Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Charles A. Purdy, 9 June 18571
Springfield, June 9.1857.Charles A. Purdy, Esq[Esquire]2Dear Sir:
Yours of the 5^th was duly received–3 The Register of the Land-Office here tells me that no patents come to this office, on entries made at the other offices, before they were all concentred[concentrated] here–4 He says the way for you to get your Patents, is to send [these?] Receipts or Certificates to the General Land office, with your address, and the Patents will be forwarded directly to your address– Accordingly, I inclose the Receipts to you–5

I also inclose the other document, with the Certificate of our Secretary of State attached, as you desired–6

I am glad the Sniffin & Harris suit is likely to be settled–7
Yours trulyA. Lincoln–

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter.

2The identity of Charles A. Purdy is unknown, but he may be Charles A. Purdy, Esquire, of White Plains, New York, who lived from 1801 to 1858.
Gravestone, White Plains Rural Cemetery, White Plains, NY; New-York Daily Tribune (NY), 23 October 1850, 8:6.

3A letter from Purdy to Lincoln dated June 5, 1857, has not been located.

4Between September 1855 and September 1857, the U.S. General Land Office closed the land offices in Shawneetown, Kaskaskia, Vandalia, and Danville and consolidated operations in Springfield.
Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855), 81; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1857), 83.

5These receipts have not been located.

6This certificate has not been located.

7Lincoln references a lawsuit involving Nathanial Sniffen and Lemuel Harris. In 1848, Harris informed Sniffen, his father-in-law, about 230 acres of land that was for sale. Sniffen sent Harris $2,200 to buy the property and to obtain title to the land in Sniffen's name. Harris and his wife visited Sniffen several years later, and Harris informed Sniffen that he had purchased the land in his own name. Sniffen demanded a deed of conveyance, but Harris refused. In October 1855, Sniffen retained Lincoln and sued Harris in the United States Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois, to convey the 230 acres. The case continued for several years, but when Sniffen failed to continue to prosecute the case, the court dismissed it in March 1862.
Bill of Complaint, Document ID: 62950; Decree, Document ID: 62972, Sniffen v. Harris, 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=137498; Lincoln provided legal advice to Purdy, 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=141481.