Abraham Jonas to Abraham Lincoln, 30 July 18581
Quincy July 30. 1858A Lincoln Esqr[Esquire]Springfield IllsMy dear SirYou will see by the enclosed slip that we hold a district convention at Augusta in Hancock Co, on the 25th of August– This town is quite near the line of Adams & Schuyler and on the Quincy and Chicago Rail Road— 36 miles from this city— you are of course aware that a Senator has to be elected from the counties of Hancock, Henderson & Schuyler– this is one of the most important districts and the result in the Senate in my opinion, depends on it– the fight will be a desperate one; James Stark of Augusta will be the Rep Candidate and with proper exertions can be elected–2 Can you make it convenient to be Augusta, on the day of the convention, we can
get to hear you the tallest kind of a croud, and one of your sledge hammer speeches, will effect wonders– it is I think a very important point, and you ought not to
miss being there– answer me, on this subject, immediately, so that we may make it
known in time–3 Things are working well here– Jac Davis is an Independent
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democratic Candidate in opposition to Morris, he and his friends– will canvass the district–4 The anti Douglas and anti Morris feeling is greatly on the increase–5 many of the Leaders are openly out for the Administration– Brooks of the Herald will be removed from the P. O.[Post Office] in a few days, and W H Carlin, who is Anti-Douglas and anti Morris, will be appointed, it is said–6 the most bidder feeling prevails between the different factions– pray God it may result in good–
God speed you, in your fight
Yrs[Yours] sincerelyA Jonas7don’t fail answering<Page 3>
[ enclosure
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07/22/1858
July 22, 1858.
07/22/1858
FRIDAY, JULY 23.8
Republican Congressional Convention—Fifth District.
By virtue of the authority vested in us, as the Republican Central Committee, for
the Fifth Congressional District of the State of Illinois, we hereby invite the Republicans, and all others opposed to the measures of the
present administration of the General Government, in the several counties in said
district, to appoint Delegates to meet in convention at Augusta. in Hancock county,
on Wednesday, the 25th day of August, 1858, at 11 o’clock, A.M., for the purpose of
nominating a candidate for Congress, to be voted for at the general election, to be held in November next, and for the transaction of other business. The Committee
have fixed upon the following ratio of Representatives for the several counties, being
double that of the ratio in the late State Convention, held at Springfield:
| Adams | county | 30 | delegates. |
| Brown | " | 8 | " |
| Calhoun | " | 4 | " |
| Hancock | " | 20 | " |
| Henderson | " | 8 | " |
| M’Donough | " | 14 | " |
| Pike | " | 22 | " |
| Schuyler, | " | 12 | " |
The several counties in the District are requested to appoint the full number of Delegates
to which they are entitled, without delay, and forward a list of the same to A. Jonas,
Esq.[Esquire], Quincy, Chairman of the Central Committee. It is hoped that the friends of free
labor and opponents of slavery extension, in the several counties of this District,
will at once organize for the ensuing campaign, and attend the proposed Convention
in full force.
| A. Jonas, | } | |
| E. H. Buckley, | Quincy. | |
| H. Dills , | ||
| Homer Judd, | Warsaw. | |
| Benjamin R. Hampton, | Macomb. | |
| W. J. Taylor | Rushville.9 | |
| D. H. Gilmrr, | Pittsfield. | |
| Charles C. Cowan, | Oquawka. | |
| S. S. Glenn, | Ripley, Brown Co, | |
| Bens. F. Childs, | Hardin. |
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[Envelope]
QUINCY Ill.[Illinois]
JUL[JULY] 31 1858Hon A LincolnSpringfieldIlls
JUL[JULY] 31 1858Hon A LincolnSpringfieldIlls
2Abraham Lincoln had been nominated in June at the 1858 Illinois Republican Convention to run against incumbent Stephen A. Douglas to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. 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. Lincoln and Douglas both focused their
campaign efforts on the former Whig stronghold of central Illinois, where the state legislative races were the closest.
Hancock, Henderson, and Schuyler Counties constituted the Eleventh Illinois Senate
District. Henderson County was in the northern portion of the Illinois that was considered
safely Republican in 1858, but Hancock and Schuyler counties to the south were located
in what had formerly been the “Whig belt” of the state. The Republicans of this district ultimately nominated John C. Bagby as their candidate for the Illinois Senate in 1858, not James Stark. Bagby ran against
Douglas Democrat John P. Richmond and Buchanan Democrat William C. Wagley. Richmond won the seat with 4,578 votes total, Bagby came in second place with 4,112
votes, and Wagley finished third with 207 votes. Richmond voted for Douglas in the
election for U.S. Senate.
Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of
1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392-94, 400-401; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-58, 476-77; John Clayton,
comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac 1673-1968
(Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 219, 222; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 28 August 1858, 1:2; Th. Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois (Chicago: Chas. C. Chapman, 1880), 454; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 11 November 1858, 2:6; 18 November 1858, 3:3; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 3 November 1858, 2:2; Illinois House Journal. 1859. 21st G. A., 32.
3Lincoln responded to this letter on August 2, 1858 and expressed his intention to speak in Augusta
on August 25. His appearance in Augusta was promoted in newspapers throughout the
month of August, and he spoke there for two hours on August 25, to a crowd that was
estimated to consist of 1,200 people, roughly two thirds of whom were former Henry Clay Whigs.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican (IL), 10 August 1858, 3:1; 18 August 1858, 3:1; 20 August 1858, 2:1; 23 August 1858,
2:1; Summary of Speech at Augusta, 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.
4Jonas is referring to the race for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois, where incumbent Democrat Isaac N.
Morris was being challenged by independent Democrat Jacob C. Davis. At the Fifth Congressional District Republican Convention held in Augusta on August
25 and announced in the enclosed clipping, Jackson Grimshaw was selected as the Republican candidate for the race. Despite opposition from within
his own party, Morris won reelection with 52.7 percent of the vote, defeating Grimshaw
who earned 45.4 percent of the vote, and Davis, who received just under 2 percent
of the vote.
Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 28 August 1858, 1:2; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 30 July 1858, 2:2; Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 10, 11,
142; Ozias M. Hatch to Abraham Lincoln.
5Douglas had criticized the Lecompton Constitution and President James Buchanan’s support of it in December 1857, causing a rift in
the Democratic Party. Isaac N. Morris also opposed the Lecompton Constitution.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life , 1:445; Speech of Hon. I. N. Morris, of Illinois, Against the Admission of Kansas under the
Lecompton Constitution. Delivered in the House of Representatives, February 23, 1858 ([Washington, DC]: Lemuel Towers, [1858]).
6Austin Brooks and William H. Carlin were both editors of Democratic newspapers in
Quincy, with Brooks publishing The Quincy Herald, which supported Stephen A. Douglas, and Carlin publishing the Daily Democrat, which backed the Buchanan administration. James Buchanan removed Brooks as postmaster
of Quincy and replaced him with Carlin on August 29, 1858, in a move that was seen
as being politically motivated. Both Brooks and Carlin ran for election to the Illinois
Senate in 1858 in the Twelfth Senate District, which consisted of Adams and Brown
counties. Brooks defeated Carlin, who was the incumbent, as well as Republican candidate
John Tillson, jr.
Franklin William Scott, Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879, vol. 6 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library
(Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910), 291, 293; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 23 July 1858, 3:1; 28 August 1858, 2:2; 9 September 1858, 2:2; 3 November
1858, 2:2; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 11 August 1858, 2:4; 28 August 1858, 1:2; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 12 August 1858, 2:4; 18 November 1858, 3:3; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the
United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1859
(Washington, DC: William A. Harris, 1859), 70*; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac 1673-1968, 219, 221, 222.
7Jonas wrote Lincoln at least one further letter on the subject of a speaking engagement in Augusta
and the election of 1858.
8It is unknown what newspaper this article is clipped from. A version was published
in the Quincy Whig on July 23, 1858 which is similar in format, line endings, and name misspellings,
but which differs from this clipping in its inclusion of information on Republican
candidates for Illinois state offices between this date and the following text.
Quincy Daily Whig and Republican (IL), 23 July 1858, 2:1.
Autograph Letter Signed, 4 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).