Petition of R. C. Cowden and Others to U.S. Congress, 20 December 18481
Fellow Citizens of Illinois:—
One of our Representatives, Hon. Robert Smith, has already introduced a bill in Congress for the object embraced in the annexed
petition, and a similar bill has also been introduced by Judge Douglass in the Senate.2 It was lost in the House at the last session by a trifling majority, after having passed the Senate by a vote of 24 to 11, and it is thought a united effort of the friends of the measure,
will secure its passage this session. Petitions are being circulated in Eastern and
Southern States, which have a direct and great interest in the construction of these
roads; and if united among ourselves, we shall surely succeed. The grant is liberal,
being six sections of land for each mile of railroad built, to be selected along the
routes within twenty miles; yet so important are they regarded by all sections of
the Union, that the bill will be passed if it is not weighed down by other roads.
Now is it not the part of wisdom to make sure of this, than run any risk in attempting
to get more? This we can get, and then a precedent is established, which will render
it comparatively easy to procure donations in aid of other roads. Do not let us loose this most valuable gift by disunion among ourselves; or by grasping at too much.
These routes are more important to the State at large than any others, and were purposely left undefined by Senators Breese and Douglass that the whole people might favor the project, and then the Legislature
will make the location.
Let us unite as one man and obtain the grant this present session; and before the
best of the lands are gone, which are being fast taken with soldiers’ warrants.—We
ought to be satisfied with asking in one bill for over two million acres.
Chicago, Dec. 20th, 1848.JOHN S. WRIGHT.To the Hon. the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled:The undersigned citizens of the State of Illinois, would respectfully pray your Honorable body that a grant of lands
be made to our State, to aid in building a railroad from Upper and Lower Mississippi to Chicago, on the same general terms and conditions of the bill for the same object,
which passed the Senate at the last session, by the large vote of twenty-four to eleven.
These routes being par excellence, great national thorough-fares, in the construction
of which, all sections of the country have a direct interest, particularly the Northeast, the West, and Southwest, and being to ourselves the most important within our borders, so that an
undivided and strong support will be obtained in Congress for them, if left unincumbered by other roads; we would respectfully pray that the passage of the bill be not endangered
by amendments, and that the grant be made liberal to the State as in the former bill,
so as to secure the completion of the roads, and that it be passed the present session,
before the best lands have been absorbed by speculators in soldiers’ warrants. And
your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.3
R C. Cowden | |
E. Adams | A. Withers |
A. P. Craig | Wm Bishop |
J W Craig | |
J keeran | George Parke |
George P Savidge | George Weedman |
Elias. H. Wall | John Walker |
John Price | W. [&?] C. Temple |
James Weaver | A. J. Merriman |
James McCain | A. Curtis |
James Duchett | R. N McIntire |
Hiram Buck | Wm McKisson |
Peter Buckles | Phillip Miller |
Sidney C Baker | John [Dinmett?] |
Henry Merrifield | James T Walton |
Wm P. A. Craig | Wm. S. McIntire |
Henry Marson | Nelson Buck |
John W. Baddeley | G. B. Larison |
William I Rutledge | K H. Fell |
E E. E. Greenman | E. W. Swearingen |
William. Weaver | Chancy Horr |
Zachariah. Blue | Jas. F. Whitaker |
Thomas. Adams | Asa Lillie |
G W Price | W. H. Harrison |
Chs E. Dodge | Hiram Lillie |
Alexander steele | W. B. Henline |
John Fuller. Mitchell. | Josiah Aldrich |
J. P. Whitaker | T. J. Karr |
Charles Leeper– | A. W. Scogin |
P Robert Fell | John W Ross |
Aaron Kitchell | E. S. Hunt |
Franklin Thompson | |
Harmon Osborn | Runnion Hougham |
G M. Hinshaw | William Lindley |
W. Curtis | Fredrick Rhodes |
James M Larison | Henry Jacoby |
Saml Aston | Lee Larison |
B. [H?]. Coffey | Thomas Hotchkiss |
S. S. Luce | Lem Hotchkiss |
Joel Depew | A. Gridley |
Z Lawrence | Thomas Twining |
Levi Dun | W. M. C. Dunn |
[?] Thompson | David Watson |
R. C. Baker | J. A. Criswell |
Wm McVevenburgh | Hezekah Edwards |
G W [Ashburn?] | |
Wm, F Flagg | W. H. Allin |
S. B. Brown | E. Thomas |
Lee. Allin | James Allin Jr |
Thomas D Cantrill | A. Guthrie |
Saml [Lands?] Sen | Elias Edwards |
J. H. Robinson | Robert Dalgell |
S. A. Aadams | |
Wm Haughton | [James?] Depew |
D. B. Robinson | H. P. Merriman |
W H Robinson | A. McWilliams |
John. G Foster | Ira Putney |
O. Curtis | Wm Weyand |
H Coleman | [M, Wicking?] |
Geo. W. Stipp | John. D. Lander |
John Owens | |
C. Enos No 15. | William Barnett |
M. A. E. Gridley | Bedford Depew |
James. B. Reeves | Noah Hamack |
James Alleson | J. G. Young |
John Alleson | H. S. Stipp |
M. W. Packard | John Harman |
M B. Rowan | T. L. Howard |
L. E. Hardy | Wm Gillespie |
C. Baker | S S Adolph |
L K Hammer | Thomas Williams |
Edw W. Parsells. | G. W. Baige |
W. Scantling | C. [I?]. Brush |
R. Jamison | William [Liflese?] |
J H Mannen | Henry Ferre |
Zera Patterson | James Miller |
J. E. McClung | |
John Magoun | Stephen. Marson |
J. B Watson | Wm E Bay |
Wm L Duncan | W McClun |
Abrm Brokaw | P. C. Fell |
G. D. [?] | Jonathan Glimpse |
Sanford Miller | J. McMurry |
Marcus Nelson | A. C. Washburn |
Oliver March | Asa doughty |
Ervin Green | Roswell Munsell |
M. C. Bake | R. Parkhurst |
Danl. Michals | F. [Rum?] |
E. [Haitry?] | C. Bonley |
[G?] Elkin | Reece Babb |
Wm Matthews | Pond Curtis |
Joseph Peck | J. E. Parke |
O W. Hardy | L. Z. Russell |
G. W. Funk | Harrison Barnett |
George Henshaw | A. H. Luce |
Jonathan peirce | Thomas Macon |
J M Scott | William T. Macon |
H. F. Miller | J. H. [Henlan?] |
O. N. Hodge | Daniel Wilcox |
Augt Augustus Macon | B. W. Gray |
[Wm?] Anderson | A. Denman |
E Harlan | D. D. Haggard |
J. N. Underwood | W Bobbitt |
Hiram D Ward | A Kress |
A M Wells | |
W S Depew | G. W. Knootts |
W H. Hanna | A. Harley |
W. H. Holmes | A. Myres |
W H Scudder. | John Ross |
Ed Fell | |
Wm T Elkin | [?] Wilson |
J. W. Haggard | A Barnett |
H R Cornell | John Foster |
Wm H. Hodge | W. McClure |
J. B. Clark | |
Isaac Pancake | John Vesey |
Edwin. Parke | John Mayers |
Jesse Stretch | John Dalzell |
W. C Hobbs. | [?] [?] |
E W Bakewell | John. D. Clark |
George Espey | |
C. T. Gildersleeve | Henry Lattimer |
John [Poluson?] | Henry Stumpff |
John Carter | S. T. Richardson |
John W Allin | J. H. S. Rhodes |
Ethan McAferty | |
Charles Hildreth | W. P. Withers |
William G. Smith | |
R. Edwards | L D Hains |
John Dawson | L. E. Rucker |
F. W. Hardy | Abijah Westover |
W. H. Harvey | Saml Woodson |
E. C. Mathews | David Fenner |
F. Hains | James Hodge |
J. S. Fenner | J. N. Fenner |
J. C. Kiger | J. R. Fell |
Lyman Ferre | Goodman Ferre |
H. H. Painter | George, W. Michael |
Green B Campbell | John Ketchum |
J M. Gates | E [D?] |
James White | Lewis [Bunn?] |
Robert White | John [Candlbays?] |
Wiliam Alen | A Payne |
Edward Doughty | Isaac Strain |
O Ellsworth | Cambell Jones |
Geo. W. Minier | John Lillie |
Milton Dollaham | Wm M McCord |
Benjamin S Beeler | William Walker |
Wm O. Viney | Robert Willson |
Isaac Strain | Stephen Henthorn |
Fletcher Wilson | B. P. Depew |
Cyrel Thrasher | C. F. Barr– |
George Winchester | Benjd [Kimbler?] |
Thomas Hicks | Geo Walker |
Chester Winchester | Geo. Dietrich |
J. N. Ward | F. F. Locke |
E. Hay– | S. S. Hayes |
Richard Ross | Levi Hite |
L A Sampson | Jas. Shoaff. |
Daniel Beaty | John Harly |
Elias Harley | |
Abrm Harley | Lewis Harley |
J W Ewing | Oliver Peese |
Thomas S. Harry | David [Trimmer?] |
John Dunlap | J. A. Parkes |
Henry C. Dickeson | Elijah Ellis |
Arthur Harlen | |
Michael [Winn?] | N. A. Downing |
John A Helman | Levi Keener |
Henry [Givens?] | [Fral. Raver?]– |
Absalom funk | Jacob Funk |
Esaw Groves | Charles Hotchkiss |
S. Ashton | William Walker |
N. Morrison | George Hardy |
Augs Hardy | C. Surdam |
John Blanchard | Peter Wied |
Theodore. P. Rogers | Michael Cotrell |
Lorenzo Brown | James. Allin |
W. E. Harberd | Simon Mason |
Thomas Alberry | Richard Gross |
A. M Cecil | Albert Welch |
John Hougham | |
Henry Keeson | John Benson Ser |
Amos Barnard | Samuel [?] |
Thomas Goforth | Jno. B. Hughes |
Jackson Lucas | Robert Stewart |
Saml C Deal | Wm C. Harlow |
Peter Sommer | R A Harlow |
Daniel Tordin | B H Harlow |
John Beaty | Jno C Vockrodt |
J. Dodson | Osborn Barnard |
John Enlow | Bailey Harbert |
Dudley Door | |
Richmond Lucas | G W Thompson |
Richard [Albery?] | [Calvann?] Thompson |
H Taylor | Drury Thompson |
James Depew | John Rockhold |
C Baker | Henry Michals |
E L Hardy | Elias Casey |
David Ross | Wm G Thompson |
[F?]. Nichols | Thos Orendorff |
Isaac W Morris | John Lindley |
Hiram Baker | |
David A [Garbert?] | B. F. Hart |
William Wilcox | Lamon Hougham |
Levi Keeran | |
Henry Miller | Wm Wallace |
Joel Simmons | A. [J?]. Downing |
John Ferdice | Henry Little |
N. Maxon |
<Page 2>
[ docketing
]
Petition of Allen Withers & others, citizens of McLean county, Illinois, asking a grant of land to aid in constructing a Rail road from the Upper & Lower
Mississippi to Chicago in said state4
[ docketing
]
30th - 95
102
102
1This petition was printed in an Illinois newspaper, prefixed by a message from John
S. Wright, editor of the Prairie Farmer periodical. Sheets of signatures were affixed to the cutting from the newspaper.
Abraham Lincoln penned two instances of docketing on the back page, and signed one.
2Representative Robert Smith introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on December 11, 1848. The bill was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Public Lands, which took no further action on the bill.
Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced the bill-- S. 95--in the Senate on January 20, 1848, and the Senate referred it to the Committee
on Public Lands. The committee reported back the bill on January 24 without amendment.
The Senate passed the bill on May 4. On August 12, the House of Representatives refused
to read the bill a third time by a vote of 73 yeas to 79 nays, with Lincoln voting
yea.
U.S. Senate Journal. 1848. 30th Cong., 1st sess., 125, 129, 290, 314, 592; U.S. House Journal. 1848. 30th Cong., 1st sess., 1270; U.S. House Journal. 1848. 30th Cong., 2nd sess., 73.; Cong. Globe, 30th Cong., 1st Sess., 214, 230, 723 (1848).
3Lincoln presented six petitions on this topic on January 29 and February 13, 1849.
Many more petitions on this topic were presented by Illinois congressmen between January
29 and February 24, but it does not appear that the House of Representatives acted
upon them.
U.S. House Journal. 1849. 30th Cong., 2nd sess., 337, 344, 361, 380, 390, 415, 420,
429, 440, 445, 475, 498, 529; Petition of William C. Greenleaf and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of Ezekiel Bowman and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of A. H. H. Perkins and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of Thomas Karr and others to U.S. Congress; Petition of R. W. Burton and Others to U.S. Congress.
Printed Document Signed, 2 page(s), RG 233, Entry 367: Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849, Records of Legislative Proceedings, Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to Committees, 1847-1849, NAB.