Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Report of Remarks at a Public Dinner in Springfield, Illinois, 25 July 1837

By A. Lincoln, Esq.[Esquire]—All our friends.—They are too numerous to be now named individually, while there is no one of them who is not too dear to be forgotten or neglected.1

1Lincoln offered his toast at a public dinner at the Rural Hotel in Springfield. Some 60-70 members of the Illinois General Assembly turned out for the dinner, which the hotel’s proprietor, George W. Spotswood, hosted. Spotswood had hastily organized the dinner to honor the work of the legislature, particularly the enactment of legislation to move the state’s seat of government from Vandalia to Springfield. Lincoln was one of several men who offered various toasts after the meal.
Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 29 July 1837, 2:1; An Act Permanently to Locate the Seat of Government of the State of Illinois.