Dr. Hiram Rutherford
(1815-1900) Hiram was the only northern in this drama, from an
abolitionist family no less. His father had taken in runaway slaves on
the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Rutherford did his part for
the cause by helping organize and fund the Bryant's defense against
Matson. He told how he tried to hire Abraham Lincoln to represent him
in the Matson affair, but Lincoln had already been approached by the
other side. Rutherford was gravely disappointed that Lincoln, who he
believed opposed slavery, did not stand with the slaves on this issue.
The doctor had arrived in Oakland in 1840 after graduating from
Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and spending a couple of years
in practice near Harrisburg. He felt that his education set him apart
from the other doctors, and in fact, it helped insulate him from the
negative impact Ashmore felt in his business for helping the Bryants.
Hiram prospered on the prairie in his practice, purchasing land, and
helping build the Oakland community. He married his first wife, Lucinda
in Pennsylvania then brought her to Illinois. They had one son before
Lucinda died in 1845. Rutherford met his second wife during the Matson
Slave Trial, Harriet Hutcherson of Springfield, the cousin of the Coles
County sheriff. They married in 1848 and would have nine children and
raised two African-American children in his home. It is through his
writings that we know much about the trial and life on the prairie in
the 1800s.