Daniel Webster to Abraham Lincoln, 28 February [1849]1
Feb: 28
My Dear SirMr Ewbank is yet in doubt.2 If the enclosed statement of the
claim will satisfy our friends,3 I have reason to think a Patent may be obtained—4
Yrtruly[Yours truly] Danl WebsterMr Lincoln<Page 2>
A. LINCOLN.
MANNER OF BOUYING VESSELS.
No. 6,469. Patented May 22, 1849.5
THE NORRIS PETERS CO. PHOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON, D.C.6
2Possibly a reference to Thomas Ewbank’s candidacy for commissioner of patents. President
Zachary Taylor would appoint him commissioner in May 1849.
Jason Emerson, Lincoln the Inventor (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009), 88, n49.
4Lincoln lore posits that Abraham Lincoln sought Webster’s help in securing a patent
for his invention to buoy ships over river shoals and sandbars. For many historians,
this cryptic letter reinforces that postulation. While the date makes it plausible
to conclude that it is referring to Lincoln’s patent application--he was actively
seeking a patent during this time--there is no veritable proof. Lincoln submitted
his patent application to the U.S. Patent Office on March 10, 1849, and On May 22, the Patent Office approved his application and
issued him patent number 6,469.
Jason Emerson, Lincoln the Inventor, 17-18.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Collected Papers of Abraham Lincoln (MS 3031), Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, OH).