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Orville H. Browning and Others to Abraham Lincoln, 6 September 18491
Pittsfield Illinois Sept 6 1849.Dr[Dear] Sir
Maj[Major] Hart Fellows of Schuyler County contemplates removing to Oregon; and an appointment to one of the vacancies in that territory would be very acceptable to him. You are so well acquainted with the Major that it is unnecessary to speak particularly of his character and qualifications for office. His integrity and talents command respect & confidence wherever known. His qualifications for a judgeship are highly respectable, and for the office of secretary of the territory no one has greater. we therefore earnestly and cordially unite in recommending Major F. to your kind offices, and respectfully request that in a letter to the proper department, you will urge and enforce the application of the Major and you will much oblige2
Your FriendsO. H. BrowningWm A. GrimshawR S BlackwellWm ThomasWm A MinshallM Hay–Charles D. HodgesDavid A SmithD H GilmerJ. GrimshawN M KnappArchibald WilliamsTo the Hon A LincolnSpringfield Ill.
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[ docketing ]
09/20/1849
Secretary or Judge Oregon
Maj[Major]Hart Fellow recomd[recommended]
Entd[Entered] Sep 20, 1849
Geo P Fisher
Con Clk[Confidential Clerk]
1The signers of this letter signed their respective names.
2Abraham Lincoln enclosed this letter in a letter he wrote to Secretary of State John M. Clayton on September 12, 1849, in which he endorsed Hart Fellows as “worthy” of either a judgeship or appointment as secretary of the Oregon Territory, while also stipulating that Simeon Francis was his personal choice for the latter.
President Zachary Taylor had appointed Lincoln secretary of the Oregon Territory August 9, 1849, less than a month after he appointed Justin H. Butterfield commissioner of the U.S. General Land Office, a position Lincoln had sought after learning that Butterfield was favored for the job. See the General Land Office Affair. As Lincoln explained in a May 16, 1849 letter to William B. Preston, he believed the appointment of Butterfield to such a valuable patronage position would represent an affront to Whigs in Illinois who had worked so hard to get Taylor nominated and elected president. Many Illinois Whigs were indeed upset by Butterfield’s appointment and criticized both President Taylor and Secretary of the Interior Thomas Ewing. The administration hoped that by offering Lincoln the position of secretary of the Oregon Territory, it would appease any angry Illinois Whigs and prevent additional attacks upon Butterfield’s appointment. In a letter to Clayton dated August 21, 1849, Lincoln declined the appointment for secretary of the Oregon Territory and recommended Francis for the position instead. In the end, Taylor appointed Edward Hamilton of Ohio to the position.
On September 20, 1849, in a final effort to ease any tensions caused by Butterfield’s appointment, the Taylor administration also offered Lincoln appointment as governor of the Oregon Territory. After serious consideration of this offer, Lincoln also turned this position down, at least in part because Mary Lincoln had no desire to live in such a remote location. Taylor appointed John P. Gaines of Virginia governor of the Oregon Territory instead.
Fellows’ name does not appear in the official registers for the officers and agents of the government for 1849, 1851, and 1853, so apparently he did not receive any other appointment.
Francis’ name also does not appear in the official registers of the officers and agents of the government for 1849, 1851, 1853, 1855, 1857, or 1859, so apparently he did not receive any other appointment during this period. The 1861 official register shows Francis worked in Oregon as a printer for the U.S. government and as a paymaster for the U.S. Army. In July 1861, he also wrote Lincoln requesting appointment as commissioner of Indian Affairs. Francis did not receive this appointment, but, by 1863, he was a paymaster in Oregon.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:306-7; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), 250; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851); Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853); Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855); Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1857); Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1859 (Washington, DC: William A. Harris, 1859); Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1861 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862), 118, 199; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 151; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1865 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866), 193; Abraham Lincoln to Thomas Ewing.

Handwritten Letter Signed, 2 page(s), RG 59, Entry 760: Appointment Records, Applications and Recommendations for Office, Applications and Recommendations for Public Office, 1797-1901, NACP.