973.7L63 Tilton, Clint Clay 
 ChTU7^ Lincoln's last view of the 
 Illinois prairies. 
 
LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 

 LINCOLN'S LAST VIEW 
 of the ILLINOIS PRAIRIES 
 
 Photograph taken by S. M. Fassett, in Chicago, October, 1859. Negative 
 destroyed in Chicago Fire. "This picture was made at the solicitation of 
 D. B. Cook, who in after years told Miss Ida M. Tarbell that Mrs. Lincoln 
 had declared it the best likeness she had ever seen of her husband." — Rufus 
 Rockwell Wilson in Lincoln in Portraiture. 
 
 CLINT CLAY TILTON 
 
 Danville, Illinois 
 Privately Printed and Not for Profit. 
 
HISTORIC RAILROAD TIME TABLE 
 
 Copy of the Timetable for the Special Train that bore Abraham Lincoln over the 
 first lap of his journey from Springfield, III., to Washington, in February, 1861: 
 
 GREAT WESTERN RAILROAD 
 
 TIME TABLE 
 
 For the Special Train, Monday, February 11, 1861, of His Excellency, 
 Abraham Lincoln, President-elect. 
 
 Leave Springfield „.. 8:00 a.m. 
 
 " Jamestown 8:15 " 
 
 Dawson 8:24 " 
 
 Mechanicsburg 8:30 " 
 
 Lanesville 8:37 " 
 
 Illiopolis 8 :49 " 
 
 Niantic 8:58 " 
 
 Summit 9:07 " 
 
 Arrive Decatur 9 :24 " 
 
 Leave Decatur 9 :29 " 
 
 " Oakley 9:45 " 
 
 " Cerro Gordo 9:54 " 
 
 Bement 10:13 " 
 
 Sadorus 10:40 " 
 
 Arrive Tolono 10:50 " 
 
 Leave Tolono 10 :55 " 
 
 " Philo 11:07 " 
 
 Sidney < 11 117 " 
 
 Homer 11 :30 " 
 
 Salina 11:45 " 
 
 Catlin 11 :59 " 
 
 " Brvant 12:07 p.m. 
 
 Danville 12:12 " 
 
 Arrive State Line 12:30 " 
 
 This train w 7 ill be entitled to the road and all other trains must be kept out 
 of the way. 
 
 Trains to be passed and met must be on the side track at least ten minutes 
 before the train is due. 
 
 Agents at all stations between Springfield and State Line must be on duty 
 when this train passes and examine the switches and know that all is right before 
 it passes. 
 
 Operators at telegraph stations between Springfield and State Line must re- 
 main on duty until this train passes and immediately report its time to Charles 
 H. Speed, Springfield. 
 
 All foremen and men under their direction must be on the track and know 
 positively that the track is in order. 
 
 It is very important that this train should pass over the road in safety and 
 all employes are expected to render all assistance in their power. 
 
 Red is the signal for danger, but any signal apparently intended to indicate 
 alarm or danger must be regarded, the train stopped, and the meaning of it 
 ascertained. 
 
 Carefulness is particularly enjoined. 
 
 F. W. Bowen, Supt. 
 

 
 tA ONWARD TO WASHINGTON 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LAST VIEW OF THE ILLINOIS PRAIRIES 
 By Cunt Clay Til/ton 
 
 It was early morn, Monday, February 11, 1861, and the scene was Springfield, 
 Illinois. Rain was falling and dark clouds were overhead. Despite the dreari- 
 ness, the dankness and the drizzle the dwellers were early astir. Abraham Lin- 
 coln, first citizen, was leaving for Washington to take up the burden of the 
 Presidency of the United States — even then "a House Divided". And the friends 
 and neighbors of former years — more than a thousand of them — assembled at 
 the Great Western railroad station to wish him God speed. Here shortly before 
 8 :00 o'clock he appeared with his wife and a few friends. For twenty minutes, 
 "his pale face quivering with emotion so deep that he could scarcely speak," he 
 stood in the waiting room grasping the hands of those who pressed forward to 
 give last assurance of the love and respect which they bore him. Shortly before 
 the leaving time he was conducted to the last car of the special train, and mount- 
 ing the rear platform faced the assemblage and slowly and impressively de- 
 livered his farewell : 
 
 My Friends : No one not in my situation can appreciate my 
 feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kind- 
 ness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a 
 quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old 
 man. Here my children have been born and one is buried. I 
 now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, 
 with a task before me greater than that which rested upon 
 Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who 
 ever attended him I cannot succeed. With that assistance I can- 
 not fail. Trusting in Him who can go w r ith me, and remain 
 with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope 
 that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I 
 hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affec- 
 tionate farewell. 
 
 A sob went through the listening crowd as the broken voice asked their' 
 prayers, and a murmured pledge, "We will do it," reached his ears. There they 
 stood — these townsmen of Abraham Lincoln — with bared heads, the raindrops 
 mingling with their tears, as the bell on the funny-looking engine, which by 
 Illinois statute must weigh not less than twenty-five pounds, clanged its warning 
 of the beginning of the Great Adventure. 
 
 It was 8 :00 o'clock in the morning. 
 
 Smoke poured from the brave stack on the locomotive, the signal was given 
 by Conductor Walter Whitney, and the special started Eastward. There stood 
 Lincoln on the rear platform "with the saddest face I ever saw," as the train 
 lost itself in the distance. He was leaving the scene of many joyous memories 
 and some poignant sorrows. Here he had found an honored place among men, 
 had wooed and won Mary Todd, had established his ho/me, had four times re- 
 joiced in fatherhood and later had grieved at the grave of one of his sons. He 
 had reason for his sadness for along with his reverie of days in Springfield 
 there intruded the knowledge of the formal organization of the Confederate 
 States of America at Montgomery, Alabama, two days before. 
 
 "A House Divided. . . . " 
 
Coinmcrcial-Nczvs 
 
 Ward Hiix Lamon in 1880 
 
 Lamon was a member of the Presidential Party and was his sole compan- 
 ion when Lincoln made his secret journey from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washing- 
 ton. He had been for a time a law partner of the latter in Danville, Illinois, 
 during the Circuit Riding Days. After the inauguration, as Marshal of the 
 District of Columbia, Lamon acted as the Presidential Bodyguard. 
 
Eastward sped the special, with assemblages gathered to wave good wishes 
 at Jamestown, Dawson, Mechanicsburg and all the towns and crossroads of the 
 countryside until Decatur was reached at 9:24 a.m. Here a stop, as required 
 by Illinois law, for the town was the "seat of justice" of Macon county. Here 
 was a crowd, many on horseback and lined in military formation, for Editor 
 Tames Shoaff of the Democratic Magnet had urged all his readers regardless of 
 politics to come and cheer the man who would "save the Union." Lincoln ap- 
 peared on the rear platform and acknowledged the greeting. Then the ringing 
 of the engine bell signalled "full speed ahead," — but not for long. A few miles 
 out there was an unscheduled stop while the train crew removed a stake-and- 
 rider fence that had been erected across the right-of-way. It won its purpose. 
 The President-elect appeared and waved to the crowd. Another start and soon 
 Bement — with its memories of the day in 1858 when the "Railsplitter" and the 
 "Little Giant" met in the Francis E. Bryant home and planned their joint de- 
 bates — was left behind. At a culvert on the outskirts there was a guard with a 
 rifle who stood at attention while the special roared onward. 
 
 At 10 :50 the twisting of the car brakes by Tom Ross, the brakeman, told 
 them that Tolono was the next stop. This also was a lawful requirement, as here 
 the Great Western crossed the Illinois Central railroad. In a grove at the junc- 
 tion of the two roads Lincoln left the car and addressed the gathering as follows : 
 
 My Friends : I am leaving you on an errand of National 
 importance, attended, as you are aware, with considerable diffi- 
 culties. Let us believe, as some poet has expressed it, "Behind 
 the cloud the sun is shining still." 
 
 A tablet, mounted on granite, marks the spot, having been dedicated with 
 appropriate ceremonies by Alliance chapter, D. A. R., of Urbana-Champaign, in 
 1932. 
 
 Once more the train sped through the Illinois prairies — Philo, Sidne}', 
 Homer, Salina (now Fairmount), Catlin, Bryant (now a division point of the 
 mighty Wabash railway system and renamed Tilton in honor of the general 
 manager of the old Great Western) — all pro-Lincoln territory in the late election 
 with the vote showing a ratio of five to three, and across the Vermilion river to 
 Danville, where Lincoln was indeed in the home of his friends. Here he had 
 come, along with the Riders of the Old Eighth Circuit, at court time since 1849 
 and here so great was his popularity that he had for several years maintained 
 a law office with Ward Hill Lamon as his partner. Here another stop, but only 
 to conform with the law, for the train was four minutes late. A crowd was 
 gathered to meet him, but there was time only for a friendly wave by the Presi- 
 dent-elect and a salute by Lamon, who shared the car platform, attired in a won- 
 derful uniform of his own designing, which he had acquired when appointed a 
 colonel on the staff by Governor Richard Yates. In later years one George 
 Lawrence capitalized the fact that, being tall, he had been able to reach over 
 the crowd and grasp the Lincoln hand. He basked in local acclaim until the 
 early 80' s, when the summons came. 
 
 Six miles more, and even Judge Davis showed animation. Soon they would 
 dine. The next stop was State Line, a metropolis in its own right since 1857 
 of some 600 souls and the terminus of the Great Western and the starting point 
 for the Valley railroad. It was divided by a public road with a roundhouse of 
 one railroad in Illinois and the other in Indiana. Here the party was scheduled 
 to dine at the State Line hotel. On arrival, the group, which included beside 
 Lamon and Judge Davis, Edward Bates, Senator-elect Orville H. Browning, N. 
 B. Judd, Jesse Dubois, Col. E. V. Sumner, Maj. David Hunter, Col. Elmer E. 
 Ellsworth, Robert Irwin, J. H. Nicoley, John Hay, Robert Lincoln, D. D. Bates 
 
of the Springfield Journal, H. M. Smith of the Chicago Tribune and W. S. 
 Woods, who had general charge of the management of the special throughout 
 the entire journey, disembarked while the train was being transferred to the 
 Indiana road, and, because of the press of the 2,000 who had assembled, had 
 some trouble in reaching the hotel. 
 
 It was a colorful gathering who greeted the President-elect. While in the 
 throng there were suggestions of pioneer days, many of the males appeared re- 
 splendent in plug hats and coats and pantaloons of lively hues and cut in the 
 style of the Eastern seaboard. The coming of the railroad had in large measure 
 banished the practices of barter and money — real money — was in circulation. 
 With access to markets the hardy pioneer could find buyers for his livestock and 
 grain, while the storekeepers were able to offer gay prints, muslins, ginghams 
 and even the silks and velvets worn by the ladies of the cities. Transportation 
 also had made possible the regular receipt of mail and in many a home might 
 be found current copies of Peterson's Magazine and Godey's Ladies' Book, with 
 their colored plates showing just what the ladies of fashion were wearing in the 
 more cultured Eastern border. Even the less fortunate had through expediency 
 and the example of the Indians learned the art of dyeing, and with nothing more 
 than the hulls of nuts and the berries to be found in the forests could transform 
 a home-spun cloth into gay apparel. 
 
 The Nation had chosen a Western man to guide its destinies in this time of 
 stress and a glance at the throng proved the Eastern suspicion that he was the 
 candidate of the "backwoods" was untrue. It was an American gathering — 
 friends of Abraham Lincoln — 100 per cent for the preservation of the Union — 
 composed of the racial elements who later were to intermingle and bring forth 
 the composites who took leadership and made the Nation great. 
 
 Dinner over, the party repaired to the Public Square, where Gen. G. K. 
 
 Steele, in behalf of the people of the State of Indiana, delivered a welcome, to 
 
 which Mr. Lincoln responded as follows: 
 
 Gentlemen of Indiana : I am happy to meet you on this 
 occasion and enter again the State of my early life, and almost 
 of maturity. I am under many obligations to you for your kind 
 reception, and to Indiana for the aid she rendered our cause, 
 which I think a just one. Gentlemen, I shall address you at 
 greater length at Indianapolis, but not much greater. Again, 
 Gentlemen, I thank you for your warm-hearted reception. 
 
 As Lincoln finished, the engine bell was sounding its impatience and the 
 party boarded the train for the next lap of the journey, this time Lafayette, 
 Indiana, where another railroad would carry them to Indianapolis for the night. 
 Two additions to the party were E. B. Burrows, superintendent of the road, 
 and Emory Cobb, superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph lines, with a 
 pocket telegraph instrument, as a safeguard should accident befall as the special 
 wended Eastward. The Hoosiers had heard disturbing rumors and were not 
 taking chances. A pilot engine also preceded the regular train. 
 
 As the special steamed out Lincoln stood on the rear platform, but he was 
 not looking at the 2,000 people who were cheering for his eyes roved far beyond 
 the town limits out where the rolling prairies were in view. It was his last 
 glimpse of his beloved Illinois homeland. 
 
 Lincoln re-entered the car and found Lamon singing "The Lament of the 
 Irish Emigrant," Ellsworth was conning a manual on Military Tactics, Col. Sum- 
 ner was brushing his uniform and Davis was dozing, as fat men will. So in 
 later years Walter Whitney told his grandchildren. He was the Great Western 
 conductor and was taking a free ride to Indianapolis as a guest of the company. 
 
 A granite and bronze marker was dedicated by the Warren County His- 
 torical society on the Site of the meeting in State Line, Indiana, September 21, 
 1930. Dr. Louis A. Warren of Fort Wayne, Indiana, made the principal address. 
 
LUCIAN TILTON 
 
 President of Great Western Railroad and Lessee of the Lincoln I fame, 
 
 Springfield, 1861. 
 
 This Biography is printed by special permission of the author, John B. Babcock, Past Presi- 
 dent of Boston Society of Civil Engineers, and is taken from their Journal, July, 1936, as a 
 part of the History of the Society since 1848. 
 
 Courtesy John B. Babcock. 
 
 Lucia n Tii/ton 
 
 Lucian Tilton, who was born at Hamp- 
 ton Falls, N. H., was a direct descendant 
 of William Tilton, who settled in Lynn, 
 Mass., about 1630. His grandfather was 
 a surgeon in the Revolutionary army, 
 and his father, John Tilton, served in 
 the War of 1812. His Christian name 
 appears as Lucian in all records of him 
 in New England, whereas it is given as 
 Lucien in references to him in the Mid- 
 dle West. The former is believed cor- 
 rect, since it agrees with his signature 
 affixed to the Constitution of the Society 
 as well as with the genealogical records 
 of the family. 
 
 No information has been found con- 
 cerning his education and early profes- 
 sional experience. It is almost certain 
 that he took part in his earlier years in 
 the surveys and construction of the rail- 
 roads which were spreading so rapidly 
 in New England in the period from 1835 
 to 1848. In 1848 he was engineer for the Cheshire railroad, and later superin- 
 tendent. In 1849 he and Josiah Hunt acted as consulting engineers for the 
 Ashuelot railroad in New Hampshire. In 1850 Tilton was elected superintendent 
 of the Fitchburg railroad, a position which he held until 1853, when he resigned 
 and probably went to the Middle West at that time. 
 
 Tilton's life was intimately connected with the development of railroads of 
 Illinois and neighboring states, particularly with those lines which later formed 
 important parts of the Wabash system. While the records are incomplete as to 
 the details for the next three or four years, it is believed that he was chief en- 
 gineer and superintendent of the Toledo, Wabash & Western R. R. ; in 1857 he 
 was vice-president of that railroad, which extended from Toledo, O., to Danville, 
 111., on the Indiana-Illinois line. From 1859 until 1862, at least, he was president 
 of the "Great Western Railroad Company of 1859", which extended westward 
 from Danville to Naples on the Illinois river. On May 16, 1865, he was elected 
 president of the Illinois & Southern Iowa R. R. He was appointed consulting 
 engineer for the Toledo, Wabash & Western R. R. in 1865, and the same year 
 became a director for that railroad. Tilton made his home in Springfield, 111., 
 for many years. When President Abraham Lincoln went to Washington in 1861 
 he leased his house to Tilton, who remained there until the property was taken 
 in charge by the administrator for the estate. For at least a decade his railroad 
 activities were all connected with lines which later were consolidated into the 
 Wabash. In 1879 the town of Bryant, near Danville, was changed to Tilton in 
 his honor. 
 
Tilton moved to Chicago about 1869, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life. He served as a director of the Illinois Central R. R. from 1871 to 1875. 
 In 1875 he was vice-president of the North Chicago Railway Company. The 
 following is quoted from an obituary notice in the Chicago Tribune: 
 
 Col L,ucien Tilton, a well-known citizen, and one of the most eminent engineers in the 
 Northwest, was buried from his late residence. No. 297 Oak street. He settled in this State 
 a decade ago, and aided materially by his engineering skill in developing her resources. 
 For a long time he resided in Springfield, and some years ago he retired from active business 
 pursuits and took up his residence in this city. Mr. Tilton was a courteous gentleman, who 
 drew about him a wide circle of friends. In his hospitality he was bounteous and his charity 
 was proverbial. He died leaving behind him a reputation without a blemish. The Rev. Dr. 
 Collyer officiated at the funeral ceremonies and touched upon the life and character of the 
 deceased, and alluded to the fact that during thirty years of an active business life he had 
 never overdrawn his bank account or given a note. Mr. Tilton leaves a fortune of fully a 
 quarter of a million dollars, mainly in cash and bonds, and it is stated a portion consists of 
 $60,000 in gold, but recently purchased. He died March 19, 1877. 
 
 ANOTHER VERSION OF THE FAREWELL ADDRESS 
 
 (From the Springfield Journal, February 12, 1861.) 
 Friends : 
 
 No one who has never been placed in a like position can understand my 
 feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more 
 than a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during all that time I 
 have received nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my 
 youth until now I am an old man. Here all of my children were born ; here one 
 of them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have — all that I am. 
 All the strange checkered past seems now to crowd upon my mind. 
 
 Today I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which de- 
 volved upon General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall 
 be with me and aid me, I must fail. But if the same Omniscient mind and the 
 same Almighty that directed and protected him shall guide and support me, I 
 shall not fail. I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may 
 not forsake us now. To Him I commend you all. Permit me to ask that, with 
 equal sincerity and faith, you all will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. 
 
 With these few words I must leave you — for how long I know not. Friends, 
 one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell. 
 
 The following advertisement appeared in the Springfield Journal, January, 
 1861: 
 
 AT PRIVATE SALE 
 
 The furniture consisting of Parlor and Chamber Sets, Carpets, Sofas, 
 Chairs, Wardrobes, Bureaus, Bedsteads, Stoves, China, Queensware, Glass, etc., 
 at the residence on the corner of Eighth and Jackson streets is offered at 
 Private Sale without reserve. For particulars apply at the premises at once. 
 
 INTERSTATE PRINTING CO., DANVILLI 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 973.7L63C4T47L C001 
 
 LINCOLN'S LAST VIEW OF THE ILLINOIS PRAI 
 
 3 0112 031806398