Normal in McLean County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Lincoln and Fell ⎯⎯⎯ Jesse Fell Home
Looking for Lincoln
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 7, 2024
1. Lincoln and Fell side of marker
Inscription.
Lincoln and Fell, also, Jesse Fell Home. .
Lincoln and Fell.
I have been East, Lincoln as far as Boston, and up into New Hampshire, travelling in all the New England States, save Maine; in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana; and everywhere I hear you talked about. Very frequently I have been asked, Who is this man Lincoln, of your State, now canvassing in opposition to Senator Douglas?
When Jesse Fell returned from his trip, he realized that many people had heard of Lincoln, as a result of the Lincoln-Douglas 1858 debates, but they knew nothing about him. Fell suggested to Lincoln that because of his newly acquired fame that, if his efforts on the slavery question were brought before the people, he would make a formidable, if not a successful, candidate for the presidency. Lincoln admitted he would like to be President but doubted that it would happen. Besides, he thought there was nothing in his early history that would interest anyone. Although Lincoln demurred, he eventually wrote the autobiography that, when rewritten and embellished, was widely published throughout the North and East, thus introducing him to those who only knew of his debates with Stephen A. Douglas in 1858. , [Left column]
Sir I really wish Jesse W. Fell, of Illinois, to be appointed a Paymaster in the Regular Army, at farthest, as early as the 1st. of July 1862. I wish nothing to interfere with this; and I have so written as much as two months ago, I think. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
This note written to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on March 29, 1862 was the third one written personally seeking Fell's appointment. He was appointed on June 3, 1862. Fell had known Lincoln since 1835. , Lincoln and Fell, and others of that era, wrote in longhand. The writing table shown here was used by Jesse Fell with a secretary desk where papers were filed. Writing was customarily done with either a goose quill dip pen or with a steel or gold nib dip pen. Both were sold in stationery stores, which also sold various kinds of paper. Because mistakes in spelling and penmanship were not easily corrected, writers carefully composed sentences in their mind. Only then did they put their sentences in writing. Spelling errors or bad grammar would force the writer to rewrite the entire letter. In the page from Lincoln's Autobiography shown here, look at how Lincoln added phrases and crossed out ideas. ,
Jesse Fell Home. Jesse Fell was secretary of the Illinois Republican Party. He connected the Whigs to the abolitionist-leaning Black Republicans. Abraham Lincoln, and many Illinois political figures and notables, were frequent visitors to the home for social and political occasions. Among those who joined Fell and Lincoln were David Davis, Leonard Swett, Owen Lovejoy, John H. Bryant, Asahel Gridley, and many other political, legal, and social leaders. As visitors, they used this hall tree that graced the entryway. What serious and joyous discussions it must have witnessed among these leading Whig and then Republican leaders, as they planned the election of Abraham Lincoln as the nation's first Republican President. After the Civil War, Fell encouraged African-American families, such as the Duffs, to settle in Normal. He sold lots and homes with interest-only payments until the new residents got on their feet. He was joined in this effort by the Dillons and the Champions. In 1867, he was a leader in promoting the integration of Illinois State University. In 1882, Fell moved to a new home on Broadway Street in Normal. , Abraham Lincoln's good friend Jesse Fell and his family lived here, on what was then the corner of Broadway and Irving Street. He built the house in 1856 and 1857, and he lived in it from 1857 until 18982. Situated in an eighteen-acre park-like setting known as Greenwood, it was a showground of trees and shrubs. It was based on a plan drafted by the well-known Philadelphia landscape architect, William Saunders, who designed the Illinois State University campus and the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where Lincoln delivered his famous Address. Eventually, Greenwood was also home to a herd of deer and other fauna. Fell had first noticed this knoll about one mile north of Bloomington some twenty years earlier and admired its beauty. The park was frequently opened to local residents for picnics and other events. , [Top left] Hall trees were elegant pieces of furniture that provided convenient hooks and racks for visitor's topcoats, hats and umbrellas. This Rococo example passed through the Fell family, who recalled Lincoln using it. Called hall trees, because of where the homeowner placed them, they symbolized good taste. Hester Vernon Fell, Jesse's wife, locally introduced many of the most up-to-date items of household fashion, including a piano and window screens.
Lincoln and Fell
I have been East, Lincoln as far as Boston, and up into New Hampshire, travelling in all the New England States, save Maine; in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana; and everywhere I hear you talked about. Very frequently I have been asked, Who is this man Lincoln, of your State, now canvassing in opposition to Senator Douglas?
When Jesse Fell returned from his trip, he realized that many people had heard of Lincoln, as a result of the Lincoln-Douglas 1858 debates, but they knew nothing about him. Fell suggested to Lincoln that because of his newly acquired fame that, if his efforts on the slavery question were brought before the people, he would make a formidable, if not a successful, candidate for the presidency. Lincoln admitted he would like to be President but doubted that it would happen. Besides, he thought there was nothing in his early history that would interest anyone. Although Lincoln demurred, he eventually wrote the autobiography that, when rewritten and embellished, was widely published throughout the North and East, thus introducing him to those who only knew
Click or scan to see this page online
of his debates with Stephen A. Douglas in 1858.
[Left column]
Sir I really wish Jesse W. Fell, of Illinois, to be appointed a Paymaster in the Regular Army, at farthest, as early as the 1st. of July 1862. I wish nothing to interfere with this; and I have so written as much as two months ago, I think. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
This note written to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on March 29, 1862 was the third one written personally seeking Fell's appointment. He was appointed on June 3, 1862. Fell had known Lincoln since 1835.
Lincoln and Fell, and others of that era, wrote in longhand. The writing table shown here was used by Jesse Fell with a secretary desk where papers were filed. Writing was customarily done with either a goose quill dip pen or with a steel or gold nib dip pen. Both were sold in stationery stores, which also sold various kinds of paper. Because mistakes in spelling and penmanship were not easily corrected, writers carefully composed sentences in their mind. Only then did they put their sentences in writing. Spelling errors or bad grammar would force the writer to rewrite the entire letter. In the page from
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 7, 2024
2. Jesse Fell Home side of marker
Lincoln's Autobiography shown here, look at how Lincoln added phrases and crossed out ideas.
Jesse Fell Home
Jesse Fell was secretary of the Illinois Republican Party. He connected the Whigs to the abolitionist-leaning Black Republicans. Abraham Lincoln, and many Illinois political figures and notables, were frequent visitors to the home for social and political occasions. Among those who joined Fell and Lincoln were David Davis, Leonard Swett, Owen Lovejoy, John H. Bryant, Asahel Gridley, and many other political, legal, and social leaders. As visitors, they used this hall tree that graced the entryway. What serious and joyous discussions it must have witnessed among these leading Whig and then Republican leaders, as they planned the election of Abraham Lincoln as the nation's first Republican President. After the Civil War, Fell encouraged African-American families, such as the Duffs, to settle in Normal. He sold lots and homes with interest-only payments until the new residents got on their feet. He was joined in this effort by the Dillons and the Champions. In 1867, he was a leader in promoting the integration of Illinois
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 7, 2024
3. Lincoln and Fell / Jesse Fell Home Marker
State University. In 1882, Fell moved to a new home on Broadway Street in Normal.
Abraham Lincoln's good friend Jesse Fell and his family lived here, on what was then the corner of Broadway and Irving Street. He built the house in 1856 and 1857, and he lived in it from 1857 until 18982. Situated in an eighteen-acre park-like setting known as Greenwood, it was a showground of trees and shrubs. It was based on a plan drafted by the well-known Philadelphia landscape architect, William Saunders, who designed the Illinois State University campus and the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where Lincoln delivered his famous Address. Eventually, Greenwood was also home to a herd of deer and other fauna. Fell had first noticed this knoll about one mile north of Bloomington some twenty years earlier and admired its beauty. The park was frequently opened to local residents for picnics and other events.
[Top left] Hall trees were elegant pieces of furniture that provided convenient hooks and racks for visitor's topcoats, hats and umbrellas. This Rococo example passed through the Fell family, who recalled Lincoln using it. Called hall trees, because
"Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society", 1916; via Google Books (Public Domain)
4. Jesse Weldon Fell (1808-1887)
of where the homeowner placed them, they symbolized good taste. Hester Vernon Fell, Jesse's wife, locally introduced many of the most up-to-date items of household fashion, including a piano and window screens.
Location. 40° 30.409′ N, 88° 59.144′ W. Marker is in Normal, Illinois, in McLean County. It is at the intersection of Broadway and West Irving Street, in the median on Broadway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Normal IL 61761, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Illinois. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Also see . . . Fell, Jesse Weldon. Jsse Weldon Fell was born on November 10, 1808 to Jesse Fell and Rebecca Roman Fell at his father's farm in New Garden Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was a fourth generation Pennsylvanian, his great-grandfather having arrived from England in 1705. He was the third of nine children in a Quaker family. His father farmed and was a hat maker and his mother was a Hicksite preacher. (Anthony Bowman, The McLean County Museum of History, 2009) (Submitted on August 5, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 85 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 5, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
