Researchers visited 61 manuscript and archive repositories throughout the United States to locate and photocopy pertinent documents. While researchers typically examined collections of Lincoln related manuscripts or archives, they also investigated the collections of Lincoln scholars and collectors, the collections of Lincoln contemporaries (especially those who practiced law) and all public records or business archives relative to Illinois law during the time of Lincoln’s practice. (See Repository Abbreviations for a list of symbols utilized in the data to represent these institutions).
Repository Examined |
Location |
Main Collections |
| California | ||
| Henry E. Huntington Library | San Marino | Lincoln File Manuscripts, Ward H. Lamon Papers, Lambert Collection |
| Delaware | ||
| University of Delaware, Goodstay Center Lincoln Collection | Wilmington | Lincolniana |
| District of Columbia | ||
| Library of Congress, Manuscript Division and Rare Book Room | Washington | Abraham Lincoln Papers, Alfred Whital Stern Collection, Herndon-Weik Collection, Robert Todd Lincoln Collection, Lyman Trumbull Papers, Robert R. Hitt Journal, E.B. Washburne Papers, John McLean Papers, John D. Caton Papers, numerous small collections |
| National Archives and Records Administration | Washington | Records of the United States Supreme Court, Records of the United States Patent Office, Records of the United States Treasury Department, United States Circuit Court Records for District of Columbia |
| Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Division of Political History | Washington | Nathaniel Greene Wilcox Papers |
| United States Supreme Court Library, Records and Briefs Division | Washington | Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court |
| Illinois | ||
| Bank One Illinois | Springfield | Marine Bank Ledger, Lincolniana |
| Bradley University, Cullom-Davis Library | Peoria | Peoria Historical Society |
| Chicago Historical Society | Chicago | Abraham Lincoln Papers, Hardin Family Papers, Mason Brayman Papers, David Davis Papers, Ralph Newman Appraisals, numerous small collections |
| DuPage County Bar Association | Wheaton | |
| Edgar County Historical Society | Paris | County Records |
| Hayner Public Library | Alton | Lincolniana |
| Illinois Historical Survey, University of Illinois Library | Urbana | Henry C. Whitney Legal Papers, Thompson R. Webber Collection, Lincoln Administration Papers, numerous small collections |
| Illinois State Historical Library | Springfield | Henry Horner Lincoln Collection, David Davis Family Papers, Adams-Snyder Family Papers, Wallace-Dickey Family Papers, Nicolay & Hay Papers, Matheny Family Papers, Orville H. Browning Papers, the collections of numerous Lincoln contemporaries |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | County Records |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Illinois State University | Normal | County Records |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Northern Illinois University | DeKalb | County Records |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Southern Illinois University | Carbondale | County Records |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University of Illinois at Springfield | Springfield | County Records |
| Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Western Illinois University | Macomb | County Records |
| Illinois State Archives | Springfield | County Records, Governor's Correspondence, Pardon Petitions, Records of the Illinois State Supreme Court |
| James Millikin University, Birks Museum | Decatur | Lincolniana |
| Knox College, Seymour Library | Galesburg | Abraham Lincoln Papers |
| Lincoln College Museum | Lincoln | Lincoln Collection, Emanuel Hertz working notes |
| Lincoln Library, Sangamon Valley Collection | Springfield | Lincolniana |
| Macon County Historical Society | Decatur | County Records, Richard J. Oglesby Law Journal |
| Macoupin County Historical Society | Carlinville | County Records |
| McLean County Historical Society | Bloomington | David Davis Papers |
| Madison County Historical Society | Edwardsville | Godfrey Papers |
| Menard County Historical Society | Petersburg | County Records |
| National Archives and Records Administration, Great Lakes Region | Chicago | United States District and Circuit Court Records for Illinois |
| Newberry LibraryChicagoIllinois Central Railroad Archives, Robert T. Lincoln Papers | Chicago | Illinois Central Railroad Archives, Robert T. Lincoln Papers |
| Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Library, Louisa H. Bowen University Archives and Special Collections | Edwardsville | County Records |
| Springfield City Clerk's Office | Springfield | Municipal Records |
| University of Chicago Library, Special Collections | Chicago | Lincoln Manuscripts, William E. Barton Correspondence, Stephen A. Douglas Papers |
| University of Illinois Library, Lincoln Room | Urbana | Lincolniana |
| Urbana Free Library, Champaign County Historical Archives | Urbana | County Records |
| Vermilion County Museum | Danville | Lincolniana |
| Indiana | ||
| Indiana University, Lilly Library | Bloomington | Lincoln Manuscripts |
| The Lincoln Museum | Fort Wayne | Lincoln Manuscripts |
| Iowa | ||
| Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science | Davenport | Putnam Family Papers |
| University of Iowa Library | Iowa City | William H. Herndon-Theodore Parker Manuscripts (microfilm) |
| Kansas | ||
| Kansas State Historical Society, Center for Historical Research | Topeka | John Palmer Usher Papers (microfilm) |
| Kentucky | ||
| Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, Kentucky State Archives | Frankfort | County Records |
| Kentucky Historical Society | Frankfort | Surname Files |
| University of Kentucky, King Library, Special Collections and Archives | Lexington | William Townsend Papers |
| Massachusetts | ||
| Boston University, Mugar Memorial Library, Special Collections | Boston | Abraham Lincoln Manuscripts |
| Harvard University, Houghton Library, Manuscripts Department | Cambridge | Lincoln Manuscripts, William H. Herndon-Wendell Phillips Correspondence, Noah Brooks Diary |
| Harvard University Law School Library, Special Collections | Cambridge | Abraham Lincoln Papers |
| Michigan | ||
| Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library | Detroit | James F. Joy Papers, Edgar Dewitt Jones Lincolniana Papers |
| University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, Michigan Historical Collections | Ann Arbor | James F. Joy Papers, Henry B. Joy Papers |
| Missouri | ||
| Missouri Historical Society | St. Louis | Thomas Forsyth Papers, William Martin Papers and Day Books, numerous small collections |
| New Jersey | ||
| New Jersey Historical Society | Newark | Gilbert A. Tracy Papers |
| New York | ||
| New York Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division | New York | Abraham Lincoln Papers and Forgeries, Josiah Gilbert Holland Papers (microfilm) |
| Pennsylvania | ||
| Haverford College, James P. Magill Library | Haverford | William Pyle Philips Autographs, William H.S. Wood Papers |
| Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Manuscripts Department | Philadelphia | Abraham Lincoln Papers, Ferdinand J. Dreer Autographs, Simon Gratz Papers |
| Tennessee | ||
| Lincoln Memorial University, Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum | Harrogate | Abraham Lincoln Collection, William H. Herndon Papers |
| Virginia | ||
| University of Virginia Library, Special Collections Department | Charlottesville | Albert T. Bledsoe Papers |
| Wisconsin | ||
| Rock County Historical Society | Janesville | County Records |
| State Historical Society of Wisconsin Archives Division | Madison | Lucius G. Fisher Account Book, McCormick Family Papers, Records of the Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| University of Wisconsin-Platteville, KarrmannPlatteville Library, Southwest Wisconsin Room | Platteville | County Records |