Looking for Lincoln in Pike County Talking House Tour

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The home was built by William Watson, an early settler of Pittsfield and a member of the Whig party. Watson sold the home to Milton Hay who had studied law under Abraham Lincoln in Springfield and practiced law in partnership with Edward D Baker in Pittsfield. Lincoln aided Milton Hay in several legal cases here in Pike County.  

In 1850 Milton Hay’s nephew John Milton Hay came from Warsaw, Illinois to live with his uncle in Pittsfield while attending the John D. Thompson Academy.  The future presidential secretary to Abraham Lincoln resided with his uncle until 1855 when he went east to attend Brown University. 

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Reuben Scanland was a prominent attorney and judge along with serving as mayor of Pittsfield. Reuben was a close friend with Abraham Lincoln and had backed him in his 1858 Senate race against Stephen Douglas.

On one of Lincoln’s visits Mrs. Scanlands had prepared a turkey with all the fixings. The dinner grew cold while Mrs. Scanland waited on her husband and Mr. Lincoln who was at the local drug store where Lincoln was entertaining a crowd with his stories.

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On June 24, 1837, attorney William A. Grimshaw filed an indenture (formal or official document) with the office of the Deed of Records of Pike County. The purpose of this document revolved around a newly formed group of trustees which included William Ross, William Watson, James Johnson, Robert R. Greene, Archibald H. Argyle, Robert Wills and Eben Abbott. The state of Illinois granted the trustees permission to build a male and female academy in Pittsfield.

On October 25, 1839, William R. Peters of Bloomfield, New Jersey through his wife’s attorney William Watson of Pittsfield, IL, gifted five acres of land for the academy to the trustees. There was a stipulation that William R. Peters put forth in the deed. He required the trustees to build a structure upon the property by January 1, 1839. The trustees met Peters’ stipulation by building the first building on the property before January 1, 1839.

The timing of this transaction was poor. In 1837 the United States begin to slip into a deep depression caused by both domestic and foreign origins. By 1837 the years of ailing economy led investors to panic leading to a run on the banks. By May of that year the New York banks ran out of gold and silver resulting in the value of paper money becoming useless. Between 1837-1844 deflation in wages and prices were also widespread. By 1850 the economy was booming again resulting from the flow of gold from the California gold fields.

During that decade, the trustees were not able to continue the expansion of the academy. In 1844 there was a grass roots movement to raise $500.00 dollars to make repairs to the building built before 1839. A town meeting was held to generate interest in saving the building, but in the end the property was sold at a public auction. Dr. Thomas Worthington of Pittsfield purchased the land for $500.00 dollars in 1847. He spent the first year remodeling the building into a personal residence. Over the decades Dr. Worthington’s hosted political functions and gatherings. The future 16th President Abraham Lincoln visited the home prior to his presidential campaign.

On the 1850 Census, future Lincoln secretary, John G. Nicolay, resided as a boarder with the Worthington’s. He arrived in Pittsfield in 1848 going to work with the Free Press newspaper as a printer’s devil (typesetter). John Hay visited the home while attending the Thompson Academy. Hay would join Nicolay as one of Lincoln’s secretaries in the White House.

Dr. Thomas Worthington passed away in 1888. After his death, the house passed to daughter Emily Worthington who would live there until her death in1902, at which time ownership would pass to Dr. Andrew Worthington of Denver, Colorado until his death in 1935.

In 1940, Carl Sandburg, author and Lincoln scholar, would write a letter stating the history of the home and how important it was to save it. Unfortunately, the house and property were torn down in 1940, making room for Illini Community Hospital that you see before you.

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Built circa 1845 – 1846 (partially destroyed by fire in 1896)

Abraham Lincoln stayed here during his visit on October 1, 1858 during is Senatorial campaign race against Stephen Douglas. William Ross had first met Abraham Lincoln during the Black Hawk War when Ross was serving as aide to General Atkinson. It was Ross that was responsible for Lincoln being appointed to rank of Captain during the war. 

Colonel Ross held many different government offices in Pike County. Justice of Probate, Clerk of both Circuit and County Courts. Colonel of the Militia and Justice of the Peace. Ross also served as a member to the Illinois House and Senate having first been elected in 1835. Colonel Ross also served as a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago aiding in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln.

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Built circa 1841 -1846

Zachariah Nairn Garbutt was born in New York in 1814. He studied law in Washington, D. C. Later he moved west settling in Jacksonville, Illinois where he continued the reading of law. In May of 1839 he received his license. In that same year he came to Pike County, Illinois.

Being strong Whig Party supporter he and others started the Free Press newspaper in 1846. Sometime in 1848 Garbutt advertised that he needed an intelligent boy between 14 – 17 years of age who could read and write for the position of printers devil.

Joel Pennington proprietor of the Mansion House Hotel in Pittsfield knew young John George Nicolay from when he lived in Greene County, Illinois. Pennington may have sent word to Nicolay about the job resulting in Nicolay walking to Pittsfield where he spent the night on sacks of wool at the Carding Mill. The next morning he applied for the position at the Free Press.

Mr. and Mrs Garbutt took a liking to John Nicolay treating him like a son. He was always welcome in their home. By 1849 Garbutt retired from the Free Press. In 1853 Nicolay was voted a partner in the ownership. One year later he became the sole proprietor and editor of the paper.

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Built circa 1838

John Greene Shastid first encounter Abraham Lincoln while living in New Salem, Illinois. In 1836 he moved his family to Pittsfield, Illinois. When Lincoln was in town on legal business it is said that he always called on the Shastids.

In his book My Second Life Thomas Hall Shastid recalls a story about his grandfather (John) coming home with a dozen pigeons after a hunting trip. As the family waited for the pigeons to finish boiling the door to the home was suddenly pushed opened. There stood Abraham Lincoln who took the seat of honor at the table. Mrs. Shastid placed the plate of boiled pigeon in from of Lincoln. Lincoln was very talkative at first but later fell silent as he dove into the plate of pigeons. John Shastid motion to the rest of the family to not ask for any of the wild meat. With one pigeon left Lincoln reached out his fork and placed it on his plate and began to eat it. As Lincoln ate the last pigeon young Tommy Shastid burst into tears, crying out, “Abe Lincoln you’re an old hog”.

The text on the wayside exhibit reads, "Pike County, Illinois was organized January 31, 1821, named for Zebulon Pike, early explorer of the Louisiana Purchase and general in the War of 1812. The first settlement in 1820 was founded by Ebenezer Franklin, followed by Daniel Shinn and four sons of Micah Ross of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Atlas was laid out in 1823 by Col. William Ross and Rufus Brown and became an early county seat. In 1833 the county seat was moved to a more central location. Col. Ross advanced $200.00 to county authorities to purchase land for Pittsfield the new county seat, named after his old home in Massachusetts. It was recorded May 14, 1833. Lincoln-era sites still in the county include Mormontown, an early community led by Joseph Smith's uncle Silas Smith, and New Philadelphia, the first town in the United States to be settled by an African-American. Pittsfield's Paul Findley, a Member of Congress, 1961-1983, pioneered historic preservation laws, making the Lincoln home in Springfield a part of the National Park Service. His A Lincoln: The Crucible of Congress is listed in Burkhimer's Anthology as one of "100 essential Lincoln books".

"After Abraham Lincoln's speech in Pittsfield On October 1, 1858, Daniel Gilmer requested that Lincoln have his photo taken at the gallery of Calvin Jackson on the northeast corner of the square. Lincoln sat for two ambrotype poses, but only one was finished. The original was given to Daniel Gilmer and a copy sent to Charles Lame, who was seriously injured the day before by a cannon explosion while he was preparing to welcome Lincoln into town. After photos were taken, Lincoln visited with Gilmer and other friends, including John Nicolay. Later, Nicolay took Lincoln to Heck's Bakery where they enjoyed cider and gingerbread.

"With Lincoln's election as president, the county was split north and south over issues of slavery and state's rights. Pike County men answered to Lincoln's call for troops in 1861. In 1860, the population of Pike County was approximately 30,000, with an estimated 6,000 voting-age men. Pike County put in the field 3,132 men, over one-half male voters. Fifteen infantry companies were organized in Pike County, including Co. H of the 73rd Illinois Regiment. Also, the entire 99th Illinois Regiment and three cavalry companies were organized in Pike County. Soldiers from Pike County participated in major battles throughout the war, including the Atlanta Campaign, Chickamauga, Corinth, Missionary Ridge, Stone River, Shiloh, and Vicksburg. Ulysses S. Grant and the 21st Illinois Regiment camped east of Perry in June 1861, the only time a regiment entered Pike County during the Civil War."