Lincoln Legal Briefs

              A Quarterly Newsletter of The Lincoln Legal Papers
A Documentary History of the Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, 1836-1861
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July — September 2006 Number 79
Legal Papers Research Supports Additions to the Lincoln Log
In 2003, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, in
cooperation with the Scholarly Technology Group
at Brown University, made The Lincoln Log: A Daily
Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln available
on the Internet at http://www.thelincolnlog.org. The
Lincoln Log includes digital versions of the daily
entries from Lincoln Day by Day: A Chronology,
published by the Lincoln Sesquicentennial
Commission and the Abraham Lincoln Association
in 1960. Long a standard resource for Lincoln
scholars, Day by Day was due for an update, and its
episodic nature lent itself to online publication.
Plea written by Abraham Lincoln, the content of which
added detail to the May 12, 1842, entry in Lincoln Log.
Image courtesy of the Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
In July of this year, Marilyn Mueller, a former
project graduate assistant, began a part-time project
funded by the Abraham Lincoln Association. Marilyn
is updating sources, correcting mistakes, and adding
new content to The Lincoln Log. While much of her
work will involve looking at new documents
discovered by the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, she
will also add new content and new days based on
work already completed and published in The Law
Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete
Documentary Edition. Below are three of the new
entries she has already added.
Wednesday, May 4, 1842. Marshall, IL.
Lincoln participates in one case on the third day of the
Clark County Circuit Court. In the debt case of January
for the use of Stettinius & January v. Archer, Lincoln
represents Joseph Stettinius and Derrick A. January. The
defendant William B. Archer defaults, and Judge William
Wilson rules in favor of Stettinius & January for the
amount of the debt plus damages, a total of $6,277.33.
Judgment, 4 May 1842, January for the use of Stettinius &
January v. Archer, Circuit Court Record E, 287-88, Clark County
Circuit Court, Clark County, Clark County Courthouse,
Marshall, IL.
Thursday, May 12, 1842. Paris, IL.
Lincoln participates in two cases in the Edgar County
Circuit Court. In the case of Nolan v. Hunter, the jury
finds Lincoln’s client John Hunter not guilty, and Judge
Wilson orders plaintiff Samuel Nolan to pay the court
costs. Lincoln and fellow attorney Justin Harlan file a
plea for their client Elvis P. Shaw in Paine v. Shaw, a
replevin case. Plaintiff Amasa R. Paine files a demurrer
to the plea, and Judge Wilson overrules the demurrer.
Judgment, 12 May 1842, Nolan v. Hunter, Order Book 2, 181;
Plea, filed 12 May 1842, Paine v. Shaw, case file, box 10; Order,
12 May 1842, Paine v. Shaw, Order Book 2, 181, all in Edgar
County Circuit Court, Edgar County Courthouse, Paris, IL.
Wednesday, March 16, 1853. Springfield, IL.
Lincoln signs a receipt and a duplicate of the receipt for
the $25 payment he receives from the Board of Trustees
of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Lincoln testified on
behalf of the board before a House committee of the
Illinois General Assembly, concerning a bill introduced
by Mr. Haven to “prevent diverting water from the Des
Plaines river at Joliet.”
Receipt, 16 March 1853; Duplicate Receipt, 16 March 1853,
both in Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.