Abraham Lincoln

Archaeologists excavating near the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington have unearthed part of the footprint of the 1836 courthouse where experts said Abraham Lincoln worked as an attorney.
 
 The discovery happened Monday on the first day of two to three weeks of archaeological work before construction starts on a new entrance into a planned
tourism center on the lower level of the history museum. Museum executive director Greg Koos says the find represents ``physical remains of an incredibly historical episode in McLean County.''
 

The Papers of Abraham Lincoln project is on a mission to capture digital images of every document written by or to the nation’s 16th president during his lifetime. It also intends to transcribe those documents, annotate them and publish them in a free online database.

So far, the project has scanned more than 97,000 documents from more than 400 repositories and 190 private collections in 47 states and six foreign countries. The staff expects the Papers to encompass more than 150,000 documents when complete.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation is planning to honor Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg.  

The foundation says it will award the ``Lincoln'' director its Lincoln Leadership Prize in Chicago on March 19. ``Lincoln'' star Sally Field will present the award. According to the foundation, the prize is given to those with character, conscience and a commitment to democracy and service.  

It's been more than 25 years since workers renovating Abraham Lincoln's home found a letter fragment in a mouse's nest inside a wall.  
But researchers think they've finally identified the author of the mystery letter as newspaper editor Andrew Johnston.  

Costumes, furniture and other props used in Steven Spielberg's 2012 film ``Lincoln'' will go on display in Springfield next month.  

The items will be featured in an exhibit that opens Jan. 17 at Union Station, across the street from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports the exhibition is called: ``Lincoln: History to Hollywood.''  

A country can't be too small or too far away, apparently, to get in on the craze for Lincoln memorabilia.  
Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum says in a statement that the tiny European nation of San Marino has helped turn up letters to Lincoln.
 
An 1861 letter from San Marino's joint heads of state bestows honorary citizenship on Lincoln. It also expresses hope for peace in the U.S. In a
response, the 16th president writes the Civil War involves the question of  whether a country can save itself from internal division.
 

Illinois is now the 16th state to allow same-sex marriage. Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law Wednesday in Chicago that makes the state the largest in the Midwest to legalize gay weddings. The law takes effect in June when county clerks can begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Illinois allowed civil unions in 2011, but it was a bumpy road to same-sex marriage in President Barack Obama's home state.

A Pennsylvania newspaper says it's sorry it didn't recognize the greatness of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address 150 years ago.  

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg on Thursday retracted a dismissive editorial penned by its Civil War-era predecessor, The Harrisburg Patriot & Union.  
The president's speech is now considered a triumph of American oratory. But the retraction notes the newspaper's November 1863 coverage said it amounted to ``silly remarks'' that deserved a ``veil of oblivion.''  

Abraham Lincoln's final resting place will be off limits to visitors for a few months as repairs are made. 
The Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield houses the former President, his wife and three of their four children.  

The state is investing more than 600 thousand dollars to restore interior finishes that have deteriorated over the years.  That includes plaster molding, paint, wall panels and plaques.  

The project will begin December first and won't be complete until early March.  The tomb will be closed to the public during that time.  

One of the more misleading myths about the Gettysburg Address is that it was not properly appreciated by the audience who heard it or the readers who soon afterward saw it in newspapers. In fact, many of the 15,000 assembled at Gettysburg were profoundly moved. Edward Everett, who delivered the main oration just before Lincoln delivered his “few appropriate remarks,” noted that the president’s handiwork was “greatly admired.” And so it was.

Springfield officials say they're worried the federal government's partial shutdown may cut into tourism.  
That's because Abraham Lincoln's home _ one of the city's top tourists attractions _ is closed since it's operated by the National Parks Service.  
The site drew more than 295,000 visitors last year.  
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/1cqLqtj ) the closure comes after peak tourism season.  
The co-owner of a nearby restaurant says there's a noticeable impact on her business as foot traffic declines.  

  Today is sponsored by the Lincoln Tomb, the Lincoln Home, Iles House, Edwards Place and the Illinois State Military Museum-- the  sites on the candlelight tour, “The Fiery Trial: Civil War Stories by Candlelight,”  The theme is the Emancipation Proclamation. Tomorrow from 5 to 9.

There’s a sure-fire way to bug Republicans in Illinois: Call them up every two years and ask them why they can’t win elections. You almost can hear them wince as they explain what’s gone wrong and what they need to do to win over voters in the future. 

Add to their anxiety the ticking clock that is the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial race.

All Kathy Zimmerman wanted to do was look up the history of her own home. But one thing led to another. Today, 14 years later, the former religious educator and real estate agent is executive director of Pittsfield’s Abe Lincoln Project — and one of 22 members of a steering committee that is on the verge of defining the future of the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, a 42-county swath of central Illinois stretching from the Indiana border to the Mississippi River. 

Surprisingly enough, that’s exactly how the process is supposed to work.

On July 25, 1860, members of the Excelsior Base Ball Club met on their baseball grounds in Chicago to settle a political argument. The purpose of the meeting was a baseball game between players who supported the presidential candidacy of Abraham Lincoln and those who supported Stephen A. Douglas. Mostly in their 20s, the club’s players represented an upwardly mobile group of young Chicago residents who hoped to channel their energy and enthusiasm for the coming presidential election through their athletic prowess on the baseball field.