Lincoln & Herndon to Samuel C. Davis and Company, 23 February 18582
Springfield, Ills. Feb. 23. 1858Messrs[Messieurs] S. C. Davis & Co.Yours of the 20th received yesterday–3 We have just now paid the costs in the cases ^as^ per statement sent you–4 It took $330.90 to pay them– Currency answered the purpose– We used the $300 of yours
we had here on deposite[...?]5 and we drew on you, in favor of Mr Ridgely for the remaining $30^Paid 24th–90–6^ The draft to Mr Ridgely on you is signed "A Lincoln" and not "Lincoln & Herndon– This was done inadvertently, and we mention it in order that you may not misunderstand
the draft when you see it–
All this cost the defendants have, eventually, to pay– By the law of the U.S. court, there is a docket fee of ten dollars in each such case as these, taxed as costs,
& when collected, paid to the plaintiffs' attorney–7 There being ten of these cases of yours, we, as your attorneys, received one hundred
dollars of this cost–8 You ultimately recover these docket fees back from the defendants, the same as the
other costs–
We are in some perplexity about the collection of these debts– The Marshal now has the executions and will soon call on the defendants– Any that may pay in
money, or turn ^out ^ sufficient of personal property, will be easy cases; but in
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cases where real estate is turned out, we see no way to be safe, as to titles and value, but to visit the several localities, and examine carefully– If, as with you in Missouri, third persons would buy real estate at execution sales, we might leave them to take
care of themselves on titles and values; but here with us, under our redemption laws, third persons never bid & consequently
plaintiffs have to buy in themselves & if not posted on titles & values, they get badly hit–9 The same is applicable to the foreclosure cases; and if you know any thing as to titles & values of the mortgaged premises in the cases of Thomas J. Kinney & Campbell & Hundly, we wish you would write us–
We have instructed the marshal to report to us accurately in all cases when he can
find nothing but real estate–10
Yours very trulyLincoln & Herndon.1William H. Herndon wrote this endorsement, shown at the top of the first image, and
signed his name.
5Lincoln & Herndon withdrew $300 via check from the Springfield Marine & Fire Insurance Company the same date as this letter and noted on the check that the funds were from a deposit
for Samuel C. Davis & Company.
Bank Draft, Document ID: 132583, S. C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley, 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=137664.
7Per legislation that the U.S. Congress passed in 1853, attorneys were entitled to a docket fee of ten dollars per case
for any cases in which the court rendered a judgment without a jury.
“An Act to Regulate the Fees and Costs to be Allowed Clerks, Marshals, and Attorneys
of the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, and for Other Purposes,”
26 February 1853, Statutes at Large of the United States 10 (1855):161-62.
8For Lincoln & Herndon’s other cases involving Samuel C. Davis & Company, search “Davis,
Samuel C.” under Participant, https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Search.aspx.
9In American law, redemption is the process by which someone recovers real property
through the payment of a debt or judgment, sometimes via the repurchase of the real
property after a judicial sale in which a sheriff sells the property in order to satisfy
a judgment of a court.
Missouri’s laws regarding mortgages—including the processes for foreclosure and redemption—are
located in chapter 113 of the second volume of the 1855 Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri.
Per Illinois redemption law, any creditor who paid to have their court judgment recovered
via the execution of a judicial sale of real property would be issued a certificate
of redemption and be considered a bidder upon the sale of said property. Provided
that no one bid an amount higher than what the judgment creditor paid to recover their
land via judicial sale, the lands would be considered sold to the judgment creditor.
If, however, someone cast a higher bid than what the judgment creditor paid for the
execution of the judicial sale, the judgment creditor would simply receive all sale
proceeds over and above their payment for the execution of the judicial sale.
“Redemption,” “Judicial Sale,” Reference, Glossary, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis
et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference%20html%20files/Glossary.html; “Chapter 113: Mortgages,” 23 November 1855, Revised Statutes of Missouri (1855), 2:1086-92; “Chapter LVII: Judgments and Executions,” 3 March 1845, Revised Statutes of Illinois (1845), 303.
10Lincoln wrote at least four more letters related to legal business that he and Herndon
conducted on behalf of Samuel C. Davis & Company on three separate but similar and
simultaneous cases. In this letter, Lincoln discusses two of the cases: S. C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley and S. C. Davis & Co. v. Kinney. In S. C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley, Isaac W. Campbell and Robert M. Hundley gave Samuel C. Davis & Company a promissory
note in May 1857 for $1,000 and secured the note with a mortgage on 640 acres of land.
After Campbell and Hundley failed to pay within the specified six months, Samuel C.
Davis & Company retained Lincoln and Herndon and, in December 1857, sued in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois to foreclose the mortgage. Campbell and Hundley failed to appear, and, in February
1858, the court ruled for Samuel C. Davis & Company in the amount of $1,077.50 plus
court costs and foreclosed the mortgage. Samuel C. Davis & Company subsequently purchased
the 640 acres at the mortgage sale for $1.94 per acre.
Similarly, in S. C. Davis & Co. v. Kinney, Thomas J. Kinney gave Samuel C. Davis & Company a promissory note for $969.35 in
May 1857 and secured the note with a mortgage on one hundred acres of land and a lot
in Browning, Illinois. After Kinney failed to pay, Samuel C. Davis & Company retained Lincoln and Herndon
and, in December 1857, sued in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois
to foreclose the mortgage. Kinney failed to appear, and, in February 1858, the court
ruled for Samuel C. Davis & Company and awarded $1,044.73 plus court costs. Kinney
failed to pay the judgment, the one hundred acres were sold at public auction to recover
the debt, interests, and court costs due to Samuel C. Davis & Company, and Samuel
C. Davis & Company later purchased the land for $0.10 per acre and the lot for $250.
Abraham Lincoln to Samuel C. Davis & Company; Abraham Lincoln to Samuel C. Davis & Company; Abraham Lincoln to Samuel C. Davis & Company; Abraham Lincoln to William M. Fishback; Mortgage Deed, Document ID: 65214; Promissory Note, Document ID: 65215; Bill to
Foreclose Mortgage, Document ID: 65218; Judgment Docket, Document ID: 65226; Judge’s
Docket, Document ID: 65228, S. C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137664; Bill to Foreclose Mortgage, Document ID: 65287; Decree, Document ID: 65292, S. C. Davis & Co. v. Kinney, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137669.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).