Annotation
[1] ALS, IHi; ALS copy, DLC-RTL. In addition to the authentic originals, there is a spurious copy in the Chicago Historical Society, and at least one other spurious copy bearing the date April 30, 1859, has been sold at auction. Curiously enough, the copy which Pickett enclosed to William H. Herndon, on November 29, 1866, is also spurious and grossly inaccurate, even to being dated March 5, 1859 (DLC-HW). The inference may be that Pickett lost or parted with the original and attempted to copy the letter from memory. Thomas J. Pickett had edited newspapers at Pekin, Illinois, and in 1859 was editor of the Rock Island Register. His letter to Lincoln suggested that he would like to promote the simultaneous announcement of Lincoln for the presidency in the Republican papers of the state (DLC-RTL).