Thomas Ewing to Abraham Lincoln, 16 July 18491
Department of the Interior,Washington July 16. 1849.Dear Sir,
I have received your favor of the 5th inst. and have to
state in reply that this Department has not the power of employing agents for examining the Land Offices,2 that power having been revoked by express statute in 1842.
I am &c[etc]T. Ewing.Hon A. Lincoln.Springfield, Ill.1This letter is attributed to Thomas Ewing, but is not in his hand. The original letter
has not been located, but another handwritten transcription is extant.
2On July 5, 1849, Lincoln wrote Ewing a letter recommending William Porter for a job as examiner for the U.S. General Land Office in the northwestern United
States. Porter does not appear in the official registers of the officers and agents
of the federal government for 1849 and 1851, so apparently he did not receive an appointment.
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); 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).
Handwritten Transcription, 1 page(s), University of Notre Dame Archives (South Bend, Indiana).