As soon as the election was over Lincoln occupied himself in settling
another matter, of much greater moment, in his own judgment. He went
to Springfield to seek admission to the bar. The "roll of attorneys
and counsellors at law," on file in the office of the clerk of the
Supreme Court at Springfield, Illinois, shows that his license was
dated September 9, 1836, and that the date of the enrollment of his
name upon the official list was March 1, 1837. The first case in which
he was concerned, as far as we know, was that of Hawthorn against
Woolridge. He made his first appearance in court in October, 1836.
Although he had given much time during this year to politics and the
law, he had by no means abandoned surveying. Indeed he never had
more calls. Surveying was particularly brisk at the moment, and he
frequently was obliged to be away for three and four weeks at a time,
laying out towns or locating roads. "When he got a job," says the Hon.
J.M. Ruggles, a friend and political supporter of Mr. Lincoln, "there
was a picnic and jolly time in the neighborhood. Men and boys would
gather around, ready to carry chain, drive stakes, and blaze trees,
but mainly to hear Lincoln's odd stories and jokes. The fun was
interspersed with foot races and wrestling matches. To this day the
old settlers around Bath repeat the incidents of Lincoln's sojourns in
their neighborhood while surveying that town."
[Illustration: NINIAN W. EDWARDS., JOB FLETCHER, SR.,
WILLIAM F. ELKINS., ROBERT L. WILSON., JOHN DAWSON.
MEMBERS OF THE SANGAMON COUNTY DELEGATION IN THE TENTH ILLINOIS
ASSEMBLY--THE DELEGATION KNOWN AS THE "LONG NINE."
NINIAN W. EDWARDS was born in Kentucky in 1809, a son of Ninian
Edwards, who in the same year was appointed Governor of the new
Territory of Illinois. Mr. Edwards was appointed Attorney-General
of Illinois in 1834; in 1836 was elected to the legislature; was
reëlected in 1838; served in the State Senate from 1844 to 1848,
and again in the House from 1848 to 1852. He was a member of the
constitutional convention of 1847. He died at Springfield, September
2, 1889.
JOB FLETCHER, SR., was born in Virginia in 1793; removed to Sangamon
County, Illinois, in 1819. In 1826 he was elected to the Illinois
House of Representatives, and in 1834 to the State Senate, where he
served six years. He died in Sangamon County in 1872.
WILLIAM F. ELKINS was born in Kentucky in 1792. He went to Sangamon
County, Illinois, in 1825. In 1828, 1836, and 1838 he was elected to
the legislature. In 1831 he raised a company for the Black Hawk War,
and was its captain. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him Register
of the United States Land Office at Springfield, an office which he
held until 1872, when he resigned. He died at Decatur, Illinois, 1880.
ROBERT LANG WILSON was born in Pennsylvania in 1805. In 1831 he went
to Kentucky; in 1833 removed to Sangamon County, Illinois; in 1836 was
elected to the Illinois House. He removed to Sterling, Illinois, in
1840, and died there in 1880. For some years he was paymaster in the
United States Army.
JOHN DAWSON was born in Virginia in 1791; he removed to Sangamon
County, Illinois, in 1827. He was elected to the lower house of the
legislature in 1830, 1834, 1836, 1838, and 1846. He was a member of
the constitutional convention of 1847. He died November 12, 1850.
The other members of the "Long Nine" were Abraham Lincoln, Daniel
Stone, Andrew McCormick, and Arthur Herndon.]