Mortgage Deed from Jacob Ruckel and Laura Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln, 28 September
18571
This Indenture made this twentyeighth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fiftyseven by and between Jacob Ruckel, and Laura A. Ruckel, his wife, of the City of Springfield in the State of Illinois, party of the first part; and Abraham Lincoln, of the City and State aforesaid, party of the second part, Witnesseth:
That the said party of the first part,2 for and in consideration of the sum of five hundred dollars to them in hand paid,
the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, and sold; and
by these presents do grant, bargain, and sell unto the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, the following described real estate,
towit: One hundred and two feet from East to West, of the East parts of Lots Thirteen,
Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen, in Block Four, in E. Illes’ Addition to the late town, now City of Springfield
To have and to hold to the said party of the second party, his heirs and assigns forever, the above described real estate, together with all
and singular the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging–3
Yet upon the condition that whereas the above named Jacob Ruckel has executed his
promissory note of even date herewith, for the sum of five hundred dollars, payable
to the said Abraham Lincoln, one year after date, with interest thereon at the rate
of ten per cent per annum, from date until paid, for valued received– Now if said note and interest shall
be fully paid
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according to the tenor and effect of said note, the above conveyance is to be void;
otherwise to remain in full force and effect–
In testimony whereof the said party of the first part have hereunto set their hands
and seals, the day and year first above written.4
J. Ruckel5 seal L. A. Ruckel6
seal
[ certification
]
09/28/1857
09/28/1857
State of Illinois
Sangamon County
Sangamon County
Before me the undersigned clerk of the county court for said county do hereby Certify that personally appeared Jacob Ruckel and Laura A Ruckell his wife who are personally
known to me to be the real persons by whom and in whose names the foregoing deed of
Mortgage is Subscribed and by whom and in whose names the same is proposed to be acknowledged
and severally acknowledged the execution of the same to be their free and voluntary
act and deed for the use and purposes therein named
And the said Laura A [...?] Ruckel wife of the said Jacb Ruckel being by me examined separate and apart from her said husband and the contents
of said conveyance being explained to her acknowledged that she executed said deed
freely and voluntarily for the use and purposes therein named and relinquished her
right and claim of Dower to said premises7
⋄Given under my hand and seal of office at springfield this 28th day of September AD 1857⋄⋄N W Matheny Clk[Clerk]⋄8
<Page 3>
[ enclosure
]
09/28/1857Promissory Note of Jacob Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln
09/28/1857Promissory Note of Jacob Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln
$500–
Springfield, September 28. 1857–One year after date I promise to pay Abraham Lincoln five hundred dollars, together
with interest thereon at the rate of ten per cent per annum from date until paid, for value received–9
J. Ruckel.10[ endorsement
]
01/29/1864
01/29/1864
Recd[Received] Jny 29, 1864 of J. Ruckel Six Hundred sixty seven & 05/100 dols[dollars] in full of the Note
Robt Irwin agt[agent] of A. Lincoln–11<Page 4>
[ certification
]
10/17/1857
Recorders office City of Springfield October 17th AD 1857
10/17/1857
| State of Illinois | } | |
| SS[Scilicet] | ||
| Sangamon County |
I Presco Wright Clerk of the Circuit Court for the County aforesaid & Ex officio Recorder of Deeds &c[etc] &c do hereby Certify that the within Mortgage is duly Recorded in my office in Record
Book No 3 of Mortgages pages 423 & 424.
Presco Wright Clerk & Ex[Ex officio] R [Recorder]S C14[ endorsement
]
11/27/1858
11/27/1858
Nov: 27– 1858. Received on the within fifty dollars, being first years’ interest–
Secnd[Second] years Int.[Interest] also paid.
Secnd[Second] years Int.[Interest] also paid.
3In legal terminology, an “appurtenance” refers to “that which belongs to something
else,” and “which passes as incident to it.”
Henry Campbell Black, Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (St. Paul, MN: West, 1979), 94.
4This loan constituted a mortgage for four lots of land that Jacob had acquired from
the estate of his brother, Daniel E. Ruckel. Jacob and Laura Ruckel agreed to repay this mortgage, plus ten percent annual interest,
within one year. As notations and endorsements on this document reveal, this mortgage
was extended but eventually paid in full. As shown in the fourth image, Jacob made
the first year’s interest payment on November 27, 1858, paid the second year’s interest
at some point (Lincoln did not note the date), and paid the third year’s interest
on November 17, 1860. Lincoln then left the note with Robert Irwin, cashier of the Springfield Marine and Fire Insurance Company, who collected the loan’s principle and remaining interest totaling $667.05 on January
29, 1864, as shown in the third image. Irwin released the mortgage the same day.
In August 1851, Lincoln had also loaned Daniel Ruckel funds for several lots of land
in Springfield that Daniel wished to purchase, but Daniel died before he could repay
that mortgage debt in full. Jacob and Richard H. Beach administered Daniel’s estate.
Harry E. Pratt, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield: The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1943), 74-75; Receipt of Abraham Lincoln to Jacob Ruckel; Check of Abraham Lincoln to Jacob Ruckel; Receipt for Notes Left with Robert Irwin for Collection; Promissory Note of Daniel E. Ruckel to Abraham Lincoln; Release of Mortgage Taken from Daniel E. Ruckel; Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999, 17 April 1854, Sangamon County
(Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2015).
7Dower was a form of estate that provided for a widow’s needs out of her husband's
real and personal property, and such property was not subject to creditor’s demands.
In antebellum Illinois, the widow of a man with children received one-third of the
land that her husband owned at any time during their marriage for the rest of her
life, unless she relinquished her dower rights in the prescribed manner. If her deceased
husband had no children, the widow received outright ownership of one-half of the
estate.
This land would have become part of the right of dower to which Laura was entitled,
should she be widowed, but she relinquished her claim of right of dower with this
section of the deed.
“Dower,” 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.
8Noah W. Matheny wrote the text on the page shown in the second image, from “State
of Illinois” to “said premises.”
9Lincoln wrote the text in this section, shown at the top of the third image, starting
with “$500” and ending with “for value received—”.
Copy of Handwritten Document Signed, 4 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Association Files, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).