Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton, 8 March 18491
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03/09/1849
03/09/1849
Rec'd[Received] 9 March.
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N. Hill.
Washington, March 8. 1849Hon: John M. ClaytonSecretary of State.Dear Sir:
On the other half of this sheet is a copy of a recommendation, that Anson G Henry of Springfield, Illinois, be appointed Secretary of the Teritory of Minesota– In their confidence and kindness in and for Col Baker and myself, fortynine of the whig members of the H. R. have signed ^it,^ they being nearly all to whom it was presented– I am exceedingly anxious, the appointment of Dr Henry shall be made; and fearing the place may be filled before I can see you personally,
must be my excuse for troubling you in this way– On other matters I am anxious to
a common degree; but on this, my solicitude is extreme–2
Your Obt Sevt[Obedient Servant]A. Lincoln.<Page 2>
<Page 3>
(Copy)
We recommend that Anson G. Henry of Springfield, Illinois, be appointed Secretary
for the Teritory of Minesota
Having just confidence in my friend Mr Lincoln, I add my name–
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Secretary—Minnesota.
Anson G. H.
recomend
1849.
Anson G. H.
recomend
1849.
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entd[entered]
1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed the letter. Lincoln also wrote the copy of a recommendation
of Anson G. Henry signed by forty-nine members of Congress on page three.
2Henry did not receive the appointment; the job went to Charles K. Smith of Ohio, who held the post until 1851. Lincoln continued to recommend him to the President Zachary Taylor and members of his administration. On June 24, 1850, Henry received the appointment
of
Indian agent for the Oregon Territory. Henry accepted this position and started for Oregon, but he never assumed the job,
returning to Springfield before reaching the territory.
Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of
the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), 250; Harry C. Blair, Dr. Anson G. Henry: Physician, Politician, Friend of Abraham Lincoln (Harrogate, TN: Lincoln Memorial University, 1944), 8; Edward D. Neill, History of the Minnesota Valley (Minneapolis: North Star, 1882), 118, 123-24; Elbert F. Floyd, “Insights into the
Personal Friendship and Patronage of Abraham Lincoln and Anson Gordon Henry, M.D.:
Letters for Dr. Henry to His Wife, Eliza,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 98 (Winter 2005/2006), 220, 223.
3Representative Isaac E. Holmes of South Carolina was actually a Democrat. It is possible that he signed the original of this document; however, it is also
possible that Lincoln mistakenly wrote that name instead of Elias B. Holmes, who was a Whig Representative from New York.
Autograph Letter Signed, 4 page(s), RG 59, Entry 760: Appointment Records, Applications and Recommendations for Office, Applications and Recommendations for Public Office, 1797-1901, NACP.