Interpreters for 7 Characters in Place

Visitors to Trial & Tribulations will start the program by meeting seven of the key characters in the Matson Slave Trial story at two historic sites in Oakland. The characters will be portraying Dr. Hiram Rutherford, Gideon "Matt" Ashmore, Mary Corbin, Jane and Anthony Bryant, Lucy Dupee, and Abraham Lincoln from a fictitious time in the 1870s as they look back to the events of 1847. Participants can converse and ask questions with the characters as they move through the grounds of Dr. Rutherford's home, now a historic site, and Independence Pioneer Village. By having these interpreters hail from the future (even though some had died in real life by that period), they can talk about the aftermath of the trial and look back at the events with some historical perspective.

We are happy to announce that Roger Ashmore has agreed to portray his own ancestor, Matt Ashmore. Kim McGee will create the character of Dr. Rutherford. Freetown Village, a living history program from Indianapolis will bring to life the Bryants and Lucy Dupee. Lincoln and Corbin are yet to be finalized, but we'll let you know soon who will portray them.

Lincoln's Motivation to Participate

Historians and the public are curious about Lincoln’s participation on behalf of the enslaver and the contrast between that and his later role as the Great Emancipator. While we will never know his motivations for sure, the interpretations of his actions often reflect the prevailing attitudes toward our country’s heroes and raise questions about historical myth versus truth. In brief, there are four reasons ascribed to his actions:

1) He supported slavery and, therefore, was committed to seeing Matson secure his property. Or with a slight variation may have believed that every man deserves representation in court, no matter what his crime or position;

2) Lincoln may have participated in the trial because it was just another job, not venturing a moral opinion;

3) Lincoln or other participants may have been interested in manipulating the outcome of the trial. One branch on this tangent maintains that Lincoln argued the case poorly with the purposeful intent of losing as a way of supporting freedom for the slaves. The other, newer theory is that the trial was arranged to become a precedent for future slavery related trials; and

4) Lincoln’s own personal and political ambitions may have been his motivation. Perhaps he took the case as a personal favor to his close associate, Linder, or he may have considered it politically expedient to be involved.

No matter his motivation Lincoln’s acceptance and prosecution of this case complicates him as a person and politician more than prior historians have credited him. The tale risks falling into obscurity – buried or trivialized by well-meaning mythologies about the Great Emancipator.

The irregularities and the illustrious cast of characters have led current scholars to believe that the proceedings were arranged by the justices to be beyond reproach and was an attempt to set precedence for future slavery cases. We know of no time when the ruling was referred to in other trials, but then precedent was not used then as it is today. Lincoln would have been a preferred participant in this arrangement as he was one of the leading trial lawyers in Illinois at the time. He may have been approached by Wilson to be an attorney in the trial, and it would of Wilson he might have approached to be released from the Matson side of the event. It may not have mattered to Wilson which side Lincoln was on, just that the best attorneys available were involved, hence his ability to change sides. Lincoln could have agreed to be involved in the trial because it would be politically helpful to have his name linked to a trial with strong public appeal and because it would bring in income.

Click Here to take survey on Lincoln's Motivation

The Story of the Matson Slave Trial

The Matson Slave Trial is one of the top five trials in Coles County, one of the ten most important cases in which Abraham Lincoln participated, and was a turning point for the local free black community at Brushy Fork. The conflict began when Robert Matson brought some of his Kentucky slaves to work on his Illinois farm in northern Coles County in 1845. Among those enslaved people were Jane Bryant and her four children. Jane’s husband, Anthony Bryant, was a freedman who worked and lived at the farm, too. Matson’s mistress and housekeeper, Mary Corbin, threatened that the children would be sold south in August 1847. The Bryants chose to heroically fight back, and sought help from Gideon Ashmore in Independence, known today as Oakland. Ashmore enlisted Dr. Hiram Rutherford to provide guidance and financial assistance. They braved publicly declaring their abolitionist leanings, with little regard to the social and legal consequences.

Jane and her four children, ages 3-14, spent fifty-eight days in jail awaiting a circuit court trial to determine if they were fugitives per Illinois’ Black Laws. When the circuit court convened on October 16, 1847 for a hearing on habeas corpus two state Supreme Court justices who were the circuit judges at the time, Abraham Lincoln, a former Illinois Attorney General, a member of Congress, and an Illinois state Senator gathered to participate. The justices decided that the Bryants were free because the Illinois Constitution did not allow slaves to be held on state soil unless in transit. Current scholars believe that the trial may have been arranged to be precedent-setting as it was highly unusual for two circuit court judges to sit a trial and for them to then publish an opinion. Following the trial, the Bryants returned to Oakland for a few months, then sailed for Liberia in January 1848. Their eventual fate is currently unknown, though plans have been laid to do the research in Liberia to determine what happened to them.

The trial and the commotion surrounding it not only affected the Bryants, but also other African-Americans living in the region who were intertwined by circumstance or blood. A small community of African Americans, called Brushy Fork for the river that ran through it, was located about ten miles southwest of the Matson farm. The Lewis James family and Lucy Dupee family, felt the tension and had to make the decision whether to get involved with the Matson enslaved people. They all had ties to Kentucky and Anthony would have been the closest minister to the Brushy Fork group. After the trial, Jane’s brother, Simeon Wilmot, who had been enslaved by Matson, moved into the community first staying with the Edward Minnis family. A man named Isom Bryant and his wife, Lucy Minnis (Edward’s sister) also joined the Brushy Fork community. It is currently unknown as to what his relationship might be with Anthony Bryant but he was from the same county as Matson.

This is the short version of the story, contact the project if you would like a longer description.

Trial & Tribulations Project:The Story of the 1847 Matson Slave Trial

Trial & Tribulations is a historical program scheduled for Sept 18 and 19, 2009 in Oakland, Illinois that will tell the story of the 1847 Matson Slave Trial in which Abraham Lincoln represented the master enslaver and that resulted in the freeing of the Bryant family. The program is presented by Independence Pioneer Village, Oakland Historical Foundation, and Oakland Landmarks, Inc.

It is a story of bittersweet daring and historical mystery, involving one of the most divisive issues of our country’s early history, slavery. It reveals hidden parts of our local history, affirms our faith in our legal system, raises questions about our moral bearing and actions, and reflects how we remember or mythologize our heroes.

The Matson Slave Trial is:

• one of the top five trials in Coles County,
• one of the ten most important cases in which Abraham Lincoln participated, and
  
• a turning point for the local free black community at Brushy Fork.
  

Participants will:

• Meet the people involved,
• Watch a performance about the trial,
• Enjoy an 1847 meal, and
• Challenge your preconceived notions of history.

Those wanting more information may contact the project at 217-508-9113 or through e-mail at trial.tribulations1847@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more information.