Memorandum concerning John R. Jeffries, [1 May 1849]1
1Abraham Lincoln wrote this memorandum. There is another handwritten version of this memorandum, not in Lincoln’s hand.
2Between 1790 and 1870, U.S. marshals, aided by temporary assistant marshals, acted
as census takers in the various states. As newly-appointed U.S. marshal for the
District of Illinois, Benjamin Bond was responsible for the 1850 census. There is no evidence that Jeffries
received an appointment as deputy marshal.
“An Act providing for the Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States,” 1
March 1790, Statutes at Large of the United States 1 (1845):101; 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; William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1987), xiii-xiv.
Autograph Document, 1 page(s),
Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).