Abraham Lincoln to Samuel Briggs, 29 September 18571
Springfield, Sept 29. 1857Saml Briggs, Esq[Esquire]Dear SirYour letter in regard to organizing the town of Delevan, and also inclosing five dollars, has been received–2
I have examined the statute, and considered your questions; and am of opinion that
the original election having gone beyond the Town-plat, to the extent of a square
mile, is lawful and valid–
I think the Trustees can not exceed a mile square, as boundaries of the town, but may lessen them, within the
mile square–
The five dollars is a sufficient fee–3
Yours trulyA. Lincoln<Page 2>
2Samuel Briggs asked Lincoln’s opinion on the incorporation of Delavan, Illinois,
in a letter dated September 17, 1857.
Letter, Document ID: 130110, Lincoln provided legal advice to Briggs, 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), https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=141367.
3No additional correspondence between Lincoln and Briggs has been located.
The incorporation of towns was governed by chapter twenty-five of the Revised Statutes of Illinois, which the Illinois General Assembly adopted in 1845. Section five of the statute specified that the president and trustees
of the town to be incorporated had the power to define the boundaries of the town
so long as said boundaries did “not exceed one mile square.”
“Chapter XXV: Corporations,” 3 March 1845, Revised Statutes of Illinois (1845), 112.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Brown University (Providence, RI).