"Honest Abe" Advises a Client to Drop a Lawsuit

Springfield, Illinois, March 3, 1859. One-page autograph letter, signed by Abraham Lincoln ("A. Lincoln") as attorney to his client Haden Keeling. Laid on linen; unevenly toned; dampstaining, particularly along edges; creasing at folds; small hole bottom left. 9 5/8 x 7 3/4 in. (241 x 197 mm). Basler 3, p. 371; Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln 72866; Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, Vol. I, p. 15

Lincoln writes to his client, Haden Keeling, Esq: "Dear Sir Yours of Feb. 28. 1859, is received- I do not think there is the least use of doing any more with the law-suit- I not only do not think you are sure to gain it, but I do think you are sure to lose it-Therefore the sooner it ends the better-Yours truly A. Lincoln"  

By 1859, Lincoln had emerged from his debates with Stephen A. Douglas with a national political presence and as an emerging leader of the nascent Republican Party. Still, financial and professional obligations necessitated that he continue to practice law. Just two days after delivering a political speech in Chicago, Lincoln was back in Springfield, corresponding with his client Haden (sometimes "Hayden" or "Harden" in period records) Keeling. Keeling was a plaintiff in the Fulton County Circuit Court case Keeling v. Scott & Stipp, in which Scott hired Keeling to build a cellar, but failed to pay Keeling on the promissory note for the completed work. The initial case was decided in favor of Keeling in 1859, but in 1861 it was reversed upon appeal in Scott & Stipp V. Keeling.

As Michael Burlingame notes in his Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Vol. 1, Chapter 9, pp. 911-912), after considering the facts relative to a client's case, Lincoln was unflinchingly candid in advising his clients whether to stay the course or drop a case. Lincoln's advice to Keeling, as evidenced in this letter, certainly displays that candor.

Basler indicates that a copy of this letter was enclosed to William H. Herndon by H.L. Wright of Canton, Illinois, 28 November 1866, and that Keeling, formerly of Springfield, was then living in Canton.

Provenance:

Previously sold, Sotheby's 13 June 1991, lot 222.

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California.

Exhibition:

The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America, at the Huntington Library, October 1993-August 1994.