Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

Folio. 131 unnumbered leaves. Sheets ruled in pencil, with over 900 entries in numerous hands, including approximately 29 entries and/or notations in Lincoln's hand, as well as others by Judge David Davis, Clerk Robert Lewis, and others; accomplished in ink and in pencil, listing the cases, charges, verdicts, continuances, sentencing, fines, etc. Original quarter brown morocco over marbled paper-covered boards, front board largely detached, rear board starting, boards scuffed and very worn, loss to spine ends; some leaves disbound but present; some soiling throughout.

A VERY RARE AND UNIQUE MANUSCRIPT RELATED TO LINCOLN AS A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE AND ATTORNEY.

Lincoln appears in this volume in approximately 75 instances, either by dockets in his own hand, when identified as an attorney, or through his association either as an attorney or judge in various cases. The vast majority of these appearances (and all of his autograph dockets) are from 1855, and largely relate to his acting as the circuit court's presiding judge—a common arrangement at the time agreed upon in the absence of the official circuit court judge.

The volume is divided into six terms, beginning with the October 1855 term (62 pp.), and then proceeding through the October 1857 term (68 pp.), March 1858 term (68 pp.), Fall 1858 term (14 pp.), March 1859 term (24 pp.), and ending with the Spring term of 1860 (22 pp.). Each term begins with listings of criminal cases, with offenses including whiskey-selling, gaming, “obstructing street”, malicious mischief, and "Keeping Open Tippling House on Sabbath", as well as one case for murder and one for rape. These are followed by listings of common law cases and, lastly, chancery cases, the majority related to contract and land disputes. Lincoln the lawyer is listed in about twenty cases: by surname, as an attorney, either alone or in partnership, and usually for the defense (several entries show him appearing with Clifton H. Moore on behalf of the Illinois Central Railroad). In over 25 instances, Lincoln has written a disposition entry, ranging from a simple “Contd” to two-line, or more, ink dockets ("Not served—Alias copies to issue—", "Contd on afft of Dept", "Proof taken & Divorce decreed", etc.). These are the cases in which Lincoln was acting as a judge, in the temporary absence of constituted authority, a practice that was standard in Illinois until 1877, when the Illinois Supreme Court put an end to it.

Two of the most notable entries related to Lincoln occur during the October term of 1855: Dungey vs Spencer (Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln 40928), where Lincoln represented William Dungey, a dark-skinned man of Portuguese descent, whose brother-in-law accused him of being Black. If charged under Illinois's 1853 "Black Laws", Dungey would have lost his legal rights, including his marriage, his right to vote, and his Illinois residency. Dungey sued for slander, and during the case Lincoln is reported to have said, "my client is not a Negro, tho it is no crime to be a Negro, no crime to be born with a black skin.” During this case, Lincoln is noted for his persuasive courtroom oratory, and he and his defendant won, with a judgment in their favor of $600. The docket here is partially in the hand of Clerk Robert Lewis, and is endorsed by Lincoln, as well as Judge David Davis.

The other case is People vs Wyant (LPAL 53360)—one of the first cases in America where the defendant was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. Isaac Wyant was shot by his neighbor, Ason Rusk, during a property dispute. Although Wyant survived, he lost his arm in an agonizing surgery. Later, fearing Rusk would attempt to shoot him again, Wyant shot Rusk four times, killing him. Wyant was charged with murder, and during the trial Lincoln assisted the state's attorney in the prosecution, while his friend Leonard Swett defended Wyant. Wyant was found not guilty after he claimed that the chloroform given during the amputation of his arm made him insane. Following the trial, Bloomington Judge Owen T. Reeves recalled Lincoln’s courtroom manner, “He impressed court and jurymen with his absolute sincerity. Mr. Lincoln assisted the state’s attorney in prosecuting a fellow [Isaac Wyant] who had killed somebody. Leonard Swett defended the man, and acquitted him on the ground of insanity. It was reported afterward that Mr. Lincoln said that was the last time he would ever assist in the prosecution of a man charged with murder." (Stevens, A Reporter's Lincoln, p. 39)

Other cases show the breadth of Lincoln's legal work, including: People vs Louis Reuben and People vs Thomas Poles (LPAL 40151), for keeping tippling houses on Sunday, where Lincoln presided as judge in each case; three divorce suits: Higgins vs Higgins (LPAL 40383) and Cundiff v. Cundiff (LPAL 40923), where Lincoln presided as judge, and Stout vs Stout, where Lincoln served as plaintiff attorney (LPAL L0558); People vs Roberts (LPAL 40939), rape, Lincoln as defendant's attorney; Wilson Allen vs Illinois Central Railroad (LPAL 40230), Lincoln defending the railroad for damages (he lost). The majority of the other cases relate to land and contract disputes, and the recovery of debt.

In 1849, following his single term in the House of Representatives, Lincoln returned to Springfield to resume his legal practice. Over the next decade, before his ascendancy to the presidency, twice a year in the Spring and Fall, Lincoln made a weeks-long journey on his horse and buggy to the counties that made up Illinois's Eighth Judicial Circuit (comprising Sangamon, Logan, McLean, Woodford, Tazewell, DeWitt, Champaign, and Vermilion), where he mediated and litigated cases ranging from land and contract disputes, to more sensational affairs like murder. He was one of several attorneys who rode circuit alongside Judge David Davis, who became Lincoln's friend and ally, and who later engineered Lincoln's presidential nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention, and then served as an Associate Supreme Court Justice following Lincoln's nomination.

In these earlier days riding circuit, Lincoln established his reputation as a respected and highly sought after attorney, noted for his hard work, honesty (thus the moniker "Honest Abe"), fairness, and acute sense of justice. It was these traits, and his ability to successfully mediate local disputes, that caught Judge Davis' attention. When Davis was ill or unavailable due to business, he often tapped Lincoln to sit for him as judge pro tem. "The practice of asking a prominent attorney to substitute for the judge was a fairly common one on the frontier...but only when the substitute was an attorney like Lincoln, who had the respect of the other members of the bar, were his rulings accepted without protest" (Donald, Lincoln, p. 147). During this period, Lincoln served as judge on Davis's behalf over 150 times, making decisions of a routine nature, but also, as seen here, presiding over proceedings related to slander, divorce, and other affairs.

This period covers a critical period of Lincoln’s political career, and follows his immediate loss for a United States Senate seat in early 1855, his first bid for that office. Almost immediately following that loss, while he mulled over his political future, Lincoln returned to riding the court circuit. It was during this time that the Illinois Republicans emerged as a fully established party, and when Lincoln rose as its leader. LPAL DEWCC DK22; Pratt, "Judge" Abraham Lincoln (in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 48, No. 1, Spring, 1955, pp. 28-39).

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California