Robert L. Wilson one of ‘The Long Nine’

The famous Illinois "Long-Nine," of which Abraham Lincoln was the established leader,  was made up of two Sangamon County senators,  Archer Herndon and Job Fletcher, and seven representatives, Lincoln, Ninian Wirt Edwards, John Dawson, Andrew McCormick, Dan Stone, William F. Elin and Robert L. Wilson.

The explanation given for the moniker was that all nine men stood at least 6 feet tall and averaged 200 pounds. The efforts of these nine men were successful in turning the tide for removal of the capital from Vandalia to Springfield in 1837.
I haven’t really given the "Long-Nine" more than a passing thought, but must admit my interest was piqued when a visitor to the Vandalia Statehouse on Saturday informed me that he was fourth or fifth great-grandson of Robert L. Wilson.   
This was not Jay Jones’ first visit to the old capitol, but his stop this past Saturday held a special purpose. He was gaining background material for an article about Lincoln’s pre-Springfield days to be published at a later date in the Travel section of The Chicago Tribune.
As we visited, Jay told of attending the dedication of a Lincoln statue in Sterling in Whiteside County. The descendents of Robert L. Wilson were honored guests at the dedication, because Lincoln and Wilson had formed a lasting friendship while serving in the House of Representatives in Vandalia.
Wilson served one term in the House, 1837-1839, but it was this time that caused his name to first be written into Illinois’ history, because he was a member of the "Long-Nine." Also, while a member of the House, he and Lincoln formed a friendship that continued until Lincoln’s death.
Our discussion of Robert Wilson made me want to know more, so I undertook to research the man who would remain Lincoln’s life-long friend.
Robert Long Wilson was born on Sept. 11, 1805, in Washington County, Pa., and died on March 7, 1880, in Whiteside County, with burial in Riverside Cemetery, Sterling.  He was only 5 years old when his father, Col. Wilson, relocated the family to near Zanesville, Ohio. Col. Wilson died there in 1822.
Robert became a teacher at age 19, and then began to read law. While living at Sharpsburg, in Bath County, Ky., Robert and Eliza Jennet Kincaid were married on March 23, 1833. That fall, he was licensed to practice under the laws of Kentucky.
The same year found Robert and Eliza living near Springfield, where he taught his last schools. In August 1836, Robert was elected to the Illinois House from Sangamon County, and while canvassing the inhabitants of Sand Ridge in northern Sangamon County with Lincoln, the two men clicked.
Robert was described as “one of the most genial men. He was never too busy for a chat with friend or stranger. Although most of his life was spent in politics and business, he retained the freshness of youth.”
Robert and Eliza were parents of four children: Silas Robert, Ann, Emma and Robert Hudson Wilson. After his term in the House, Robert moved the family to Sterling,  where he was appointed clerk of the circuit court there, a position he held for 20 years.  He also served as recorder of deeds and probate judge.
One of the stories handed down in the family is that on at least one occasion, Lincoln borrowed Eliza’s favorite horse for a campaign trip.
Robert was in Washington when Fort Sumter was fired upon and enlisted as a private in a battalion known as the "Clay Guards," commanded by Cassius M. Clay.  Weapons were provided by the arsenal of the war department and the men bivouacked at the White House. Upon the arrival of the Seventh New York, the "Clay Guards" disbanded.
Wilson immediately returned to Sterling and assisted in raising Company A, 34th Illinois Regiment. He was elected captain, but declined.
July 4 found him on his way back to Washington, where he called on President Lincoln to offer his services. Informed by Lincoln that had he had made a list of his old friends whom he desired to appoint to office, he said, “Now colonel, what do you want?” Wilson replied, “Quartermaster will do,” to which Lincoln said, “I will appoint you paymaster.”
Robert was placed on duty in Washington, D.C., later transferring to the West with headquarters in St. Louis. During his term of service, Col. Wilson served under generals Buell and Halleck, disbursed $7,000,000 and paid more than 100,000 men. He mustered out of service Nov. 5, 1865.
Following the assassination of his friend, Wilson was asked by William Herndon, Lincoln’s former law partner, to record for posterity some of his memories of Lincoln.  Wilson wrote, “I have often during my connection with Mr. Lincoln in the social circle alone, or as a member of the legislature, sat for hours and listened to his delineation of character; he appeared to possess but little malice or ill feeling against others.”
Visiting the White House, Wilson told the president that his job was like that of a justice of the peace, to which Lincoln replied, “Yes, but it is hardly as respectable,” going on to say that when he first commenced doing the duties, he was entirely ignorant,  not only of the duties but of the manner of doing the business, so he was like the justice of the peace who would often speak of the first case he had ever tried, and called it his "great first case least understood."
Robert Long Wilson died on March 7, 1880, in Whiteside County, with his wife surviving until May 1907. Both are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Sterling.

Linda Hanabarger, an interpreter at the Vandalia Statehouse, explains some of the history of the building to Jay Jones, a writer from Las Vegas, Nev., who is writing an article on Abraham Lincoln’s pre-Springfield days for the Chicago Tribune. Jones, a distant relative of one of the ‘Long Nine,’ received a personal tour of the facility from Hanabarger.