Election Returns for the New Salem Precinct in Sangamon County, Illinois, 20 September
18321
page 1
| Voters Names | John R Herndon | Edmund Greer. | William McNeely | John Clary | Baxter B. Berry |
| Isaac Guliher | / | ||||
| Lewis Ferguson2 | / | ||||
| Alexander Trent | / | ||||
| David Whray | / | ||||
| James Berry. | / | ||||
| Robert Loyd | / | ||||
| Ransom Lane | / | ||||
| James Green | / | ||||
| William Wells Jr. | / | ||||
| Silas Watkins | / | ||||
| John Hillis | / | ||||
| James Laxton | / | ||||
| Jesse Byers | / | ||||
| John Rutledge | / | ||||
| Jacob Hevenor. | / | ||||
| Isaac Burner | / | ||||
| John Ritter | / | ||||
| Bowling Green | / | ||||
| Samuel Berry | / | ||||
| William G. Jeter | / | ||||
| John M Berry | / | ||||
| Cyrus Kerby. | / | ||||
| Lewis Clarkson | / | ||||
| William Green Sen | / | ||||
| Jeremiah Graham | / | ||||
| James Stevens | / | ||||
| Robert Cownover | / | ||||
| John Kinner | / | ||||
| added | 7 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
<Page 2>
page 2.
| Voters Names | John R Herndon | Edmund Greer | William McNeely | John Clary | Baxter B Berry. |
| Elias Green | / | ||||
| A B Bell | / | ||||
| William Williamson | / | ||||
| William White | / | ||||
| John Vance | / | ||||
| Peyton Elmore | / | ||||
| George Kerby | / | ||||
| Johnson Elmore | / | ||||
| Georg Warburton | / | ||||
| John Harrison | / | ||||
| E B Harison | / | ||||
| Royal Lane | / | ||||
| William Clary | / | ||||
| Joseph Watt | / | ||||
| Royal Armstrong | / | ||||
| Henry Sinco | / | ||||
| William Rutledge | / | ||||
| William Cox | / | ||||
| Joshua Connoyers. | / | ||||
| Josiah Crawford | / | ||||
| Samuel Shastid | / | ||||
| Royal Potter. | / | ||||
| Joseph England | / | ||||
| George Bowman | / | ||||
| Robert Caven | / | ||||
| Elijah Jones | / | ||||
| Bartley Welton | / | ||||
| Thomas Wooldridge | / | ||||
| Added | 6 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 2 |
<Page 3>
page 3
| Voters Names | John R Herndon | Edmund Greer | William McNeely | John Clary | Baxter B Berry. |
| Peter Elmore | / | ||||
| James Goldsby | / | ||||
| John S Clary | / | ||||
| Andrew Beard | / | ||||
| John Jones | / | ||||
| Solomon Spear | / | ||||
| William Webb Sen | / | ||||
| David Brunk | / | ||||
| Jesse Gumm— | / | ||||
| Jesse Witt | / | ||||
| John Close Jr | / | ||||
| John Close Sen | / | ||||
| Martin Waddle | / | ||||
| Travice Elmore | / | ||||
| William McNeely | / | ||||
| James Hudspeth | / | ||||
| James Clemment | / | ||||
| John Rafety | / | ||||
| John Cox | / | ||||
| Edward Potter | / | ||||
| Henry Hohimer | / | ||||
| Charles Bell | / | ||||
| Bennet Abell | / | ||||
| Nathaniel Latimer | / | ||||
| Zadok Inghram | / | ||||
| Syon Wadrup | / | ||||
| Matthew Holland | / | ||||
| Added | 6 | 3 | 16 | 2 |
<Page 4>
page 4.
| Voters Names | John R. Herndon | Edmund Greer | William McNeely | John Clary | Baxter B. Berry |
| John Clary | / | ||||
| James Rutledge | / | ||||
| James White | / | ||||
| Hugh Armstrong | / | ||||
| Zechariah Clary | / | ||||
| William F Berry | / | ||||
| Number of this page | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| From page 1— | 7 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| " "2— | 6 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 2 |
| "" 3— | 6 | 3 | 16 | 2 | |
| Agregate | 22 | 4 | 13 | 41 | 9 |
<Page 5>
| Voters Names | John R Herndon | Edmund Greer. | William McNeely. | John Clary | Baxter B. Berry |
<Page 6>
<Page 7>
<Page 8>
[ certification
]
At an election held at the house of John McNeil in the New Salem precinct in the County of Sangamon and State of Illinois on the 20th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirtytwo the following named persons received the number of votes annexed to their respective
names—for Constable—
John Clary had Forty one Votes for Constable
John R. Herndon had Twentytwo votes for constable
William McNeely had Thirteen votes for constable
Baxter B. Berry had Nine— votes for constable
Edmund Greer— had Four votes for constable
| James Rutledge | } | |
| Hugh Armstrong | Judges of the election | |
| James White |
[ certification
]
09/20/1832
09/20/1832
I certify that the above Judges and clerks were qualified according to lawBowling Green J P[Justice of the Peace]4September 20— 1832
1Abraham Lincoln, acting as Clerk of the election, wrote the entirety of this document,
except for the signatures of the other men.
Illinois’ 1818 constitution provided for state elections to be conducted viva voce, in which a voter would present himself in person to the election judges and declare
his votes publicly. An election official would then record the votes in a poll book.
In 1819, the First General Assembly reversed this provision in favor of voting by
ballot. The legislature mandated a return to viva voce in 1821, ballots in 1823, viva voce again in 1829, and finally settled on ballots in 1849.
Ill. Const. (1818), art. 2, §28; Sec. 13 of “An Act Regulating Elections,” 1 March
1819, Laws of Illinois (1819), 93; Sec. 5 of “An Act Regulating Elections,” 3 February 1821, Laws of Illinois (1821), 75-76; Sec. 14 of “An Act Regulating Elections,” 3 January 1823, Laws of Illinois (1823), 57; Sec. 10 of “An Act Regulating Elections,” 10 January 1829, Revised Laws of Illinois (1829), 57; Sec. 13 of “An Act to Provide for the Mode of Voting by Ballot, and for
the Manner of Returning, Canvassing and Certifying Votes,” 12 February 1849, Laws of Illinois (1849), 73.
3This election might have come about in response to a petition, dated July 20, 1832,
for a constable to replace William Constant, who had resigned. The original petition is located in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library.
Petition of Citizens of Sangamon County, 20 July 1832, Sangamon County, Illinois County
Commissioners’ Court, SC 1333-A, Folder 1, Manuscripts, Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library; Illinois State Historical Library, Trustees Report, 10 December 1892 (Springfield: H. W. Rokker, 1893), 16.
Autograph Document Signed, 8 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).