Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to George B. Kinkead, 16 June 18541
Springfield, Ills, June 16. 1854.Geo.. B. Kinkead, Esq.[Esquire]Lexington, Ky.Dear Sir:
Your letter of the 8^th Ins^t to N. W. Edwards, enclosing a draft of between two and three hundred dollars (I write from memory only as to the amount) reached here a day or two since, and was, in M^r Edwards' absence, taken from the P. office and opened by his brother– It was shown to me this morning, and will be kept at the store of which M^r Edwards is a partner until his return, which will be about six weeks hence ^&^ when doubtless, he will write you–

I ran my eye over the contents of your letter, & only have to say you do not seem disposed to compensate yourself very liberally for the separate service you did for me–2
Yours trulyA. Lincoln–

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter.

2George B. Kinkead, who was serving as Lincoln’s attorney in Lexington, had been writing letters to Lincoln through Ninian W. Edwards related to the case Oldham & Hemingway v. Lincoln et al. Kinkead’s June 8, 1854 letter to Edwards has not been located.
In the case, Edward Oldham and Thomas Hemingway, the surviving partners of Oldham, Todd and Company, which had included Robert S. Todd, father of Mary Lincoln, claimed that the company had hired Lincoln and Edwards to collect some debts for them in Illinois. Oldham and Hemingway claimed that Lincoln, Edwards, and Kinkead failed to pay them $472.54. In June 1853, Oldham and Hemingway sued Lincoln and others in the Kentucky Fayette County Circuit Court in a chancery action to recover the debt. In February 1854, after depositions Lincoln took supported his version of events, Oldham and Hemingway dismissed the case.

On March 31, 1854, Lincoln wrote Kinkead a letter, authorizing him to retain whatever fee he deemed suitable for his work on the case.
Abraham Lincoln to George B. Kinkead; Abraham Lincoln to George B. Kinkead; Oldham & Hemingway v. Lincoln et al., 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=141851; Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, IL: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1943), 118.