The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-05-02
MaIne's Part in the 1860 Convention.

erect that Senator Cullom OF ILLINOIS
and Hon. Nathaniel W. voorhees, of
New Jersey were the only survivors of
the Chicago Convention of 1860 which
nominated Lincoln for the, presidency.
Then a correction started out after it
to the effect that two Vermont dele
gates to that famous convention were
still living, Ex-Governor John W..
Stewart and Col E. B. Sawyer. Now
Maine is to be heard from in this mat
ter, for one of the 16 men who repre-
scented this State at that convention is
living and enjoying good health at the
present time. This delegate is Hon.
| Geo. F. Talbot of Portland who at the
age of IS is able to give an interviewer
most interesting story OF that con-
vention and the part played in it by the
Maine delegates.
Mr. Talbot was born s East Machias
in 1919, graduated from Bowdoin in
1887 and for many years practiced law
In Portland. He served as U. S. Dis
| trict Attorney from 1851 to 1870. Mr.
Talbot was an active leader in the Free
Soil party which joined in the estab-
llshment of the Republican party, and
had served as the Free Soil candidate
| for governor in 1S49 and again in 1850,
| receiving about 5000 votes each time
| Among Mr.. Talbot's classmates at
| Bowdoin were John A. Andrew, who
| became the war governor of Massa-
chusetts, Fordyce Barker whose name
ranks among the highest in American
| medical science, Lorenzo d. SWEET, who
served in Congress from Maine during
the Civil War, Rufus K. Sewall, the
historian, VIM. W. Rand, secretary of
the American Tract Society, George
Woods, long the chancellor of Western
University, Pennsylvania, and Francis
w. Upham, the author.
Thus Maine has at least one survivor
of the Lincoln convention of 1860 to be
added to the four claimed by Vermont,
Illinois and New Jersey, and as 466
votes were cast at that convention of
Al years ago it is altogether likely that
there are more survivors than these
five named. The convention was large
ly made up of young men, for the Re.
publican movement of that year APP
pealed strongly to the young manhood
earlier when Fremont the Pathfinder,
vainly antagonized Buchanan.
Now that this subject of the 1860
ing to look back over the files of the
Kennebec Journal of that year and see
the part played by Maine in that gath
ering at Chicago where history was
made. This State sent 16 delegates,
four at large and two from each of the
six congressional districts into which
the State was then divided. These
delegates, with the alternates. were as
follows: At large George F. Talbot of
Machias. VIM. H. McCrillis of Bangor,
John l.. Stevens of Augusta, Rensel-
laer Cram of Portland; substitutes, Az
thur F. Drinkwater of Ellsworth, Tru-
man Harmon of Thorndike, Thomas w.
Herrick of Waterville, Thomas Moul-
ton of Porter. First District, Mark F.
Wentworth of Kittery, Leonard An
drews of Biddeford; substitutes, Albert
ii. Estes of Portland, John H. Goode-
now of Alfred. Second district, Nathan
G. Hichborn of Stockton, George w.
Lawrence of Warren; substitutes, Isaac
Woodman of Searsmont, George Scott
of Wiscasset. Fourth district, G. A.
Wing of Winthrop, j. S. Baker of Bath;
substitutes, Noah Woods of Gardiner,
c. H. Lindsay of Norridgewock. Fifth
district, Samuel F. Hersey of Bangor,
Going Hathorn of Pittsfeld; substi-
tutes, John Benson of Newport, G. H.
B. Woodbury. of Dover. Sixth district,
John West of Franklin, Washington
Long of Fort Fairfield; substitutes,
James S. Pike of Calais, Leonard Pierce
of Houlton. Of these 80 strong Maine
men of that day it is said that Mr.. Tai
bot is the only survivor.
In addition to these delegates and
alternates we know that they were &C
nil t0 INV 10
Der of the men who were leaders of the
and it is to be remembered that the
Republican party arose to power here
in Maine before it did elsewhere, being
well organized under its present name
and elecJing its candidate for governor
as early as 1855, the year before FIRE.
mont's nomination. Prominent among
| those who joined i'll the party to Chi
cago were Governor Lot NJ. Morrill, and
James G. Blaine, the latter being then
associated with John l.. Stevens, one of
the delegates at large, on the Journal.
| Mr.. Blaine was an ardent Lincoln
| man and Mr. Talbot in his remin-
iscences recalls that during the trip to
| Chicago he worked hard in the interests
| of Lincoln and secured several CONVEX
sions among the delegates. Mr..
Stevens was an equally ardent Seward
man and the majority of the Maine del
egates favored Mr.. Seward. At the con-
vention Leonard Andrews of Biddeford
was Names representative on the CON-
mittee of organization while Mr.. Talbot
represented the State on the committee
of resolutions. Samuel F. Hersey of
Bangor represented Maine on the list
of vice presidents and Chas. A. Wing
of Winthrop on the list of secretaries.
| When the first ballot was taken six
of Names delegates voted for Lincoln
and 10 for Seward, Lincoln getting a
total OF 1O2 votes, of which 10 came from
New England, and Seward 173 ~.
There we're 465 votes cast, divided
among ~ candidates. On the second
ballot Lincoln became practically even
with Seward. On third ballot Lincoln
vote jumped to 23O IL, or within 1 II
votes of the nomination. 1t was John
A. Andrew of Massachusetts, a native
of Maine, who then arose and changed
four votes of Massachusetts for Lin
coin, thus giving him the nomination,
and at once other votes went from Sew
ard to him, including the 10 from Maine
which had twice been cast for the New
Yorker. At the evening session of the
convention, held May Is, Hannibal
Hamlin of Maine was nominated for
vice-president on the second ballot, get
| ting 367 of the 466 votes cast, There