Hopkins, Hayes, Palmer & Company to Lincoln & Herndon, 16 December 18581
14 Cortland StreetNew York Dec 16, 1858Messrs[Messieurs] Lincoln & HerndonSpringfield, IllGentlemen
Your favor of the 10th inst came to hand yesterday.2 The depositions of the Notary & of the writer have been taken before a commissioner
for the United States Court, & will be forwarded by him this day to the Clerk. It has been done under the supervision
of our Lawyers and we hope will be all you need– It may be well to say here, that
Courtlandt Palmer of this city, & Frederick T. Wallace of Cleveland Ohio, (where we also had a mercantile House,) are our assignees in Bankruptcy, hence it
appears to us that the title of suit should have been C Palmer & F T Wallace, assignees
of H H P & Co vs &c[etc], but this may not be material– we have this day a letter from Magill declining our
proposition of the 6th inst, hence the probability is that collection must be enforced.3
Respectfully YoursHopkins Hayes Palmer & Cofor assignees
1An unknown member of Hopkins, Hayes, Palmer & Company wrote and signed this letter.
The same person wrote and signed a letter to Lincoln & Herndon on November 30, 1858.
3This letter relates to the legal case of Palmer & Wallace v. Magill, Denton & Co. The Dubuque and Pacific Railroad gave Mason, Bishop and Company two bills of exchange
totaling $2,000. Mason, Bishop and Company assigned the bills to the firm of Magill, Denton and Company, which included partners Henry Magill, William Magill, and Nixon Denton. Magill, Denton and Company assigned the bills to Courtlandt Palmer and Frederick Wallace, principle partners in the firm of Palmer & Wallace. Palmer and Wallace presented the bills to the railroad, but the railroad failed
to pay. Palmer and Wallace wrote Lincoln & Herndon several letters requesting their
legal assistance. They then retained Lincoln & Herndon and sued Magill, Denton and
Company in an action of assumpsit in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois and requested $3,000 in damages. The parties apparently reached an agreement, and
Palmer & Wallace dismissed the case.
Palmer & Wallace v. Magill, Denton & Co., 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://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137588.
Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC). .