Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to John M. Johnson, [26 March 1849]1
S^t Louis, Mo.Post–Master of the H– R.Dear Sir:
The bearer of this, Benjamin Bond, Esq[Esquire], supposes that some letters addressed to me by and Co^l Baker, or to me alone, ^by him,^ may now be in your office– I therefore request you will permit him to look over all such letters in your hands, to me or to me & Baker, and deliver to him all such as he may say are addressed in his hand writing–
Your ob^t Serv^t[obedient Servant]A Lincoln 2

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Marshal Illinois,
1849,
Bond Benjamin.
Letter to Post-Master of the House of Representatives. from– Hon. A. Lincoln.

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter.
Lincoln penned this letter while en route to Springfield, Illinois, having left Washington, DC, on March 20. He would make his way home via St. Louis by railroad, steamer, and stagecoach, arriving in Springfield on March 31.

Lincoln mostly likely wrote this letter on March 26. He met Benjamin Bond on that date in St. Louis. Bond was on his way to Washington, DC, to lobby for an appointment as U.S. Marshal for Illinois.
The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 20 March 1849, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1849-03-20; 26 March 1849, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1849-03-26; 31 March 1849, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1849-03-31.

2 In March 1849, Lincoln wrote several letters soliciting government officials on Bond’s behalf, though he preferred that the appointment go to Charles G. Thomas. Bond received the appointment and held the job until 1853.
Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; Memorandum concerning Benjamin Bond; Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; 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), 247; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), 267; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 259.