Men in Vermilion County gave Abraham Lincoln a majority of their votes on Nov. 2, 1858, in the U.S. Senate Campaign.
Clara Palmer, a local advocate for women’s rights could not vote, but she and her family of strong abolitionists supported Lincoln. Her father, pioneer Doctor Asa Palmer, had once been a candidate of the Liberty Party. It would be 1920 before Clara and the women of America gained the right to vote, and she would be accompanied to the polling place by Danville’s Uncle Joe Cannon, but that was more than half a century away. Lincoln gained a slight majority of votes in the state but it wasn’t enough. Senator Stephen Douglas was reelected to another term by a majority of electoral votes.
There was disappointment in Vermilion County over Lincoln’s loss but there was not despair. An article in James Kilpatrick’s Vermilion County Press on Nov. 24, 1858 observed, “Brighter Days await our Republican state after the presidential election of 1860.”
There was a win for Vermilion in the election when Oscar F. Harmon was elected to the state legislature. The successful Danville lawyer had become a leader in the county. The brick home and 30-acre farm he owned were at the edge of a growing Danville. His daughter Lucy noted it was a “social center of the community.”
Danville and Vermilion County were rapidly gaining population when the calendar announced it was 1859. Miners were beginning to scratch deeper for more of the black gold that was abundant beneath the feet of Vermilion County residents.
Farm machinery was also improving rapidly for the farmers who were turning an increasing number of prairie acres over each year. The introduction of “Mason Jars” for canning the previous year was a boon for canners who could afford the expensive hand blown glass jars.
Vermilion County was in its 33rd year and it was humming along in 1859. Young men who were going about their different occupations did not know they would be giving up all their tomorrows in a few years. Among them were Marion Lee, Edward Kingsbury, Charles Jackson, and William Fellows. The men would all become captains in the coming Civil War and all would perish. They were living in the last year the Union would be intact. South Carolina would declare it had dissolved the Union on Dec. 20, 1860.
Oscar Harmon, who would also be killed in action in the coming war, visited with Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in January of 1859. The newly elected state representative noted in a letter to his wife Elizabeth that Lincoln “looked thin” but was well. Elizabeth Harmon would stay with her husband for a while in Springfield and she attended a dance where Lincoln was also present. She noticed he was not dancing at the party. When she asked him about it, he informed her “my feet weren’t made that way.”
Abe Lincoln attended court in Vermilion County in 1859. He was at the court session in the spring when William Fellows entertained the court after it was noted his case had already been decided in his favor. He had bought a Bible for the Walker’s Point Baptist Church after his son had created some mischief there. The courtroom erupted in laughter when Fellows inquired if he could have the Bible back since the case was already decided. His namesake son would die in the coming war, but there was little thought of war in 1859.
The divide between the political parties was growing as the months of 1859 slipped away. The Republicans were becoming the anti-slavery party and the Democrats were protecting states rights. When Virginia executed John Brown for attempting to cause a rebellion of the slaves the execution was condemned by many in the north.
Vermilion County resident Walter B. Tillotson wrote in his diary, “I think the state of Virginia will yet tremble,” for Brown’s execution. Young Tillotson would also wear the Union blue in the coming war.
Abraham Lincoln was back in Danville in November of 1859. He wrote a letter on stationary of the McCormack House to James A. Briggs notifying him he was accepting the invitation to make a speech in New York in 1860. Abe noted it would be a “political speech.”
On Dec. 2, 1859 , Abe gave a speech in Atchison, Kan. He warned “that any attempt at secession would be treason.” The coming year would be an exciting political year for Vermilion County residents. It was the year voters would decided the future of the Union.