Abraham Lincoln to Orville H. Browning, 22 June 18581
Springfield, June 22, 1858 .O. H. Browning, Esq[Esquire]My dear SirMrs Macready has appeared here again this morning; and it now occurs to me as strange that I did
not think to ask you whether you can surely be on hand at the next term, if we continue
the case till then– Can you? Answer as soon as possible, after receiving– ^this–^ If you can possibly be here at this term say so, and about what day; but I understood
you that probably you can not be here again at this term–2
Yours trulyA Lincoln–<Page 2>
2Docketing on the verso of this letter, shown in the second image, reveals that Orville
H. Browning replied to Lincoln on June 25, but his reply has not been located. However,
the case outcome reveals that Lincoln and Browning did not delay the case.
In March 1857, Mrs. Mary Macready fell into a hole while walking on a public sidewalk
in Alton, Illinois, injuring her ankle, leg, and back. Incapacitated after the fall, she missed a business
engagement and spent $500 on medical expenses. She retained Lincoln & Herndon and Browning & Bushnell, who sued the city of Alton in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois in April 1858 in an action of trespass and requested $20,000 in damages for the city’s
negligence in maintaining the sidewalks and failure to properly warn members of the
public of ongoing repairs and hazards. In June 1858, the jury found for Macready and
awarded $300 in damages.
Macready v. Alton, Illinois, 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://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137571.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s) Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).