Petition of Abraham Lincoln and Others to the Sangamon County Commissioners' Court,
3 February 18361
To the county commissioners court for the county of Sangamon.We the undersigned, being personally acquainted with the insane son of Travice Elmore, for whose maintenance an allowance from the county treasury has already been made,2 believe that the allowance is much too small, and, therefore, recommend that it be
increased to a fair compensation for the maintenance and management of an absolute
mad man.3
Feb 3rd 1836<Page 2>
[ docketing
]
03/07/1836
03/07/1836
A Petition for the benefit of Travice Elmor[e]
Filed Mar 7th 1836
allowed $16. [per?] [qr?]
Filed Mar 7th 1836
allowed $16. [per?] [qr?]
2In 1833, Lincoln had authored and signed a petition that resulted in the Court awarding Zery Elmore $32 per year.
Sangamon County Commissioners Court, Record Book D, 12, Manuscripts Division, Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield IL.
3Illinois law authorized county commissioners courts to cover the expenses of the indigent in their counties. Initially covering those
persons “unable to earn a livelihood, in consequence of any bodily infirmity, or other
unavoidable cause,” in March 1833 the legislature extended the law’s coverage to those suffering from “idiocy” and “lunacy.”
“An Act for the Relief of the Poor,” 5 March 1819, Laws of Illinois (1819), 127-39; “An Act for the Maintenance of the Poor,” 2 February 1827, Revised Laws of Illinois (1827), 309-10; “An Act for the Relief of the Poor,” 1 March 1833, Revised Laws of Illinois (1833), 480-81.
At their March term in 1836, the Court awarded Travis Elmore $32 for the support of
his son for the ensuing year.
Sangamon County Commissioners Court, Record Book D, 182, Manuscripts Division, Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield IL.
Autograph Document Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).