Thomas Ewing to Abraham Lincoln, 3 April 18501
Dept of the Interior April 3 1850Sir
I have yours of the 22d ult in aid of the application of Dr A. G.
Henry,2 and will give to the same due attention;3
I am &c[etc.]T. EwingHon A. LincolnSpringfield Ill.2This is a reference to a letter Abraham Lincoln wrote Ewing recommending Anson G. Henry for appointment to an Indian
agency.
During the spring and fall of 1849, Lincoln wrote several other letters of recommendation
to officials in President Zachary Taylor’s administration supporting Henry for several different patronage appointments, none
of which Henry received.
3On June 24, 1850, Henry received appointment as Indian agent in the Oregon Territory. He accepted this position and started for Oregon, but never assumed the job, returning
to Springfield before reaching the territory.
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), 271; Edward D. Neill, History of the Minnesota Valley (Minneapolis: North Star, 1882), 123-24; Elbert F. Floyd, “Insights into the Personal
Friendship and Patronage of Abraham Lincoln and Anson Gordon Henry, M.D.: Letters
for Dr. Henry to His Wife, Eliza,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 98 (Winter 2005/2006), 220, 223.
Handwritten Transcription, 1 page(s), University of Notre Dame Archives (South Bend, Indiana).