Grant Goodrich to Abraham Lincoln, 31 May 18521
Chicago May 31st /52A. Lincoln Esqr[Esquire]Dr[Dear] SirI have got the money on the judgment against Hon. S. T. Douglass $918.91 from which is to be deducted your fees & mine $100 as I understand from your
letter. I conclude from your letter & from what I know that Judge Davis owns the judgment2 Some years since my late partner & I were employed by him in a chancery suit in regard to a piece of land near this
city; the suit was unsuccessful & we have never got any fees– I understand that recently
he has obtained a fee for conveying or quit claiming the land or a part of it, & I
think we are entitled to our fees, & shall expect it be paid out of this money– How
shall I send you your $50– or the whole amt[amount] less my fee & that of Spring Goodrich?3
Yours &c[etc.]Grant Goodrich<Page 2>
[ docketing
]
08/XX/1852
08/XX/1852
[ endorsement
]
Dear Judge:
Dear Judge:
On reaching home I found this letter from Goodrich– It explains itself– I have written
him to send me fifty dollars, and to correspond with you as to the remainder–
A. Lincoln52The judgment Grant Goodrich refers to was related to the case Allin v. Douglas. In the case, Stephen A. Douglas owed James Allin, Jr. $800, and secured the debt with a mortgage on two lots in Bloomington, Illinois. After Douglas failed to pay the debt, Allin retained Abraham Lincoln and Goodrich,
who sued Douglas to foreclose on the mortgage as a means to collect the debt. In
October 1839, the case came before the McLean County Circuit Court, which issued writs on behalf of Allin, then continued the case. When, in May 1840,
Douglas failed to appear in court, the court issued what is known as a default judgment
in his absence—a ruling against a defendant who failed to plead his or her case within
the allotted time. The court found for Allin in the amount of $865 and ordered the
lots in Bloomington be foreclosed upon and sold in order to collect the sum. The lots
were sold in January 1841 for $364.13, which, in September 1841, the court ordered
credited to Allin toward the $800 debt, $65 in damages, and $9 in costs it deemed
he was ultimately owed. Allin assigned, or transferred, the judgment to Judge David
Davis, authorizing him to collect the judgment on his behalf.
It is unclear how Goodrich arrived at the amount of $918.91 that he gives in this
letter as the judgment against Douglas.
The letter from Lincoln which Goodrich references has not been located.
Order, Document ID: 134287; Judgment Docket, Document ID: 134288; Order, Document
ID: 134286; Assignment of Judgment, Document ID: 134285, Allin v. Douglas, 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=141103; “Default judgment,” Reference, Glossary, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al.,
eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference%20html%20files/Glossary.html.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Box 4, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).