This form was not used prior to 1865, and never after February 3,
1866. So it seems most probable that the spurious license was procured
soon after Mr. Lincoln's assassination. The handwriting is that of
N.W. Matheny, then, as in 1842, the county clerk, a gentleman of high
character, who no doubt furnished the copy for a perfectly proper
purpose. It will be observed that the genuine license bears no seal.
This is due to the fact that prior to 1849 the county court did not
have a seal; indeed, before that year, such a tribunal as the
"county court" was unknown to the judiciary system of the State. The
certificate attached to the counterfeit license, of course, was not
written by the Rev. Charles Dresser (for he was then dead), but,
like the license itself, was made out by the county clerk.--_J. McCan
Davis._]
Another prominent member in the same circle with Mr. Lincoln and Miss
Todd is Mrs. B.T. Edwards, the widow of Judge Benjamin T. Edwards,
and sister-in-law of Mr. Ninian Edwards, who had married Miss Todd's
sister. She came to Springfield in 1839, and was intimately acquainted
with Mr. Lincoln and Miss Todd, and knew, as well as another could
know, their affairs. Mrs. Edwards is still living in Springfield, a
woman of the most perfect refinement and trustworthiness.
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