William Henry Herndon

Born in Greensburg, Kentucky, in 1818, William Henry Herndon grew up largely in Illinois and went on to study law in Springfield. In 1844 he joined Abraham Lincoln in practice, and the firm of Lincoln and Herndon remained associated until Lincoln’s death.

Herndon was more than a business partner: he was a political ally, a friend, and an observant witness to Lincoln’s everyday life and developing public career. After Lincoln’s assassination, he devoted years to collecting interviews, letters, and recollections from people who had known him.

That work eventually fed into the biography commonly known as Herndon’s Lincoln, published with Jesse W. Weik. Although some of Herndon’s judgments were debated, historians still value him as an important early source on Lincoln’s background, character, and years in Springfield.