Lincoln's Ladder

Guy's Appearances

Guy's Bio

Fraker was born April 27, 1938, in St. Joseph, Missouri and grew up in White Plains, New York He graduated from the University of linois (BA, 1960) (LLB, 1962). He practiced law in Bloomington, llinois from 1962 until his retirement in 2014. This took him to most of the counties of the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

He has written two books about the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The first was Lincoln's Ladder to the Presidendy, the Eighth Judicial Circuit, which was published in 2012, with a paperback edition reissued in October 2023. The second book, Looking for Lincoln in Illinois - a Guide to Lincoln's Eighth Judicial Circuit, was published in 2017. Southern Illinois University Press is the publisher of both books. Fraker has written and spoken extensively about Lincoln on the Circuit, not only in the State of Illinois, but at various other venues around the country. He has led over 50 tours of the Circuit.

He was consultant on and participant in Abraham Lincoln: Prelude to the Presidency, an award-winning nationally distributed documentary produced by WILL-TV (PBS) He was Co-curator of Prologue to the Presidency, a permanent exhibit at the David Davis Mansion, a state historical site in Bloomington, IL.

For several ears he served as an Instructor at OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Illinois. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Chairman of Looking for Lincoln, the action arm of the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.

Currently, he continues to contribute to a variety of periodicals,and to speak, on a wide range of Lincoln topics. Guy is acting as Chairman of the New Salem Committee of the Abraham Lincoln Association, which is working with other partners to rejuvenate and revitalize the iconic Lincoln site.

Fraker resides in Bloomington with his wife, Ruth Ann. They have two sons, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.


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