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Declaration in Abraham Lincoln v. Illinois Central Railroad, [30 March 1857]1
In the Circuit Court of
McLean County–
April Term. A.D. 1857.
State of Illinois } SS.[Scilicet]
McLean County
Abraham Lincoln, plaintiff, complains of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, defendants, being in custody &C.[etc.] of a plea of trespass on the case, on promises:2
For that whereas heretofore, towit, on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fiftyseven, at the county aforesaid, in consideration that ^the^ said plaintiff, at the special interest and request of the ^said^ defendants, had before that time, done, performed, bestowed, and given his work and labor, care, diligence, attendance and skill, as an attorney and solicitor of and for the said defendants, and upon their retainer, in and about the prossecuting, defending, and soliciting of divers causes, suits, and business for the said defendants, they, the said defendants, undertook, and then and there faithfully promised the said plaintiff to pay him so much money as he therefor reasonably deserved to have of the said defendants, when they, the said defen-
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dants should be thereunto afterwards requested– And the ^said^ plaintiff ans avers, that he therefore reasonably deserved to have, of the said defendants, the sum of five thousand dollars, towit, at the county aforesaid, whereof the said defendants, afterwards, towit, on the day and year aforesaid, had notice–
Yet the said defendants (although often requested so to do) have not as yet paid the said sum of money, or any part thereof; but so to do have hitherto wholly neglected and refused, and still do neglect and refuse– To the damage of the said plaintiff of Six thousand dollars; and therefore he brings his suit &C.3
Lincoln, per se4
[ enclosure ]
(Copy of account sued on)
The Illinois Central Railroad Company
To A. Lincoln Dr[Debit]
To professional services in the case of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, against the County of McLean, twice argued in the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, and finally decided at the December Term 1855. $5000.00.5
1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this document.
Lincoln did not date this declaration, but on February 11, 1857 the Illinois General Assembly scheduled the spring term of the McLean County Circuit Court to commence on the second Monday after the third Monday in March. In 1857, this would have been Monday, March 30. Lincoln was in Bloomington for the spring term of the McLean County Circuit Court by March 31, 1857.
“An Act Declaring What Counties Shall Compose the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and Fix the Times of Holding the Courts and Regulate the Practice in Said Circuit,” 11 February 1857, Laws of Illinois (1857), 12; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 31 March 1857, http://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1857-03-31.
2Trespass on the Case on Promises was virtually synonymous with, and ultimately replaced by, the common law action of assumpsit. Assumpsit involved a legal action for the breach of a simple contract (express or implied), which was not under seal and was used in a wide variety of situations. It was the most commonly used common law action in antebellum Illinois.
Lincoln was instituting this action against the Illinois Central Railroad to collect the fees the railroad owed him for his work on their behalf in the case of Illinois Central RR v. McLean County, Illinois & Parke. That case had been finally decided in January 1856 in the Illinois Supreme Court, which upheld the railroad’s charter as constitutional, and affirmed that under the charter counties could not tax the railroad. Lincoln had presented the railroad’s attorneys with a bill for his work in July 1856, but as of the time of this action he was still awaiting payment.
“Assumpsit,” Reference, Glossary, 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/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference%20html%20files/Glossary.html; Lincoln v. Illinois Central RR, 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=136777; Illinois Central RR v. McLean County, Illinois & Parke, 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=136868; Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, IL: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1943), 50-54; Abraham Lincoln to Ebenezer Lane.
3Unlike an action of debt where a plaintiff sought to recover a specific amount owed by the defendant, in an action of assumpsit a plaintiff sued to collect damages and the amount of the debt could be uncertain and determined by the court or the jury. Thus, Lincoln was able to claim damages and sue for $6,000 rather than sue for just the $5,000 he claimed the railroad owed him for his legal services.
Although Lincoln prepared his case for the spring 1857 term of the McLean County Circuit Court, the murder case of People v. Wyant, in which he assisted as a prosecutor, subsumed the entire term. His suit was ultimately heard at a special term of the McLean County Circuit Court in June 1857, when he was awarded $5,000 by a jury. This amount was adjusted down to $4,800 in consideration of a retainer Lincoln had earlier received from the railroad. He received payment from the railroad in this amount in August 1857.
“Assumpsit,” Reference, Glossary, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference%20html%20files/Glossary.html; Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln, 52; People v. Wyant, 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=136798; Lincoln v. Illinois Central RR, 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=136777; Receipt of Abraham Lincoln to Illinois Central Railroad Company.
4“Per se” in a legal context can mean “Of, in, or by itself; standing alone, without reference to additional facts.”
Bryan A. Garner, et al., eds., Black’s Law Dictionary, abridged 10th ed. (n.p.: Thomson Reuters, 2015), 966.
5Lincoln wrote this account.

Copy of Autograph Document Signed, 2 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Association Files, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).