building. It was
concealed by a curtain of two silk American flags, suspended from a
bar above them. At the appointed time the flags were drawn aside
amid the cheers of the audience. The acceptance of the tablet in
behalf of the city was done by Mayor Edmund Beall. Mayor Beall made
a short address in performing his official duty of acceptance. After
a beautiful address by General Alfred Orendorf of Springfield,
president of the Illinois Historical Society, which was the promoter
of the celebrations, the morning program closed.
Sidelights on Lincoln-Douglas Debate:
This morning there was a banner borne in the parade which was
carried fifty years ago by Ewing Dale of Edwardsville, a son of
Judge Dale. A brother of the deceased banner bearer brought the
banner to Alton this morning and displayed it. On the banner was the
inscription: "Dinna ye hear the Slogan, Tis Douglas and his Boys."
On the reverse of the banner was the inscription: "Douglas Blues."
William G. Pluckard of Chicago had with him in Alton today the
contract for the first house erected in Alton by contract. It was
the property of his father and his grandfather, Samuel Pluckard, was
the contractor.
Among those who attended the speaking were George C. Cockrell of
Omaha, who was one of the marshals of the parade fifty years ago,
and Hon. H. G. McPike, who was a member of the platform committee.
The only living speaker who took part in the program fifty years
ago, Joseph Sloss of Memphis, Tennessee, was unable to be here
because of his great age.
Mayor Beall wore a rosette that was worn by Daniel Sullivan's wife
in the celebration fifty years ago. It was loaned to the Mayor for
the day.
The exercises at the Airdome were opened at 2:30 o'clock. The
Amphitheatre was filled to its capacity and the east fence was taken
down to admit of the overflow standing in the street, hearing the
talk. After the prayer by Rev. R. P. Hammons, E. M. Bowman was
presented by Mayor Beall, and presided during the exercises. On the
stage were seated a large number of people who had heard the debate
of 50 years ago.
J. McCann Davis of Springfield was introduced for the first address.
He prefaced his remarks by referring to the late Stephen A. Douglas,
whose name was on the program, and who was to have delivered an
address. He paid a tribute to the memory of Mr. Douglas, and spoke
of a recent address of Mr. Douglas at Ottawa and Charleston. The
address of Mr. Davis was on the two giants of Illinois, Lincoln and
Douglas. Lincoln was little known, while Douglas was of national
reputation. Fifty years ago these two giants in Alton debated
momentous issues of the time. No two names in American history are
so inseparably linked as those of Lincoln and Douglas. If Lincoln
had not lived, the career of Douglas might have been the same. If
Douglas had not lived the world would not have known Lincoln as it
does today. Douglas' rise was rapid, at the age of 28 he being on
the Supreme Court bench. Lincoln was elected to Congress when
Douglas was the Senatorial compeer of Webster and Clay. Lincoln, in
a dingy law office at Springfield, sat downcast when Douglas was
being mentioned for the Presidency. Douglas for 28 years was the
master spirit of the majority party, while Lincoln was in the
weaker. In 1852 Lincoln was not even a delegate to the convention of
his party. It was supposed the slave question was settled. Both
parties had settled down to trivial issues, and Lincoln had his
beginning in 1854. Prior to that time, though rivals in many ways,
the two giants were personal friends and continued until death
separated them. In 1854 Douglas forced through Congress his
Kansas-Nebraska bill. He aroused from peaceful slumber Abraham
Lincoln. He became a changed man - his soul was stirred to the
depths. Slavery was a great institution of the country and its
solution baffled the minds of the greatest statesmen of the age.
Sooner or later the conflict had to be settled right. The effect of
the Kansas-Nebraska bill was to bring forth a new party and its
great leader. From that day Lincoln and Douglas opposed each other.
In the great debate of 1858, Lincoln found himself at a
disadvantage. The renown of his antagonist was world-wide. Of
himself Lincoln said nobody expects me to be president. Douglas won
the senatorial battle of 1858, but Lincoln had laid the foundation
of the defeat of his rival in 1860. In the crisis following
Lincoln's election, Douglas rose to the heights of statesmanship.
Douglas predicted a great war that would last for years. When
Lincoln was inaugurated, Douglas was at his side and offered him his
help. The great union speech of Douglas, delivered before the
Legislature at its next session, was said to be the greatest ever
delivered before the Legislature. Douglas was in a hard position. He
had a magnificent devoted following in the North. Defeat had come to
his party. If he had lapsed in the sullen silence of disappointment
the course of history would have been changed and the Confederacy
would have been maintained. He was not silent, and his words went
thundering over the country and stirred his followers to go forth to
do battle for their country. American history furnishes no higher
example of patriotism than that of Douglas in 1861. He died in the
noonday of life, his ambition unfulfilled and if Lincoln could speak
he would pay his tribute to his old antagonist.
Horace White of New York, who reported the Lincoln-Douglas debate,
as a newspaper reporter, was the next speaker. Mr. White was the
only person present at all the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. He
heard the Lincoln speech in Springfield on the "House divided
against itself." He stated he remembered the Alton debate well.
Douglas' voice was so worn out his words could not be heard ten feet
from the platform. He had an air of entire confidence,
notwithstanding. Madison county was the pivot, being controlled by
the Whigs. Lincoln believed he could carry the Fillmore vote, but he
was mistaken, and Lincoln lost in this county. Lincoln's voice was
clear and high-pitched. He was perfectly at home. Lincoln is coming
into his kingdom with a completeness that no one could have
expected. Douglas brought Lincoln into the public eye and Lincoln
now keeps there.
Lyman Trumbull was one of the giants of 1858. His old home is still
in Alton. He made a great impression when he delivered his speech on
the Kansas-Nebraska bill. That measure, backed by Douglas, had
brow-beaten an almost terrorized foe. Before Trumbull appeared in
the Senate, Douglas had only one antagonist. Trumbull was a perfect
match for Douglas, and when he replied to Douglas the whole north
rang with his praises and said a great man had come forth to do a
great work. Lincoln's greatest mark was the emancipation
proclamation. Yet it had no real effect, as it applied only to
territory not under the President's control. It did not purport to
rest upon constitutional rights but only as a war measure. Public
opinion was divided. The questions that arose were puzzling. On
January 13th, 1864, a resolution was introduced in Congress to
abolish slavery, which became the 13th amendment. Illinois gave to
the union three great men - Grant, Lincoln and Trumbull. Trumbull,
the great senator who brought to the Senate the 13th amendment,
should be applauded by his fellow townsmen. Trumbull never sought a
personal controversy, but never declined one. His influence in the
Senate was great. Such was the Senator the citizens of Alton gave to
be the whole coadjutor of Lincoln and Grant.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S WORDS TO A LITTLE BOY
[By G. F. Long of Alton]
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, October 16, 1908
G. F. Long of 524 West Vine Street, Springfield, formerly of Alton,
is down taking in the Lincoln-Douglas celebration. He was present
fifty years ago at the debate between the two great men.
Incidentally, Frank was one of the most heroic Union soldiers who
shouldered a musket for his country. He is not very large
physically, but was made up of a brave spirit and did his duty at
the sacrifice of a limb, his hearing, and his eyesight. He was only
13 years old when he heard the great orators. What education he had
received was mostly gotten in the East where his father's home, the
late Dr. Long, was, and Douglas was the great man in that section,
Lincoln not being known there. Mr. Long and his father were on the
platform and Frank got as close to the future President as he could,
sitting on the railing. Sitting there he looked up into Lincoln's
face and mentally said, "he don't amount to much." Pretty soon
Lincoln began to warm up, his face glowed and the muscles of his
neck and throat swelled up as whip cords when some great idea struck
him, and the orator swung his arms out wildly, sometimes lurching
forward as he expressed his intense ideas. On one of those occasions
he came very near where the boy was sitting, and Frank moved to get
out of the way. Lincoln glanced down at Frank and said, "Never mind
little boy, I won't step on you." As one of "Father Abraham's"
soldiers a few years later, he was stepped upon quite severely by
mini rifle balls and bombs bursting in the air, in the wildest of
battle scenes in the South and in the last battle of Sherman's
campaign at Bentonville, North Carolina.
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LINCOLN – DOUGLAS DEBATE
From “The Valley of Shadows, Recollections of the Lincoln Country,
1858 – 1863”
By Francis Grierson, 1909
My family and I lived in a large old house on the southern
outskirts, which had once been occupied by nuns who had a private
school there. It faced the great high-road, leading out into the
prairies, and we could see from the windows the wagons and buggies
arriving from the country far beyond. One day our attention was
attracted to the number of people coming down the hill in wagons and
on horseback, and while watching them, two figures that looked
familiar approached, jogging along on steeds that looked tired. The
men had about them something odd, almost fantastic. As they passed
the house, we recognized Azariah James and Elihu Gest. In less than
half an hour, along came Isaac Snedeker, then other familiar faces.
But what did it mean? All the old, outspoken Abolitionists from
up-country, with some of the Pro-Slavery people, were filing past.
When my father was asked what was the matter, he only said,
“Tomorrow is the great day!”
It was the 15th day of October 1858. Crowds were pouring into Alton.
For some days, people had been arriving by the steam packets from up
and down the river – the up-boats from St. Louis, bringing visitors
with long, black hair, goatees, and stolid, Indian-like faces,
slave-owners and slave-dealers, from the human marts of Missouri and
Kentucky. The northern visitors arriving by boat or rail,
Abolitionists and Republicans, with a cast of features distinctly
different from the types coming from the South.
They came from villages, townships, the prairies, from all the
adjoining counties, from across the Mississippi, from far-away
cities, from representative societies north and south, from
congressional committees in the east, from leading journals of all
political parties, and from every religious denomination within
hundreds of miles, filling the broad space in front of the town
hall, eager to see and hear the now-famous debaters – the popular
Stephen A. Douglas, United State Senator, nicknamed the “Little
Giant,” and plain Abraham Lincoln, nicknamed the “Rail-Splitter.”
The great debate had begun on the 21st of August at another town,
and today the long-discussed subject would be brought to a close.
Douglas stood for the doctrine that slavery was nationalized by the
Constitution, that Congress had no authority to prevent its
introduction in the new Territories like Kansas and Nebraska, and
that the people of each State could alone decide whether they should
be slave States or free. Lincoln opposed the introduction of slavery
into the new Territories.
On this memorable day, the “irrepressible conflict,” predicted by
Seward, actually began, and it was bruited about that Lincoln would
be mobbed or assassinated if he repeated here the words he used in
some of his speeches delivered in the northern part of the State.
From the surging sea of faces, thousands of anxious eyes gazed
upward at the group of politicians on the balcony, like wrecked
mariners scanning the horizon for the smallest sign of a white sail
of hope.
This final debate resembled a duel between two men-of-war, the pick
of a great fleet, all but these two sunk or abandoned in other
waters, facing each other in the open – the Little Giant hurling at
his opponent from his flagship of slavery, the deadliest missiles;
Lincoln calmly waiting to sink his antagonist by one simple
broadside. Alton had seen nothing so exciting since the
assassination of Lovejoy – the fearless Abolitionist - many years
before.
In the earlier discussions, Douglas seemed to have the advantage. A
past-master in tact and audacity, skilled in the art of rhetorical
skirmishing, he had no equal on the “stump,” while in the Senate, he
was feared by the most brilliant debaters for his ready wit and his
dashing eloquence.
Regarded in the light of historical experience, reasoned about in
the light of spiritual reality, and from the point of view that
nothing can happen by chance, it seems as if Lincoln and Douglas
were predestined to meet side by side in this discussion, and unless
I dwell in detail on the mental and physical contrast the speakers
presented, it would be impossible to give an adequate idea of the
startling difference in the two temperaments: Douglas – short,
plump, and petulant; Lincoln – long, gaunt, and self-possessed. The
one white-haired and florid; the other black-haired and swarthy. The
one educated and polished; the other unlettered and primitive.
Douglas had the assurance of a man of authority. Lincoln had moments
of deep mental depression, often bordering on melancholy, yet
controlled by a fixed, and I may say, predestined, will, for it can
no longer be doubted that without the marvelous blend of humor and
stolid patience so conspicuous in his character, Lincoln’s genius
would have turned to madness after the defeat of the Northern Army
at Bull Run, and the world would have had something like a
repetition of Napoleon’s fate after the burning of Moscow. Lincoln’s
humor was the balance-pole of his genius that enabled him to cross
the most giddy heights without losing his head.
Judge Douglas opened the debate in a sonorous voice, plainly heard
throughout the assembly, and with a look of mingled defiance and
confidence, he marshaled his facts and deduced his arguments. To the
vigor of his attack, there was added the prestige of the Senate
Chamber, and for some moments, it looked as if he would carry the
majority with him, a large portion of the crowd being Pro-Slavery
men, while many others were “on the fence,” waiting to be persuaded.
At last, after a great oratorical effort, he brought his speech to a
close, amidst the shouts and yells of thousands of admirers.
And now Abraham Lincoln, the man who, in 1830, undertook to split
for Mrs. Nancy Miller four hundred rails for every yard of brown
jean dyed with walnut bark, that would be required to make him a
pair of trousers. The flat boatman, local stump-speaker and country
lawyer, rose from his seat, stretched his long, boney limbs upward
as if to get them into working order, and stood like some solitary
pine on a lonely summit, very tall, very dark, very gaunt, and very
rugged – his swarthy features stamped with a sad serenity, and the
instant he began to speak, the ungainly mouth lost its heaviness,
the half-listless eyes attained a wondrous power, and the people
stood bewildered and breathless under the natural magic of the
strangest, most original personality known to the English-speaking
world since Robert Burns. There were other very tall and dark men in
the heterogeneous assembly, but not one who resembled the speaker.
Every movement of his long, muscular frame denoted inflexible
earnestness, and a something issued forth, elemental and mystical,
that told what the man had been, what he was, and what he would do
in the future. There were moments when he seemed all legs and feet,
and again he appeared all head and neck; yet every look of the
deep-set eyes, every movement of the prominent jaw, every wave of
the hard-gripping hand, produced an impression, and before he had
spoken twenty minutes, the conviction took possession of thousands
that here was the prophetic man of the present, and the political
savior of the future. Judges of human nature saw at a glance that a
man so ungainly, so natural, so earnest, and so forcible, had no
place in his mental economy for the thing called vanity.
Douglas had been theatrical and scholarly, but this tall, homely man
was creating by his very looks what the brilliant lawyer and
experienced Senator had failed to make people see and feel, The
Little Giant had assumed striking attitudes, played tricks with his
flowing white hair, mimicking the airs of authority with patronizing
allusions; but these affectations, usually so effective when he
addressed an audience alone, went for nothing when brought face to
face with realities. Lincoln had no genius for gesture and no desire
to produce a sensation. The failure of Senator Douglas to bring
conviction to critical minds was caused by three things: a lack of
logical sequence in argument, a lack of intuitional judgment, and a
vanity that was caused by too much intellect and too little heart.
Douglas had been arrogant and vehement, Lincoln was now logical and
penetrating. The Little Giant was a living picture of ostentatious
vanity; from every feature of Lincoln’s face there radiated the
calm, inherent strength that always accompanies power. He relied on
no props. With a pride sufficient to protect his mind and a will
sufficient to defend his body, he drank water when Douglas, with all
his wit and rhetoric, could begin or end nothing without stimulants.
Here, then, was one man out of all the millions who believed in
himself, who did not consult with others about what to say, who
never for a moment respected the opinion of men who preached a lie.
My old friend, Don Piatt, in his personal impressions of Lincoln,
whom he knew well and greatly esteemed, declares him to be the
homeliest man he ever saw, but serene confidence and self-poise can
never be ugly. What thrilled the people who stood before Abraham
Lincoln on that day was the sight of a being, who in all his actions
and habits, resembled themselves, gentle as he was strong, fearless
as he was honest, who towered above them all in that psychic
radiance that penetrates in some mysterious way every fiber of the
hearer’s consciousness.
The enthusiasm created by Douglas was wrought out of smart epigram
thrusts and a facile superficial eloquence. He was a match for the
politicians born within the confines of his own intellectual circle:
witty, brilliant, cunning, and shallow, his weight in the political
balance was purely materialistic; his scales of justice tipped to
the side of cotton, slavery, and popular passions, while the man who
faced him now brought to the assembly cold logic in place of wit,
frankness in place of cunning, reasoned will and judgment in place
of chicanery and sophistry. Lincoln’s presence infused into the
mixed and uncertain throng something spiritual and supernormal. His
looks, his words, his voice, his attitude were like a magical
essence dropped into the seething cauldron of politics, reacting
against the foam, calming the surface and letting the people see to
the bottom. It did not take him long.
“Is it not a false statesmanship,” Lincoln asked, “that undertakes
to build up a system of policy upon the basis of caring nothing
about the very thing that everybody does care the most about? Judge
Douglas may say he cares not whether slavery is voted up or down,
but he must have a choice between a right thing and a wrong thing.
He contends that whatever community wants slaves has a right to have
them. So they have, if it is not a wrong; but if it is a wrong, he
cannot say people have a right to do wrong. He says that upon the
score of equality, slaves should be allowed to go into a new
Territory like other property. This is strictly logical if there is
no difference between it and other property. If it and other
property are equal, his argument is entirely logical; but if you
insist that one is wrong and the other right, there is no use to
institute a comparison between right and wrong.”
This was the broadside. The great duel on the high seas of politics
was over. The Douglas ship of State Sovereignty was sinking. The
debate was a triumph that would send Lincoln to Washington as
President, in a little more than two years from that date.
People were fascinated by the gaunt figure, in long, loose garments,
that seemed like a “huge skeleton in clothes,” attracted by the
homely face, and mystified, yet proud of the fact that a simple
denizen of their own soil should wield so much power.
When Lincoln sat down, Douglas made one last feeble attempt at an
answer, but Lincoln, in reply to a spectator who manifested some
apprehension as to the outcome, rose, and spreading out his great
arms at full length, like a condor about to take wing, exclaimed,
with humorous indifference, “Oh! Let him go it!” These were the last
words he uttered in the greatest debate of the ante-bellum days.
The victor bundled up his papers and withdrew, the assembly
shouting, “Hurrah for Abe Lincoln as next President!” “Bully for old
Abe!” “Lincoln forever!” etc. Excited crowds followed him about,
reporters caught his slightest word, and by nighttime, the barrooms,
hotels, street corners, and prominent stores were filled with his
admirers, fairly intoxicated with the exciting triumph of the day.
NOTES:
Francis Grierson’s real name was Benjamin Henry Jesse Francis
Shephard. Born in England in 1848, he was a composer, pianist, and
writer, who used the pen name of Francis Grierson. His family
immigrated to Illinois in 1849, while he was yet a baby. They
settled in Sangamon County, where his father, Joseph, engaged in
farming. In 1858, before moving to St. Louis, the family lived in
Alton, where Benjamin was a witness to the Lincoln – Douglas debate.
Benjamin spent only ten years in Illinois before moving to St. Louis
with his family. His mother, Emily, found the Illinois prairies
lonesome and monotonous. In St. Louis, Benjamin served as a page on
the staff of General John C. Fremont. He then moved with his family
to Niagara Falls, and then to Chicago. He became a successful
composer and skillful pianist, and traveled in both Europe and
America.
OBITUARY OF LETITIA V. RUTHERFORD REVEALS STORY OF LOCAL SPEAKERS
AT LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, April 20, 1910
Mrs. Letitia V. Rutherford, a resident of Alton since 1858, died at
7:15 o'clock Wednesday morning, at her home, 431 east Ninth street,
after an illness of two weeks. Her death was due to a breaking down
of her system from old age, and had been expected for almost a week.
She was taken ill two weeks before her death with what was believed
to be a slight ailment, and she never was able to be around again.
Up to the evening before her death she was conscious, her mind was
undimmed, and while she knew for several days she was dying, she was
glad and ready to go and was happy with the members of her family
around her. Up to the time she lost consciousness finally, the
evening before her death, she conversed about current events, seemed
to be still as deeply interested in her friends and her family as
ever, and was not in the least perturbed by the certainty of her
near dissolution. Mrs. Rutherford had always maintained her youthful
interest in the young people. Her family and friends said she would
never grow old in spirit, because she loved children so well, and
this prediction was borne out to the last. She had a sweet
simplicity of soul that would not countenance any display, her
family and her friends were her little world, and she was never so
happy as when, surrounded by many of her descendants, she lay on her
dying bed. She was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church and
had held membership in the First Presbyterian church of Alton since
she came to this city. Her father was Rev. James Sloss, a
Presbyterian minister. She was born in Florence, Ala., and would
have been 79 years of age June 13. She was married on her 18th
birthday to Friend S. Rutherford, at her home, and she was separated
from him by death in June 1864. Her husband was the colonel of the
97th Illinois volunteers, and he was taken sick after a long
campaign in the neighborhood of Vicksburg, and at New Orleans. His
wife went south and brought him home, and soon thereafter she was
left with a large family of children, by her husband's death. She
always maintained her home circle, made it the center for the other
home circles that grew from her own, and was imbued with the spirit
of hospitality that made her home a delightful place to be. She
leaves four daughters, Mrs. W. C. Johnston of St. Louis; Miss Mary
Rutherford; Mrs. John F. McGinnis; Mrs. William Russell of Alton;
and one son, F. S. Rutherford of St. Louis. She leaves also an
adopted daughter, her niece, Miss Grace Sloss. She is survived by
two brothers, Joseph Sloss of Memphis, Tenn., and Robert Sloss. She
leaves thirty-six of grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford and their 13 months' old daughter,
Anna, later Mrs. J. A. Cousley, now deceased, removed to
Edwardsville, where Mr. Rutherford began the practice of his
profession, the law. The family resided in Edwardsville until 1858,
until Mr. Rutherford received an appointment as one of the officials
of the Illinois State Penitentiary, then at Alton. Their residence
was continued here until the present time. Mrs. Rutherford's
brother, Joseph Sloss, is the only survivor of the persons who
participated in the original Lincoln-Douglas debate. Prior to the
arrival of the principal speakers it was planned that speeches would
be made by local talent. Her husband, F. S. Rutherford, and her
brother, Joseph Sloss, both attorneys, were the speakers selected to
represent the two parties, the brother being on the Douglas side and
her husband on the Lincoln side. Later both enlisted in armies, the
one to fight for the Union, the other for the Confederacy. Later her
brother was elected as representative in the United States congress,
and was later appointed U. S. Marshall for the North District of
Alabama of the Federal Court, by President Grant. The funeral will
be held Friday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, and services will be held
in the First Presbyterian church by Rev. A. O. Lane. Burial will be
in City Cemetery.