Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

David Davis to William H. Bissell, 24 October 18581
Urbana, Illinois
Oct^o 24. 1858.His ExcellencyW. H. Bissell.Dear Sir–
O. F. Jones was convicted at the last term of the Circuit Court of this Co for Larceny & Sentenced to Penitentiary for one year2

– Jones, I should think was of good family, and was evidently seduced by his wife, to the Commission of the offence– She was a base woman, no doubt, before he married her– Jones is a young man, and evidently clemency would not now be misplaced–3

A large petition has been presented in his behalf.4

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M^r Lamon, the Prosecuting attorney, joins me in requesting you to shorten the term of his imprisonment— by pardoning him for the balance of his term–5
With great Respect
Your obt Servt.[obedient Servant]David Davis

[ endorsement ]
Lamon, Ward H.Bissell, William H.

I join in the above
Ward H Lamon 6

[ endorsement ]
11/03/1858
Lincoln, Abraham (President)Bissell, William H.

I was at the Champaign Circuit Court at the time of the conviction of Jones, but was not engaged in the case– From what I heard then as well as from the above statement of the Judge and Prosecuting Attorney, I concur in the recommendation that he be pardoned.7
Your Ob^t Serv^tA LincolnNov^r 3. 1858.8

1David Davis wrote and signed this letter.

2At the April 1858 term of the Champaign County Circuit Court, Orin F. Jones, an American Express Company agent, plea guilt to the theft of a package containing $509.15. Davis presided over the case as judge, sentencing Jones to one year in the Illinois State Penitentiary. James B. McKinley served as Jones’s defense attorney.
McKinley requested Lincoln’s assistance in obtaining pardon, 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/Details.aspx?case=141546

3Though Jones confessed to larceny, some of his supporters blamed the woman whom he called his wife for either influencing him to commit the crime or committing the crime herself. (It is unclear if the couple were legally married). McKinley circulated a petition asking Governor William H. Bissell to pardon Jones on the basis of his otherwise good character. In a letter dated May 31, 1858, John H. Angle, a business owner in West Urbana, wrote to Bissell to object to the idea of pardoning Jones. While Angle agreed that Jones’s “wife” was “a woman of decidedly bad character,” he also berated Jones as “notoriously a worthless fellow” with a poor reputation in the community.
James B. McKinley to Abraham Lincoln; Petition for Pardon, Document ID: 130508; Letter, Document ID: 130504, McKinley requested Lincoln’s assistance in obtaining pardon, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=141546.

4McKinley‘s petition garnered approximately five and a half pages of signatures, including members of the grand jury that indicted Jones. In his letter to Bissell, Angle claimed to have spoken with several other signatories who, allegedly, admitted they did not personally know Jones. Angle speculated that many of the petitioners may have only signed because McKinley himself vouched for Jones’s character. There is no known evidence to verify or refute Angle’s speculation.
James B. McKinley to Abraham Lincoln; Petition for Pardon, Document ID: 130508; Letter, Document ID: 130504, McKinley requested Lincoln’s assistance in obtaining pardon, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=141546.

5Bissell ultimately decided to pardon Jones in April 1859. This came just days before the end of his prison term, restoring his rights as a citizen without significantly shortening his sentence.
McKinley requested Lincoln’s assistance in obtaining pardon, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=141546

6Ward H. Lamon wrote and signed this endorsement.

7The spring term of the Champaign County Circuit Court began on April 12, 1858. Abraham Lincoln was at the court in Urbana attending to unrelated legal matters as an attorney on the Eighth Judicial Circuit (Illinois). McKinley wrote Lincoln on May 28, asking him to “give an opinion if you have any to the Governor” regarding Jones’s request for clemency. No further correspondence has been found between Lincoln and McKinley regarding Jones.
The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 12 April 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-04-12; “An Act Declaring What Counties Shall Compose the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and the Fix Times of Holding the Courts and Regulate the Practice in Said Circuit,” 11 February 1857, Laws of Illinois (1857), 12.

8Lincoln wrote and signed this endorsement.