Abraham Lincoln to Jonathan K. Cooper and Hugh W. Reynolds, 28 May 18571
Springfield, May 28, 1857.Messrs[Messieurs] Cooper & ReynoldsGentlemenYour letter of the 25th to G. W Lowry, has been handed me to answer–2 I brought the suit of Eshrick, Black & Co. vs Tobias Hittle & Co the clerk tells me the process has been served in time, and I suppose a judgment
will be had at the ensuing June Term, unless the defendants appear and make a case
for a continuance, of the probability of which last, I know nothing3
Yours trulyA. Lincoln<Page 2>
3Tobias, Hittle, & Company, the defendants in the case mentioned by Lincoln, had given
a promissory note for $831.78 to Esherick, Black, & Company. When the former company
failed to pay, the latter retained Lincoln and William H. Herndon and sued in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois for $1,500 in damages. Tobias, Hittle & Co. failed to appear in court in June 1857
and the court ruled for Esherick, Black, & Co. and awarded $867.26.
Complete Record, Document ID: 64957, Eshrick, Black & Co. v. Tobias, Hittle & Co., 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=137617.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne, IN).