Editor's note: This story was originally published in the
It was an 鈥渁ha鈥� moment for Jack LeChien.
The Belleville historian and co-chairman of the committee had heard people speculate for decades on whether Abraham Lincoln had slept in the city during his 1856 visit and, if so, where.
Then recently, LeChien stumbled on a 1936 column in the Belleville Daily News-Democrat, now the BND, which seemed to provide evidence that the future U.S. president did spend the night at the Scheel home in the 200 block of South Illinois Street, where the Downtown Belleville YMCA parking lot is today.
The column was written by Emilie Heber, a Scheel family friend who grew up in the neighborhood.
鈥淚s it completely 100% accurate in every detail? Well, we don鈥檛 know because we weren鈥檛 there, and we have so few sources,鈥� LeChien said. 鈥淏ut to me, there鈥檚 enough detail there, and it鈥檚 written by a schoolteacher (and published in a newspaper), so that gives it some credibility.鈥�
In the column, Heber was recalling a conversation she had with 鈥淢rs. Ernest Hilgard,鈥� nee Mina Scheel, in the mid-1890s, when Heber was about 10 years old and Hilgard was in her 40s.
Hilgard was only 8 when Lincoln visited Belleville on Oct. 18, 1856, but she apparently had vivid recollections that may have been boosted by family discussions over the years.
Hilgard told of Lincoln touring the city with her father, dining at their home and participating in political activities that drew people from throughout the region. He had come to Belleville to campaign for Republican presidential candidate John Freemont and gubernatorial candidate William Bissell.
The national Republican Party had formed only two years earlier as an anti-slavery coalition. It found significant support in Southern Illinois on that Saturday, 17 days before the election.
鈥淭hat night, Mr. Lincoln tarried under our roof,鈥� Hilgard told Heber, according to the column. 鈥淗e slept in the northeast corner room on the first floor of the main building. ... Mr. Lincoln left the next morning and I never saw him again.鈥�
At that time, and former state legislator and congressman. He would be elected U.S. president in 1860.
Historians, particularly those in Illinois, have a running joke that building owners love to claim 鈥淟incoln slept here.鈥� A home or hotel is automatically considered more historically significant if he did.
Of course, that doesn鈥檛 apply in the Belleville case because the Scheel home, which Heber described as a 14-room Colonial brick mansion with 10 fireplaces, was demolished and replaced by Central Junior High School. The YMCA opened on the site in 2006.
Detailed descriptions
Hilgard鈥檚 father, John Scheel, was a German immigrant, surveyor, Koerner鈥檚 brother-in-law and
Heber wrote in the 1936 column that one of her favorite things to do as a child was sit in the Scheel home鈥檚 Victorian parlor and listen to Hilgard tell stories. In the 1890s, Hilgard and her family lived on the second floor, and her brother鈥檚 family lived on the first.
Heber used the technique of writing in Hilgard鈥檚 voice, telling the story from her first-person view.
Hilgard remembered the family making 鈥渆laborate preparations鈥� for their 鈥渄istinguished guest.鈥� She described how their housekeeper, Sanne, enthusiastically took charge of Lincoln鈥檚 care.
鈥淪he personally supervised the setting of the table, prepared certain dishes herself, and also baked the 鈥楳andeltorte鈥� (German for almond tart),鈥� Hilgard said, according to Heber.
鈥淚t happened that Mr. Lincoln鈥檚 best shirt needed laundering. Sanne wouldn鈥檛 allow any of the other servants to attend to that. She washed and ironed the shirt. It had a stiff bosom (detachable front panel) with many small tucks, and it was quite a job to iron.鈥�
The housekeeper apparently also polished Lincoln鈥檚 boots after he left them outside the guest-room door.
The German-language newspaper Volksblatt reported that Lincoln had traveled by train to Belleville, where he was met about 11 a.m. by members of the Republican Club. They went to club headquarters at Klug鈥檚 Beer Garden (North Second and West A streets) before a procession with bands and 1:30 p.m. rally on Public Square.
Koerner wrote in his memoirs that he and John Scheel took Lincoln around town and introduced him to 鈥淩epublican families.鈥� Another rally was held that evening on Market Square, outside the former Belleville City Hall and Market House (now East A Street between North High and North Illinois).
Hilgard鈥檚 recollections, as told by Heber, focused more on a torchlight parade that preceded the rally.
鈥淭he torches were cans, swinging at the ends of long poles, with wicks fed by lard-oil,鈥� Heber wrote. 鈥淎t the head of the procession rode many men and women on horseback, the latter riding sidesaddle and wearing riding habits with tight bodices and long skirts.
鈥淢r. Lincoln, with Mayor J.W. Hughes and some prominent citizens, rode in an open carriage drawn by the finest span of horses Belleville could secure. The procession with several bands, wound through the principal downtown streets along which the houses were gay with flags, bunting, ropes of cedar, and lighted candles.鈥�
Lincoln and other politicians spoke at the rally. Afterward, the crowd escorted him back to the Scheel home, where he stepped out on a small, second-floor balcony for a final address, according to Heber鈥檚 column.
Hilgard may have been too young to digest what Lincoln was saying, but she recalled a magical scene, with burning candles lining the balcony railing and fence below and people holding 鈥渉undreds鈥� of lighted torches.
鈥淚t happened to be a beautiful October night, with not a breath of air stirring,鈥� Heber wrote in Hilgard鈥檚 voice. 鈥淭he candles burned steadily 鈥� there was not the slightest flicker. My father鈥檚 tall guest was speaking and I liked his clear, pleasant voice. And how the people were listening!鈥�
Fellow historians weigh in
LeChien recently provided Bob Brunkow, historian for with a copy of Heber鈥檚 column. Brunkow characterized her claim about Lincoln spending the night at the Scheel home in 1856 as 鈥減lausible,鈥� but he would have preferred a source with more direct knowledge.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a good way of judging the accuracy of that information,鈥� Brunkow said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an account written many years after this lady, when she was a child, talked to this older lady about an event that happened 30 or 40 years before.鈥�
Will Shannon, curator for echoed Brunkow鈥檚 caution while open to the possibility that Heber was right.
The historical society owns the Scheel home鈥檚 iron balcony railing, which is displayed at its Victorian Home Museum in Belleville. It鈥檚 considered one of the organization鈥檚 most important artifacts.
The railing was donated in 2009 by a family that had salvaged it during the home鈥檚 demolition, according to Shannon. Car dealer Oliver D. Joseph paid to have it refurbished on the condition that it be displayed in his showroom before heading to the museum.
Lincoln actually visited Belleville three times, including twice in 1840, when he was promoting candidates in the Whig Party, but local historians tend to focus more on the 1856 visit.
鈥淚t was a really important time in his life,鈥� Shannon said. 鈥淚t was the first time a Republican ran for president. The Whig Party was falling apart. The slavery issue was coming to a head.
鈥�(Lincoln) is two years away from running for Senate against Stephen Douglas, and he鈥檚 four years away from running for president. He鈥檚 kind of taking a step onto a bigger stage.鈥�
Koerner had been elected Illinois lieutenant governor in 1852 as a Democrat before switching to the new Republican Party.
Both he and Lincoln opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed voters in those territories to decide for themselves within their borders.
Feelings on both sides of the slavery issue intensified in the weeks leading up to the 1856 election. Political rallies, like the one in Belleville, sometimes led to pushing, shoving and fistfights, according to LeChien.
The city of Belleville owns the Gustave Koerner House, which was built in 1849 and rebuilt in 1854 after a fire at 200 Abend St. The committee is working to restore it as a historic landmark.
LeChien was doing research at Belleville Public Library when he found Heber鈥檚 column on the Oct. 15, 1936, editorial page of the Daily News-Democrat, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Lincoln鈥檚 visit.
鈥淚 think it adds just a little more color and flesh to our knowledge of the visit,鈥� LeChien said. 鈥�... We want people to know about the Koerner-Lincoln connection. They were compatriots. They worked together, and it was a big deal for Lincoln to come to Belleville.鈥�
