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

1. LINCOLN, et al. Manuscript plat map. Springfield, Illinois, 4 August 1855. One sheet, 16 3/4 x 19 in. (426 x 482 mm). Docketed on verso. Creasing from old folds; light edge wear. Drawn and signed by Z.A. Enos, Sangamon County Surveyor ("Plat of Bullocks Addition to the City of Springfield"), with a three-line autograph description of the plot by Lincoln in upper center ("The small Lot, shaded in pale blue, apparantly (sic) within the Street immediately East of the City Grave Yard, is excepted, and is not a part of said Street, or private ground of any kind."), and with a nine-line inscription, also by him, at bottom ("State of Illinois Sangamon County Before me the undersigned, an acting Justice of the Peace within, and for the county aforesaid, came Mrs Maria L. Bullock personally known to me to be the real person who procured to be made the above Plat of Bullock's Addition to the City of Springfield, and the Survey...show, and acknowledged said Plat for the purpose of having it recorded according to laws all which I herby certify. Given under my hand and seal this fourth day of August A.D. 1855."), and endorsed by Justice of the Peace Josiah Francis; certified by Sangamon County Deputy Recorder Benjamin Tallbot, who signed James H. Matheny's name. Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln (LPAL) 95307; Hickey, Lincoln the Real Estate Agent (in “The Collected Writings of James T. Hickey”, pp. 19-27; this map illustrated on p. 23).

2. LINCOLN. Autograph promissory note. Springfield, 20 August 20 1855. One oblong sheet, 3 1/4 x 8 in. (83 x 203 mm), on blue bond paper; creasing from old folds. Document fully in Lincoln's hand, and signed by W.S. Viney: "Two years after date I promise to pay Mrs. Maria L. Bullock eighty one dollars, with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from date until paid for value received". Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, p.121; LPAL 95308.

3. LINCOLN, et al. Partially printed mortgage deed, signed. Springfield, 20 August 1855. One sheet, 16 x 13 in. (406 x 330 mm), on blue bond paper; creasing from old folds; light toning along same with scattered small separations; soiling at top and bottom edge. Accomplished in manuscript by Lincoln, and with an autograph endorsement by him in top left edge, signed at the bottom by W.S. Viney, lower portion filled in and signed by Justice of the Peace William F. Elkin, certified on verso by Sangamon County Deputy Recorder Benjamin Tallbot, who signed James H. Matheny's name; docketed on verso. Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, pp. 122-124; LPAL 95309.

4. MATHENY, Noah W. Partially printed document signed. Springfield, 8 February 1859. One sheet, 6 3/4 x 8 in. (171 x 203 mm), official blind-stamp seal in bottom left corner; creasing from old folds; wear and loss along left edge, but not affecting text. Receipt certifying that Matheny "have this day received of Maria L. Bullock by A. Lincoln the sum of Five 18/100 Dollars, being, the amount of redemption money on the following described tract of land by the Sheriff of said County..." LPAL 95314.

5. Partially printed document. Springfield, 1858. One sheet, 3 5/8 x 8 1/2 in (101 x 216 mm); creasing from old folds; wear and soiling along left and right edges, with wear and some small loss to manuscript bottom right. Accomplished in manuscript in a clerical hand, "Received of Mrs. Maria L. Bullock by Abm. Lincoln Two 52/100 Dollars, in full for City and Special Tax..." LPAL 95315.

6. PERKINS, J.B. Partially printed document, signed. Springfield, 8 February 1859. One sheet, 6 3/8 x 7 1/2 in. (165 x 190 mm); creased from old fold; soiling along left edge. Collector's Office receipt, signed by J.B. Perkins, Sheriff and Collector of Sangamon County, "Received of A Lincoln one and 47/100 Dollars, in full for State and County Tax..." LPAL 95312.

7. LINCOLN. Autograph document, signed. Springfield, 8 February 1859. One sheet, 25 x 8 in. (635 x 203 mm); creasing from old folds; small losses and short tears along same, just touching three words. Lengthy autograph bill of complaint, bond for costs, and affidavit (approximately 95 lines), SIGNED FOUR TIMES BY LINCOLN (including once in the third person); affidavit certified by Clerk Presco Wright. Docketed. Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, pp. 132-133; LPAL 95313.

8. LINCOLN. Autograph Document. Springfield, 19 May 1859. One sheet, 12 5/8 x 8 in. (317 x 203 mm); on lined paper; creasing from old folds; soiling in top left edge. Fully in Lincoln's hand (and with his name written in the third person), being an accounting of Bullock's redemption of the Springfield lots. LPAL 95317.

9. LINCOLN. Autograph Document. Springfield, 19 May 1859). One sheet, 25 x 8 in. (635 x 203 mm), on lined blue bond paper; docketed; creasing from old folds. Fully in Lincoln's hand (approximately 43 lines), being a brief summarizing the land transaction and requesting foreclosure and sale of Viney’s property. Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, pp. 134-135; LPAL 95316.

THE BULLOCK LAND TRANSACTION: LINCOLN REPRESENTS HIS WIFE'S AUNT.

A very rare archive of real estate and legal documents related to a single six-year-long real estate case administered and litigated by Lincoln on behalf of a relative, and dating to the critical period of his rise to national prominence. 

Maria L. Bullock (1788-1861) was the aunt of Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd. In 1831 and 1832, Bullock received from her brother, John Todd, a variety of property, including livestock and household goods, as well as a tract of land near downtown Springfield, Illinois, and 35 acres of land in Sangamon County. Following the death of her husband, Bullock gained legal control of these possessions, and in the spring of 1855, granted Lincoln power of attorney to sell her real property in Springfield. That summer, Lincoln hired Zimri A. Enos to survey her Springfield land into 28 lots, which was then called Bullock's Addition (see item 1).

"By preparing Bullock's land for sale and taking care of the legal arrangements for the real estate transaction that resulted, Lincoln was serving as an agent for his wife's aunt. During his law practice, Lincoln and his law partners served as agents for clients in at least nineteen instances. In this capacity, they bought and sold land five times, held trust deeds six times, collected and paid debts four times, attested to the satisfaction of debts three times, and paid taxes once. Because of the nature of these out-of-court transactions, surviving documentation for such activities is incomplete." (Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, p. 120).

Following the survey, Lincoln then sold the 28 lots at auction, and William S. Viney, a former Springfield resident who then lived in Iowa, purchased three of them. Viney paid with two promissory notes (see item 2), and Lincoln then drafted a mortgage deed detailing the terms of the transaction (see item 3). As per Lincoln's endorsement on that deed, by November 5, 1856, Viney satisfied the first of the two promissory notes. Lincoln then continued to sell Bullock's Springfield property, all the while juggling his other legal responsibilities as well as his increasingly time-consuming political pursuits. By the end of 1856, Viney had become delinquent on property taxes for his lots, and another gentleman purchased them at a tax sale. Per Illinois law, the original owners of the land had two years to redeem their property by satisfying the late taxes plus a premium. In that time, Bullock could redeem the land if Viney failed to complete the transaction.

Throughout 1858, Lincoln was consumed with his bid for a United States Senate seat, as well as preparing for and partaking in his historic debates against his rival, Stephen A. Douglas. Following his electoral loss, Lincoln resumed his law practice, and by February 1859 began the process of redeeming Bullock's land and paying the requisite taxes and fees (see items 4, 5, and 6). With the lots now unencumbered, Lincoln filed a foreclosure-of-mortgage suit in the Sangamon County Court against Viney (see item 7) for the money he owed Bullock from the original 1855 purchase. Lincoln was well positioned to handle the matter, as throughout his legal career, he executed nearly 270 similar suits. In February 1859, public notices were published requesting Viney to appear in court that Spring. The case came to trial on May 19, 1859, and Lincoln prepared an accounting of Bullock's redemption of the lots (see item 8). Viney failed to appear, and the land was foreclosed (see item 9). By July, Viney failed to pay the $108 judgment stated above, and the lots reverted to Bullock's ownership. By April 1860, Lincoln had completed selling Bullock's Springfield land--except for the lots represented in this archive--which remained in Bullock's possession until her death, in 1861. In this same period, Lincoln would ascend to national prominence, receiving the Republican Party nomination for president in May 1860, and by the Fall of that year, winning the presidency.

This archive is perhaps one of the largest, and possibly the only, privately held collections of documents of its kind relating to a single case for which Lincoln acted as an agent. As such, it reflects his familial and legal commitments at a critical moment in his political ascendancy, on the cusp of his presidency.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California