Robert Roberts Hitt, Stenographer (Sparks, 1908)

MR. ROBERT R. HITT

His work as a stenographer first brought him into the notice of Abraham Lincoln, then practicing law, and later as a newspaper reporter in reporting the campaign speeches of Lincoln and other prominent orators of the day, including Douglas, Logan, Lovejoy, and indeed of all the great speakers of the Middle West of that time. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates he was the verbatim reporter, receiving the highest praise from Mr. Lincoln for the accuracy of his work. During the sessions of 1858, 1859, and 1860, Mr. Hitt was the official stenographer of the Illinois legislature, having the contract for both the senate and the house.