"Lincoln Pallbearer" Jacob Bunn Hand Written Note Dated 1877

ES-6804

Jacob Bunn (March 18, 1814 – October 16, 1897), an older brother of John

Whitfield Bunn, was also an important Illinois industrialist, financier, and

close friend of Abraham Lincoln.Abraham Lincoln acted as the attorney for Jacob Bunn, who was

the older brother of John W. Bunn.  In his very own words, in the relation of an interview

concerning his personal memoirs and acquaintanceship with Abraham Lincoln, John

Bunn stated that he and Lincoln had been extremely close friends and political

allies.  Abraham Lincoln served on the committee for the

formation of the Alton & Springfield Railroad Company along with

Jacob Bunn, leading Springfield merchant and banker John Williams, John

Todd Stuart, John Calhoun, B. C. Webster, J. N. Brown, Pascal

P. Enos, William Pickrell, and S. B. Opdycke.Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn, along with many of

their colleagues and friends, such as Stephen Trigg Logan, John Williams,

and Ozias M. Hatch, became close friends of Abraham Lincoln, and assisted

Lincoln in various ways in his 1860 presidential campaign.  As a part of

his 1860 presidential campaign strategy Lincoln acquired, in May, 1859, the

Illinois Staats-Anzeiger, a German-language newspaper of Springfield,

Illinois, to further the cause of Republican Party politics among the

German-speaking community of the region. Lincoln acquired the Illinois

Staats-Anzeiger through his banker Jacob Bunn, who was a close personal friend and client of

Lincoln.  Jacob Bunn and his brother John Whitfield Bunn were

close personal friends of Lincoln and his family, and were industrialists

and financiers who established a national and international network of

industrial corporations ranging from Chicago railroads and banks to

manufacturing corporations of global scale in production and economic impact.  John Whitfield Bunn served as the treasurer of, and as one of

the initial financial contributors to, the $5,000 1860 presidential campaign

fund for Lincoln whose establishment and formation had been originally suggested

to John W. Bunn by Judge Stephen Trigg Logan, a former law partner of

Lincoln.  Jacob Bunn, John Williams, Ozias M. Hatch, Thomas

Condell, and Robert Irwin were also among the initial financial contributors to

the campaign fund.John Whitfield Bunn spent the remainder of his life in

Illinois, and maintained a varied and successful commercial, industrial, and

philanthropic career that lasted from 1847 until 1920. A multimillionaire, John

W. Bunn exhibited financial commitment and philanthropic loyalty to public

causes in Illinois.During the period lasting from 1847 until 1920, John W. Bunn

accomplished numerous commercial and industrial objectives, and contributed to

the development of numerous distinct industrial and civic sectors of Illinois

during the nineteenth century and the twentieth century. Many of the businesses

and civic institutions with which the Bunn brothers and their extended family

were connected are discussed below.