Receipt of Abraham Lincoln to Jacob Ruckel, 28 September 18571
Received, Sept 28. 1857 of Jacob Ruckel three hundred dollars, which is in full of ^the principal of^ a note and mortgage I held on the late Daniel E. Ruckel; Mr Beach to settle the interest due from last christmas–
I have entered satisfaction on the record of the mortgage, and am to hand over the
original mortgage and note–2
A Lincoln–<Page 2>
2This payment by Jacob Ruckel settled the mortgage on a loan that Lincoln originally
made to Daniel E. Ruckel in August 1851 for several lots of land Daniel had wished to
purchase in Springfield, Illinois. On July 7, 1853, Lincoln released lots nine, ten, eleven, and twelve of “Allen’s
addition to Springfield” from the mortgage Daniel had owed him. Daniel made one payment
to Lincoln in January 1854, but died on April 9, 1854, before he could repay the remainder
of this debt. His brother, Jacob Ruckel, and Richard H. Beach became the administrators
of his estate, and made some additional payments on the mortgage between 1854 and
1857.
On the same date as this receipt, Jacob Ruckel and Laura Ruckel, his wife, mortgaged to Lincoln, for $500, four lots of land that Jacob had acquired from his brother’s
estate. They agreed to repay this mortgage, plus ten percent interest for the year,
within one year. The mortgage was extended, but eventually paid in full in January
1864.
Promissory Note of Daniel E. Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln; Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999, 17 April 1854, Sangamon County (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2015); Release of Mortgage Taken from Daniel E. Ruckel; Mortgage Deed from Jacob Ruckel and Laura Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln; Check of Abraham Lincoln to Jacob Ruckel; Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield: The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1943), 74-75.
Autograph Document Signed, 2 page(s), Box 5, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).