Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Matthew T. Scott, Jr. to Abraham Lincoln, 31 August 18581
Lex Ky Aug2 31, 1858Hon A LincolnDear Sir
I write to remind you of my suits against the two Railroads.3 I do not know whether you will be able to look after them personally if not please give the benefit of your views to some one suitable in your judgment to bring the suits– I would like them to come off this court. I have very recently been afflicted in the death of ^my^ dearly loved Father and am now with my brothers & sisters doing what I can to comfort them–4 He was old in years but never seemed so to us, as his mind was not in the slightest impaired by age– I leave the business above to you & hope to find a letter at Chenoa from you when I reach there Saturday or Wednesday week5
Resp Yrs[Respectfully Yours]M. T. Scott Jr

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[Envelope]

LEXINGTON KY
AUG[AUGUST] 31 1858Hon A LincolnSpringfieldIllinois

[ docketing ]
Lincoln, Abraham (President)

M. T. Scott.6

1 Matthew T. Scott, Jr. wrote and signed this letter, including the address on the envelope.

2"Aug" written over "Sept."

3In September 1852, Scott purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Danville, Illinois. He then laid out the town of Chenoa in 1856 where the proposed Peoria and Oquawka Railroad would cross the St. Louis, Alton, and Chicago Railroad. When that did not materialize, Scott sued the St. Louis, Alton, and Chicago Railroad in an action of assumpsit in the McLean County Circuit Court in December 1857. He retained Lincoln and the case was called for a trial by jury on April 10, 1858. The jury found for Scott in December 1858 and awarded him $2,170 in damages.
Certificate of Purchase, Document ID: 65560; Order, Document ID: 53460; Order, Document ID: 53462; Scott v. St. Louis, Alton, & Chicago RR, 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), https://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=136810; “Assumpsit,” 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; Edward Callary, Place Names of Illinois (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 67.

4Scott’s father, Matthew T. Scott, died on August 20, 1858.
Gravestone, The Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, KY.

5Lincoln’s response, if one was penned, has not been found.

6Lincoln wrote this docketing.