A Bill relative to a State Road Therein Named, 12 February 18351
An act relative to a State road therein named—
Sec.[Section] 1st Be it enacted by the people of the
State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly. That Reuben Harrison, John Clary and Tandy James
be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to view, mark and permanently locate,
so much of the
State road leading from Springfield in Sangamon county to Lewiston in Fulton county, as lies between
Springfield and George G Miller’s ferry on the Sangamon River2
Sec. 2nd The said commissioners or a majority
of them shall meet at the town of Springfield on the second monday in March next or
as soon thereafter
as practicable, and after being duly sworn by some officer authorized to administer
oaths shall proceed
to perform the duties required of them by this act avoiding as much as possible the
injury of private
property
Sec 3 The said commissioners shall, as soon thereafter as convenient cause to be filed
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with the clerk of the county commissioner's court of the county of Sangamon, a report and complete map
of said road, which report and map shall be preserved, and shall form a part of the
Record of said
court: Said road when so established shall be kept in repair as other State roads
are—3Sec 4. The county commissioners court of Sangamon county, shall allow to said
commissioners out of the county Treasury, such compensation, as, to them shall seem
just and reasonable—
[ certification
]
02/12/1835
02/12/1835
| Approved Feb 12. 1835 Joseph Duncan |
James Semple Speaker of the House of Representatives |
| A M Jenkins Speaker of the Senate |
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[ certification
]
| State of Illinois | } | SS. |
| Sangamon County |
We Reuben Harrison[,] John Clary & Tandy James Commissioners appointed by the Legislature of the State of Illinois to view Mark & ^permanently^ Locate, So much of the State Road leading from Springfield in Sangamon County to Lewiston in Fulton County as lies between Springfield & George G Millers Ferry on the Sangamon River upon our Oaths say that we will to the best of our ability skill and knowledge view
mark & permanently locate Said Road thus confided to us as Commissioners & make Report
thereof according to the provisions of Said Law
Reuben HarrisonJohn ClaryTandy James[ certification
]
03/16/1835
03/16/1835
Sworn to and Subscribed this 16th day of March 1835 before me
Thomas Moffett J P—[Justice of the Peace]<Page 4>
1This handwritten transcription of the enrolled copy of the bill, including the signatures
of the Speakers of the House and Senate, was written by Abraham Lincoln. The commissioners’
return at the end was written by Thomas Moffett and signed by Reuben Harrison, John
Clary, and Tandy James.
On January 27, 1835 Abraham Lincoln gave notice of his intention to introduce this bill in the House of Representatives. On January 29, John Dawson introduced HB 185, which was written by Lincoln. The House passed the bill on February 2. The Senate concurred on February 9. On February 12, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 396, 429, 437, 467, 513, 539, 550; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 404, 414, 469, 503, 508.
2Miller’s Ferry, as the area was called at the time, was located near Huron in northern Sangamon County, in an area that later became part of Menard County.
James N. Adams, comp., Illinois Place Names (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1989), 398, 439.
3State roads were those public roads established or designated by the General Assembly
and usually crossed county lines. Only the General Assembly could establish, alter,
or abandon state roads, until 1840 and 1841, when the General Assembly gave counties
the authority to alter or to abandon state roads upon petition by a majority of voters
in the area of the change.
Handwritten Transcription, 4 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).