Abraham Lincoln to Anson L. Brewer, 16 March 18551
Springfield, Ills. March 16, 1855 A. L. Brewer, Esq[Esquire]Dear SirYour letter of the 8th is just received–2 It has all the while been understood that the estate of Blackledge is solvent, & that the Kelly claim is good– After I sent back to you & got the authentication of record corrected,
I commenced a suit in the Circuit court; and about this time Blackledge died– The case is not in the county of my residence; so that I am only there at the terms of the Circuit court– At the first term after B's death, my partner, who was attending court in that county that term, dismissed the suit and filed the record in the Probate court as a claim against the estate– This we both thought was the best way of doing– Last
fall I turned out of my way to come by that county to see after the claim; and was
surprized to be told that the claim had not been allowed, or acted on– On the 2nd of April Court takes me there again, when I shall give special attention to the matter–3
Yours &c[etc.]A. Lincoln3Lincoln references a lawsuit involving James Kelly and Jesse D. Blackledge. In August
1838, Kelly sold his share of a mill in Columbiana County, Ohio, to Nathan Harris,
who financed the transaction with a series of promissory notes, with Blackledge as
security. Harris and Blackledge did not redeem the notes upon their maturity, and
in August 1845, Kelly brought suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Columbiana County
to recover the debt. In June 1847, the court rendered a judgment against Blackledge
and Harris for $632.59. Blackledge failed to satisfy the judgment and moved to Logan County, Illinois. Brewer, Kelly’s attorney in Ohio, traced Blackledge to Logan County. In October 1852, Kelly retained Lincoln & Herndon and sued Blackledge in the Logan County Circuit Court to recover the debt.
Blackledge died, and Kelly dismissed the case in order to file a claim against Blackledge’s
estate. Kelly continued to employ Lincoln & Herndon, and in 1854, he filed a claim
against David G. Evans, the executor of Blackledge's estate, in the Logan County Court. In April 1855,
the court refused the claim because Kelly had not filed the claim in time. In September
1855, Kelly appealed the judgment to the Logan County Circuit Court. The court ruled
for Kelly and awarded him the judgment award from Ohio.
Lincoln and Brewer first corresponded regarding this suit in November 1852. In 1855, Lincoln wrote Brewer two additional
letters about this case, and Brewer wrote one additional letter.
Henry C. Friend, “Abraham Lincoln as a Receiving Attorney: Kelly vs. Blackledge,”
Abraham Lincoln’s Commercial Practice (Chicago: Commercial Law Foundation, 1970), 21-28; Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 2:161, 308-9, 315-16, 327;
Kelly v. Blackledge, 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=140956; Kelly v. Evans, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=136119; Kelly v. Evans, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=136120; Abraham Lincoln to Anson L. Brewer; Anson L. Brewer to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Anson L. Brewer.
Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page(s), Box 5, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).