John C. Bagby to Abraham Lincoln, 27 July 18581
Rushville July 27 1858Abram Lincoln Esqr[Esquire]Dear SirOn the 21st of August we hold our county Convention to appoint our Congressional & Senatorial
delegates to meet at Augusta in Hancock Co on the 25th of August.2 You have not been over here in Northern Egypt at any time, save within the memory of any, save the oldest inhabitants and I think it would pay you to come.3 I have no doubt but your time is fully occupied, yet there are some live Republicans over here (with the Black rubbed off) and they would be very much gratified if you
could be here on that day Write me whether you can come, & if you can not send some one over to represent you on that day–4
yours &c[etc.]John C. Bagby<Page 2>
[Envelope]
RUSHVILLE Ills[ILLINOIS]
JUL[JULY] 29Hon. A. LincolnSpringfieldIlls
JUL[JULY] 29Hon. A. LincolnSpringfieldIlls
2Rushville, located in Schuyler County, belonged to the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois. In state politics, Rushville was part of the Eleventh Senate District, which was
composed of Hancock, Henderson, and Schuyler counties, and the Thirtieth House District, encompassing Schuyler County
only.
Abraham Lincoln was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, so the outcomes of the party convention in Schuyler County and the Fifth Congressional
District were of interest to him. In the summer and fall of 1858, Lincoln crisscrossed
Illinois delivering speeches and campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates for
the Illinois General Assembly. At this time the Illinois General Assembly elected the state’s representatives in
the U.S. Senate, thus the outcome of races for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate were of importance to Lincoln’s campaign. He ran against, and lost to, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the incumbent. See 1858 Federal Election.
The Republican convention of the Fifth District, held in Augusta on August 25, nominated
Jackson Grimshaw of Pike County for Congress. Bagby was nominated for the Eleventh Senate District. On September 6, Lincoln
wrote to Bagby emphasizing the necessity of a win. Although Bagby won in Henderson County,
receiving 1,005 votes to his Democratic opponent John P. Richmond’s 758 votes, Bagby lost in Hancock County, 2,031 to 2,340 and in Schuyler County,
1,076 to 1,480 votes. All told, Bagby lost the state senate seat to Richmond, 4,112
to 4,578 votes. Richmond voted for Douglas in the U.S. Senate election. In the congressional
race, Grimshaw lost to Isaac N. Morris, the incumbent.
Combined History of Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois
(Philadelphia: W. R. Brink, 1882), 79; Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds.,
Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 10, 11,
142; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 219; Allen C. Guelzo, “House
Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 18 August 1858, 3:1; 28 August 1858, 2:3; 5 November 1858, 3:2; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 28 August 1858, 1:2; Oquawka Spectator (IL), 23 September 1858, 2:1; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 11 November 1858, 2:6; 18 November 1858, 3:3;
Illinois Senate Journal. 1859. 21th G. A., 30; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-85, 557.
3“Egypt” was a popular nickname for southern Illinois and a particular stronghold of
the Democratic Party. During the 1856 election campaign, Lincoln visited a few counties in southern Illinois, including Fayette and Marion, but most of his visits dated back to the 1840s. In 1858, Lincoln visited Egypt at
least eight times.
George W. Smith, When Lincoln Came to Egypt (Carbondale: University of Southern Illinois Press, 2016), xvii, 46-47.
4Lincoln declined Bagby’s request to speak on August 21 due to the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, held on the 21st in Ottawa, Illinois. He did, however, deliver a speech at the August 25th convention.
First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois; First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois; First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 25 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-25.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).