Wilson, Douglas L., ed; Davis, Rodney O., ed. 'Register of Informants' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln' . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: University of Illinois Press
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=herndon737.html

After arriving in Chicago in 1836, "Long John" Wentworth became editor and then proprietor of the Chicago Democrat. A Democratic congressman in 1843-51 and 1853-55, he bolted from the party after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise

and joined the Republicans. Elected mayor of Chicago in 1857 and again in 1860, he aggressively supported AL's administration during the Civil War, even though relations between the two men were never cordial. (HEI; DAB)