Abraham Lincoln to William Martin, 31 July 18511
Springfield, July 31, 1851Hon: Wm MartinDear Sir:Yours of the 29th is received–2 The present operator here says, that the operator who was here on Jany[January] 25– 1851 is C. P. Rosser; and that he has no knowledge of his present whereabouts–3 that previous to being here, he had been in the telegraph office at Burlington, Iowa; but that he knows nothing of him since he left here– This is all I can learn–4
Yours as everA. Lincoln<Page 2>
SPRINGFIELD [Ill.]AUG[August] 1
5
Hon: Wm MartinAltonIllinois–1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter. He also wrote William Martin’s name
and address on the last sheet, which was folded to make an envelope.
3The telegraph operator in Springfield in July 1851 has not been identified. C. M.
Wells had been the operator from May 1849 until his resignation in December 1850.
Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 5 May 1849, 3:3; 26 December 1850, 3:1.
4Martin wrote Lincoln on July 17 regarding a missing telegram. Lincoln wrote Martin on July 19 that he had taken Martin’s letter to the Springfield telegraph
office, but reported that the operator, after a thorough investigation, found no such
telegram had been sent from the office. Martin responded by writing the presumed
text of the telegram, dated January 25, 1851, on the verso of Lincoln’s letter.
Martin wrote Lincoln again on July 22, and Lincoln returned to the telegraph office.
On July 26, Lincoln wrote Martin that he had found the missing telegram, but could not determine who wrote
it.
Between February and August 1851, Lincoln wrote Martin an additional ten letters on
legal matters, most relating Martin’s legal work in the Madison County Circuit Court for the Alton & Sangamon Railroad Company, which had retained Martin and Lincoln & Herndon to collect balances due on shares of capital stock purchased by stockholders. None
of Martin’s letters to Lincoln from this period are extant. It appears that this
involves a separate legal issue, as none of the individuals included in the presumed
telegram text written by Martin on the verso of Lincoln’s July 19 letter were principals in the railroad cases. The final disposition of the case is unknown.
Alton & Sangamon RR v. Barret, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=138164; Daniel W. Stowell et al., eds., The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008), 2:172-210; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin; Abraham Lincoln to William Martin.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Box 4, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).