Following the end of the Logan-Lincoln partnership in 1844, Lincoln asked William H. Herndon, a young and eager law clerk in the Logan and Lincoln law office, to join Lincoln as his junior partner. At first, Lincoln and Herndon stayed in Logan and Lincoln’s old office in the Tinsley building, but after Lincoln left for Washington in October 1847 to serve in the United States House of Representatives, Herndon moved to a smaller office in the same building.
When Lincoln returned to Springfield in 1849, Lincoln and Herndon continued to practice law in the smaller office and in 1852, they moved to the northwest side of the state capitol square on Fifth Street. The two remained at that location until Lincoln left Springfield in February 1861 to become president. Herndon mainly traveled to neighboring counties around Sangamon County and maintained a large and steady practice in Menard County, even though it was not on the Eighth Circuit throughout most of the 1840s and 1850s.
After returning from Congress in 1849, Lincoln intensified his interest in law as he felt that politics had runs its course for him. He continued to handle cases before the Illinois Supreme Court during the winter and before the federal court and the Sangamon County Circuit Court during the summer, but he also occasionally traveled to Chicago when the federal court held terms there in the 1850s.
Below are a few photos of the Lincoln-Herndon law office.
|
