Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln, 3 February 18591
Office Columbus Machine Manufacturing Co.,
Columbus, O., Feby 3d1859Hon Abraham LincolnSpringfield, Ill.Dear Sir,We have not as yet received from you, ^a reply^ to our letter of the 5th ult and the Directors of this Compy are quite anxious to know what progress has been made in our Suit against Mr. Barret and when we may expect to realize some thing from the claim, also if the judgement transfered to this Co as security can be collected.2
As it is of the utmost consequence to this company that we should know the exact situation of this matter I trust you will give this
your immediate attention and reply by return mail3
Yours RespectfullyP. Ambos Treas[Treasurer][I.?]
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2Ambos references the case Ambos v. James A. Barret & Co.. James A. Barret and Company gave Ambos, the treasurer of the Columbus Machine Manufacturing
Company, five promissory notes totaling $10,233.20. After James A. Barret and Co.
failed to pay, Ambos retained Lincoln & Herndon and sued James A. Barret and Co. in an action of assumpsit in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois, to recover the debt. Barret paid Lincoln $1,000 of the debt, and Lincoln foreclosed
on Barret's land in a related case (Ambos v. Barret et ux.). In this related case, Barret gave Ambos four promissory notes totaling $8,700
and secured the notes with a mortgage on 1,120 acres of land. Barret also mortgaged
1,000 acres of the same property to Henry Von Phul. Barret failed to pay, and Ambos
retained Lincoln & Herndon and sued Barret and his wife Eliza Barret in the U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois to foreclose the mortgage.
In June 1859, the court ruled for Ambos for $8,739.62, and ordered the master in chancery
to sell the 1,000 acres to satisfy Von Phul's interest in the mortgage and to sell
the 120 acres to satisfy Ambos's interest. Lincoln preferred to pass along the money
from the judgment to Ambos in small increments, but Ambos wanted all of it at once.
Upset with Ambos, Lincoln wanted to quit the case but did not. After Lincoln's election
as President in 1860, William H. Herndon took over the case of Ambos v. James A. Barret & Co.. Ambos agreed to a nonsuit on one of the promissory notes, and the court ruled for
Ambos and awarded $10,023.57 on the other notes. Barret failed to satisfy the judgment,
and the court issued a writ of scire facias to revive the earlier judgment. Barret
defaulted, and the court revived the earlier judgment of $10,023.57. Barret was involved
in three other cases involving his mortgage on the 120 acres (Columbus Machine Manufacturing Co. et al. v. E. R. Ulrich & Co.; Columbus Machine Manufacturing Co. et al. v. P. A. Dorwin & Co.; Merrow et al. v. Barret et al..
Ambos v. James A. Barret & 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), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137502; Ambos v. Barret et ux., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137501; Columbus Machine Manufacturing Co. et al. v. E. R. Ulrich & Co., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=138960; Columbus Machine Manufacturing Co. et al. v. P. A. Dorwin & Co., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition,
https://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=138957; Merrow et al. v. Barret et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, https://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=139850.3Lincoln & Herndon responded to this letter on February 14, and Ambos responded to their letter on February 17. Ambos continued to correspondence with Lincoln on
the Barret case until March 1860.
Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln; Peter Ambos to Lincoln & Herndon; Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln; Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln; Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln; Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln; Peter Ambos to Abraham Lincoln.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).