Surviving records from Eighth Circuit courthouses such as Metamora show that Lincoln and his colleagues practiced general, unspecialized law. They served as criminal defense counsel, handled
divorce and family-law cases, oversaw the passage of estates through
probate, and were available to handle a wide variety of
civil suits and disputes. Lincoln handled more than 70 cases here, including two
murders and two cases of fugitives from
slavery. Lincoln's law firm,
Lincoln & Herndon, in which he practiced with his partner
William Herndon, consisted of only two lawyers. It was based in
Springfield, Illinois, and Lincoln was the circuit partner, traveling from county seat to county seat throughout the Eighth Circuit when the circuit court was in session. Researchers have found more than 70 Woodfood County circuit court cases handled by Mr. Lincoln from 1845 through 1858. In these travels, Lincoln made friends all over central Illinois. These ties served him well in 1858 when he ran for the
U.S. Senate against incumbent
Stephen A. Douglas. Although Lincoln lost this race, his
oratory led to his gaining national attention and the nomination in 1860 as the candidate for president of the U.S.
Republican Party. Lincoln's speechmaking skills served him well as candidate and as president. These skills were honed as a
trial lawyer in circuit courtrooms like this one. ==After Lincoln==