Lincoln writes to Joseph Gillespie about prospect of collecting nine-year-old judgment against "Bradford & Brother, or Bradford & Son or some firm name having Bradford in it." He hopes to meet Gillespie at Alton in three days, en route to stump speech at Paris via Alton. Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Gillespie, 2 August 1856, CW, 2:357.

Lincoln talks politics with Richard Yates, saying he is confident Fremont will carry Illinois. Yates to Trumbull, 3 August 1856, Lyman Trumbull Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Meeting to organize Fremont and Dayton Club is held at courthouse. "Mr. Lincoln being called upon, explained the object of the meeting, and made a graphic and forcible statement of the true issue in the impending struggle. His remarks were very happy, frequently interrupted by applause and sounds of laughter." Illinois State Journal, 4 August 1856.