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Strasburg in Shelby County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Lincoln and Divorce

Looking for Lincoln

 
 
Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Left Section image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
1. Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Left Section
(Click any of these photos to see the details.)
Inscription.
Left Section

Abraham Lincoln handled at least 147 divorce cases during his twenty-five years as a lawyer. One in Shelby County also concerned the ownership of land. William Stewardson and Mary Jane Dawson, both English immigrants, married in 1848. She purchased forty-three acres of land with money that she brought into the marriage. After two years, their marriage disintegrated, and William left, moving in with his son from a previous marriage. Mary Jane sold off some of William’s possessions, buying a forty-acre tract of land. In 1852, Mary Jane hired Lincoln, filing for divorce on the grounds of desertion. William responded that she was impossible to live with and constantly berated him. A jury ruled for Mary Jane and awarded her $50 per year alimony but left open the question of the ownership of the two parcels of land. In another lawsuit the following year, Lincoln continued to represent Mary Jane in order to resolve ownership of the land. The court reduced her alimony to $30, ruled that Mary Jane keep the land purchased with her money, and that she transfer to William the land purchased with his money.

Center Section

The land was situated halfway between Shelbyville and the current town of Strasburg. After the Illinois Supreme Court case, Mary Jane Stewardson sold her forty-three
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acres of land to her stepson, William Stewardson, Jr., and moved to Peoria, where she died in 1883. William Stewardson remained in Shelby County, where he died in 1864. William Stewardson, Jr. Continued to accumulate significant amounts of land, and he donated a tract that became the village of Stewardson in 1874.

Right Section

Disappointed in the Shelby County Circuit Court’s decision, Mary Jane Stewardson continued to employ Lincoln and appealed the judgment to the Illinois Supreme Court. Stewardson was one of three Shelby County cases that Lincoln handled in Springfield.. The Supreme Court agreed with the circuit court’s decision, that Mary Jane received a fair settlement. While Mary Jane may have been a difficult person, she understood the value of land in earning an income. Since paper money fluctuated in value wildly and hard money was scarce, land was a valuable commodity in early Illinois. A married woman typically had no rights to buy and sell land because her status as an individual became assumed by the husband upon marriage. As an abandoned wife in this case, Mary Jane was forced to become an independent person, wisely investing in real estate.
 
Erected 2009 by Shelby County Lincoln Coalition.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics
Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Center Section image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
2. Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Center Section
Settlements & SettlersWomen. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the Looking for Lincoln series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1848.
 
Location. 39° 21.057′ N, 88° 37.039′ W. Marker is in Strasburg, Illinois, in Shelby County. Marker is at the intersection of Commercial Street and Cedar Street, on the right when traveling east on Commercial Street. The marker is located at the entrance to Strasburg Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Strasburg IL 62465, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Strasburg Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Gene Goodwin Park (approx. 9.9 miles away); Cole Edward Spencer (approx. 9.9 miles away); Traveling the Circuit (approx. 10 miles away); Anthony Thornton (approx. 10 miles away); First Commercial Pick-up Baler (approx. 10 miles away); Lincoln-Thornton Debate / Lincoln Circuit (approx. 10 miles away); Soldiers and Sailors Monument (approx. 10 miles away).
 
Also see . . .
1. Looking for Lincoln Video - on P. B. S.
Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Right Section image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
3. Lincoln and Divorce Marker - Right Section
Follow Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "...from Illinois, to Gettysburg, to Washington, D. C., and face to face with people who live with Lincoln every day..." (Submitted on May 17, 2010, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana.) 

2. Looking for Lincoln. Many resources for tracking of Lincoln through History and Illinois, for all ages. (Submitted on May 17, 2010, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana.) 
 
Additional keywords. Divorces
 
Lincoln and Divorce Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
4. Lincoln and Divorce Marker
Lincoln and Divorce Marker at Entrance to the Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
5. Lincoln and Divorce Marker at Entrance to the Park
The Marker and 1914 Firehouse Bell image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
6. The Marker and 1914 Firehouse Bell
The adjacent bell tower houses a 1914 Firehouse Bell. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
7. The adjacent bell tower houses a 1914 Firehouse Bell.
No casting marks were noted on this well built bell.
The 1914 Firehouse Bell Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Al Wolf, May 15, 2010
8. The 1914 Firehouse Bell Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2022. It was originally submitted on May 17, 2010, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. This page has been viewed 1,491 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 17, 2010, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana.   6, 7, 8. submitted on May 19, 2010, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024