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Dys{DL**twwt Vol. 7 No.
Spring 2009
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Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
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by FrednickC. Dodds
Unlnown, unheralded, and unsung Abraham Lincoln floated into Sangamon county in a crude, self-made, canoe late in Februaqy 1831. Thfuty years later, almost to a day, he left Springfield on a special train on the Wabash railroad, en route to Washington to be inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States. And he never retumed; he never came back home to visit, crack jokes and laugh with his old friends and neigfrbors. continued anpg.2 The Dyer Discourse is o publicotion of
the Dyer Memoriol Librory. All rights reseryed. O 2009
ftfiroEo*Tio.ofn (continuedfrom page 1) The last time he saw themwas on that memorable morning of February 11,1861-, when he stood on the rear plafform of his car, and with sadness in his heart and in every word he uttered, delivered that short, concise hearffelt Farewell Address, which has come coursing down through the ages. That address was prophetic - "I now leave notlcrowingwhen or whether ever I may retum."
True, they brougfit his body home, but the soul had heard that "one clear ca[ crossed the bar, and put out to sea."
And why did Abraham Lincoln come to Springfield? Living in Springfield in the 182Os and 30's was a certain Denton Offutt, a promoter of wrestling matches, a horse-trader, ageneral all-around sport, and always looking for a chance to make moneyr legitimately, or by the Fifty-two Card Route, it mattered not to him. He had heard stories about the big money the merchants residing along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers were making by sending flatboats with supplies to New Orleans. He was not a merchant but he had capital and unlimited nerve, and decided thathewould embarkin the business if he could find a trustworthy fellow to take charge of the flatboat and pilot it down the Sangamon and Illinois rivers, and thence down the "father of waters" to New Orleans, the thsr metropolis of the Unites States. In casting about for a pilot, Offutt leamed that living over in Macon county was a young man by the name of Abraham Lincolru a recent arrival, and who, while li.ring in hrdiana had piloted a flatboat of supplies to New Orleans, retuming with considerable cash for his employer. Going over to Macon county in the late fall of 183O and hunting up this youngman who lived but a short
distance from the Sangamon river, Offutt discovered that Lincoln was strong, vigorous, energetic, knew what he was talking about, and" above all, had an honest face; and then and there a contract was entered into, by the terms of which Lincoln would come to Springfield the latter part of February 1-831, after the wintels snow had melted, where he would find awaiting him a flatboat out at the river,loaded with commeal, potatoes, dried beans, salt pork, side-meat, with occasional streaks of lean, hides of domestic and fur-bearing animals, and what not, all in readiness to start on the long river joumey to New Orleans. But something happened to upset these well-laid plans. The winter of 1830-31has come down to us in the histories of the events of more than a century ago as "The Winter of the Deep Snow." People lining in Sangamon count;r at the time were later known as "Snow Birds." And forhalf a cenfurp time was reckoned by them from "The Winter of the Deep Snow."
On Chrishas eve,183O after father and mother had filled the children's woolen stockings with all sorts of toys, ju:rrping iacks, candy hearts, stick candy, and other sweets, father went out in the yard "to fetch a pail of watef from the "old oaken bucket that hung in the well." Returning to the cabin and shakingthe snow from his buffalo overcoat he said to mother, "Ifs snowinglike fu4r tonight." And every day and every night from that Christnnas eve of 1830 until well along in February 1831, it either snowed, rained, or sleeted, accompanied by high cold winds that kept the mercury hovering around zero the greater part of the time. Nothing like it had ever been seen before, and the like of it has not been seen since. When the storm ceased and the skies cleared, the continued on pg. 3
&[roEo*Tin"ofo (cantinuedfrompage 2)
snow over all the counties in the valley of the Sangamon river averaged six feet in d"ptfU covered by a thick layer of sleetyice that was obstinate in melting. The drifu were all sorts of depths, and especially high in the narrow roadways. Over in Macon county, Lincoln was wondering how he was going to be able to get to Springfield to keep his appoinbnent with Offutt. Therewere no railroads to Illinois at the time - no "iron horses," and he knew he couldn't get througlr those piled-high snowdrifts in the roads on horseback or afoot. He intently watched the daily effect of the sun on the ice in the river and decided that the river was daily widening and early one moming with a companion, he untied thatnow famous canoe/ got into it, and paddled it through cakes of ice on their way to the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream. Reaching the middle of the river, he found a good current for his canoe, and heading it in a westerly directiorL he floated out of Macon county and into Sangamon county. Springfield is not on the Sangamon. It is four or five miles distance from the river at the nearest point. Lincoln did not know exactly where to anchor, but when he reached the vicinity of what later was known as "Carpenter's Mill," his intuition told him he was nearing his goal Heading in to shore and tying his canoe to a tree on the river bank, he made inquiry of some woodsmen as to the distance to Springfield andhow to getthere. Not many hours later, he was in Springfield looking for Offutt The latter, not expecting him to make the trip overland with impassable roads, could notbe found in any of the numerous loafing places, and there was nothing for Lincoln to do but wait.
As he walked the streets of Springfield that cold, bleak day, little did Lincoln dream that in a short time he would know the owners of the stores whose names he read on the windows, or on huge signs over the doors, and would laugh and joke with them; as he stood and gazed at the brick court house in the center of the square/ a rather pretentious building in that day, little did he dream that in a short span of years, he would be instrumentaf as a member of the "Long Nine," in removing the capital of the state from Vandalia to Springfield, and building a new state house in that very same site; and little did he dream thatin less than thirty-years he could be leaving Springfield on a special train as PresidentElect of the United States.
Offiitt was finally located. He told Lincoln he had been unable to get a flatboat from Beardstown and thathis venture in merchandising would have to be abandoned. Lincoln was discouraged, but determined. He built a flatboat on the river with tools fumished by Offutt The supplies were loaded, and Lincobr finally got to New Orleans, where, for the second time, he beheld the awful aspects of human slavery, "athirtgg" he said, he would "hit hard," if he ever got a chance. tl}t
This story has been in the Doddsfamily for generations, and is printed here courtesy of Frederick Dodds McClure, great-grondson of the author, who is himself of Gilbert Dodds, who arrived in Sangamon county in 1824, ondwas a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln- Dodds ortenvisited Lincoln in his ffice, "where the two swappedyarns to the (mnoy(mce of awaiting 'Aunt Pollie'who in her exasperation one day colled them a 'pretQt pair of coots."'
the
!
t from "The Genealogy & History of the families of Francis Dodds & Margaret Craig Dodds..." by Lydia Colby, p. 82.
Dyer Memorial Library 28 Centre Ave. ' P.O. Box 2245 Abingtoo MA 02351
CunngruTLY IN THE SAM DYER ROOM: AbrahamLincoln (7509-L865) - An exhibition to celebrate the 2000'birthday of the 16tt President of the United States and his Massachusetts connections. On display through 4 Sept. 2009.
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FnoIa THE DIRECTOR: Since this year marks the 200s. anniversary of Abraham Lincolrt's birth, we have
put
together an exhibit thathiglrlights his roots in our own community, as well as the many ways his life affected people in Massachusetts. This exhibition would not have been possible without the generosity of our colleagues at the Massachusetts Historical Society for providing copies of correspondence betweenAbraham Lincoln and Edward Everett of Boston regarding the Gettysburg Address, and Joe Comeau for lending us his book of Matthew Brady photographs. I also want to especially thank Rick McClure of Rockland for making his collection of Lincoln material available to us, as well as for sharing his family's Lincoln tale featured in this newsletter.
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Joice
Himawan