Abraham Lincoln to Newton D. Strong and George P. Strong, 25 May 18571
Springfield, May 25. 1857–Messrs.[Messieurs] N. D. & G. P. StrongGentlemenYours of the 22nd is just received–2 The admiralty case now stands on appeal to the Circuit Court,3 and consequently, can only be tried by Judge McLean; and I understand he will remain here only one week, commencing the first Monday
of June–4 Of course, the other side will press for a hearing during that week.
I have just been to see Stuart & Edwards and they suggest that you see the plaintiff's lawyer in StLouis (I forget his name) and make an arrangement with him as to a day of taking up the
case, and notify us–
I do not think any defence has been presented based on the fact of Messrs Page & Bacon having purchased under the Deed of Trust– Quere5– Does not the Libellants right, attach to the specific thing— the cars— regardless of who may own them?
There is no longer any difficult question of jurisdiction in the Federal courts; they have jurisdiction in all possible cases, except such
as might redound to the benefit of a "nigger" in some way–6
Seriously, I wish you to prepare, on the question jurisdiction as well as you can;
for I fear the later decisions are against us– I understand they have some new Admiralty
Books here, but I have not examined them7
Yours truly,A. Lincoln<Page 2>
[Envelope]
3Admiralty refers to “a division of the law in the federal courts with jurisdiction
over all maritime matters, including those related to navigable rivers and the Great Lakes.” Lincoln is referring to the case Eads & Nelson v. Ohio & Mississippi RR.
In the case, the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad contracted with the firm Eads & Nelson in 1852 to use a flatboat to transport sixty
of the railroad’s cars from Louisville, Kentucky to St. Louis, Missouri. During the transport operation, waves from a passing steamship
on the Ohio River sank the flatboat. Through an insurance contract, Eads & Nelson were able to salvage
fifty-two of the cars from the riverbed. At the request of one of the railroad’s agents,
the salvaged cars were placed upon the railroad’s own boats, taken to St. Louis, and
placed on the opposite side of the Ohio River, in Illinois. The Ohio & Mississippi Railroad paid Eads & Nelson $1,000 as freight for the fifty-two
cars, but the parties never agreed on compensation for salvage. In 1853, Eads & Nelson
brought a libel for salvage suit against the railroad in the United States District
Court for the District of Missouri. In 1855, the court ruled for Eads & Nelson and
directed the railroad to pay the firm $3,027.85. Eads & Nelson subsequently realized
that the federal court in Missouri could not execute the judgment because the salvaged cars were in Illinois. In 1855,
Eads & Nelson filed another libel for salvage suit against the railroad in the United
States District Court, Southern District of Illinois. The railroad retained Lincoln
as well as George and Newton Strong.
Lincoln and the Strongs argued that the federal court in Illinois did not have jurisdiction
because the federal court in Missouri had already tried the case and ruled for Eads
& Nelson. When this argument failed, Lincoln and the Strongs argued that Eads & Nelson
were not entitled to compensation because they had not salvaged the other eight cars.
In July 1856, Judge Samuel H. Treat of the United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois ruled that Eads
& Nelson had a valid lien against the cars, awarded them $3,480.72 plus more than
$500 in costs, and ordered Marshal Archimedes C. Dickson to sell the cars to satisfy the judgment. In January 1857, Lincoln and the Strongs
appealed the ruling on behalf of the railroad.
“Admiralty,” 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; Libel, Document ID: 63762; Order, Document ID: 63772, Eads & Nelson v. Ohio & Mississippi RR, 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=137548.
4By the time of this letter, the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois
commenced on the first Monday in January and the first Monday in June. The first Monday
in June 1857 was June 1.
“An Act to Change the Times of Holding the United States Courts in the Southern District
of Illinois,” 23 April 1856, Statutes at Large of the United States
11 (1859):4; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1 June 1857, http://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1857-06-01.
5“Quere” is a Latin word meaning to inquire or seek.
Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (London: T. Davison, 1815).
6This may is a veiled reference to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case. See Scott v. Sandford.
7Newton’s and George Strong’s reply to this letter, if they wrote one, has not been
located.
The parties apparently reached an agreement in the case, as Judge Treat dismissed
the appeal in February 1858.
Order, Document ID: 63784, Eads & Nelson v. Ohio & Mississippi 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=137548.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Box 5, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).