Guy Fraker, born in St. Joesph, Missouri, and raised in the New York suburbs, practiced law in Bloomington for nearly a half century. He studied and wrote extensively on Abraham Lincoln, including authoring two books, Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit (2012), and Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: A Guide to Lincoln’s Eighth Judicial Circuit (2017). He also worked on the PBS documentary “Abraham Lincoln: Prelude to the Presidency,” and served as chairman of the New Salem Committee of the Abraham Lincoln Association, among other accomplishments.
This collection contains articles written by Guy Fraker on Lincoln’s connections to Central Illinois, as well as deeds, pleadings, receipts, and financial documents related to Lincoln’s life and career. Also included are letters from Lincoln’s contemporaries, letters from Union soldiers, memorabilia related to Lincoln, Judge David Davis’s copy of the 1851 Illinois Statute book, and receipts authenticating the materials herein.