Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Ozias Bailey, 14 November 18571
Springfield, Nov. 14. 1857O. Bailey, Esq.[Esquire]Dear Sir:
Your letter in relation to Railroad suits was duly received–2 I regret to say it is impossible for me to attend to courts in Coles or Edgar, or any of the counties in Judge Harlan's circuit3– I should be pleased to oblige you if I could.4
Yours trulyA. Lincoln–

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[ docketing ]
11/14/1857
A Lincoln
Nov[November] 14 1857
Letter5

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter.

2Ozias Bailey’s letter to Lincoln has not been located.

3Judge Justin Harlan presided over the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Illinois.
Louis L. Emmerson, ed., Blue Book of the State of Illinois, 1923-1924 (Springfield: Illinois State Journal, 1923), 617.

4Although it is unknown when Bailey requested Lincoln’s assistance, for the remainder of the month following this letter, Lincoln spent most days working on court cases in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois and Cass County Circuit Court. In December 1857, for the dates known, Lincoln spent the majority of his time working on cases in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois and McLean County Circuit Court.
Lincoln declined legal work from Bailey, 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=141366; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, November 1857, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarMonth&year=1857&month=11; December 1857, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarMonth&year=1857&month=12.

5An unknown person wrote this docketing.