Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton, 11 March 18491

[ docketing ]
03/13/1849
Rec'd[Received] 13 March,

Washington, March 11. 1849Hon: Secretary of State
There is not a Single whig Clerk from Illinois in any of the Departments here, unless it be J. M. Lucus, recently appointed by Judge Young in the Land office.2 I hope that in the Course of time that the Illinois Whigs may be allowed to Share in these offices: therefore I will place in your hands the following names:

John H. Morrison, Wyoming Stark Co. Ills

Benjamin F. James Tremont "

Victor B. Bell M^t Carmel "

These are all excellent clerks, of good habits and unimpeachable Moral Character
Your ob^t Serv^t[obedient Servant]A. Lincoln 3

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XX/XX/1849
Clerkships—Indefinite
Morrison John H. entd[entered]
James BenjⁿF. entd
Bell Victor B. entd
Recommended
1849.

[ docketing ]
entd

1An unknown person wrote the body of this letter. Abraham Lincoln wrote the dateline, address line, and closing. He also signed his own name.

2Josiah M. Lucas was a clerk in the General Land Office in Washington, DC.
Josiah M. Lucas to Abraham Lincoln; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:298.

3On the same date, Lincoln wrote letters to Secretary of War George W. Crawford and others on behalf of John H. Morrison, Benjamin F. James, and Victor B. Bell. James pressed Lincoln in April, May, and June about an appointment. Morrison apparently traveled to Washington, DC, to press his claim, before requesting his name be withdrawn from further consideration. In June 1849, however, Morrison wrote again asking Lincoln for help in getting the surveyor generalship of California or, failing that, a clerk position in Washington.
Neither Morrison, James, nor Bell appear in the official registers of the officers and agents of the federal government for 1849, 1851, and 1853, so apparently they did not receive appointments.
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); 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); Abraham Lincoln to George W. Crawford; Abraham Lincoln to Unknown; Stephen T. Logan to Abraham Lincoln; John H. Morrison to Abraham Lincoln; Benjamin F. James to Abraham Lincoln; Benjamin F. James to Abraham Lincoln; Benjamin F. James to Abraham Lincoln.