George T. M. Davis to Abraham Lincoln, 20 February 18491
St Louis Febry 20. 1849My Dear Sir.I send you herewith a recommendation in favor of Ben Bond Esqr[Esquire] for Marshall, signed by most of the Democratic members (including the Lieutenant Governor) of both branches of the Illinois legislature.2 I hope you will present it with his other papers that he has transmitted to you,
and that through your and Col Baker[’]s influence you will secure the appointment for him. In my opinion he will be of more
essential service to us, than any other man in Illinois if he succeeds, in revolutionising that state at the next election.3 I fear from all I can see and learn that Col[Colonel] Baker will be disappointed in securing a cabinet appointment; but in this I hope
I may be mistaken and that he will succeed. I do not think that there is any serious idea entertained in this city of the success of Mr Bates, and there is certainly but very little feeling on the subject. The selection of
either Baker or Smith would give full as general satisfaction as that of Mr Bates under all the circumstances.4
I have personal favor to ask of you in regard to the Post Office in this City. There are a number of applicants, among whom is C G Ramsay Esqr, the joint proprietor with Mr Yeatman in the New Era. He was the first man to circulate the call for a public meeting in this City to
nominate Genl Taylor for the Presidency, and his paper was the first in the valley of the Mississippi to run up the Taylor flag. No more honest, upright, capable man can be found in the
City of St Louis, and for twelve years he has manfully battled for Whig principles without ever before having been an applicant for any office. Weimer the present incumbent took violent
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ground against Genl[General] Taylor, and the clerks in his office on election day violently assailed and villified the President elect. Under these circumstances, I think he should be removed, which
if done, the place ought to be given to Ramsay. I refer you to Mr Yeatman as to the character and number of recommendations Mr Ramsay has received and forwarded to him from this community, and then leave it to
your own sense of propriety to determine whether you can consistently lend him your
influence and aid. To me personally it will be a great favor, and if you can confer
it, the day may roll round when I can be of the most essential service to you. The
circulation of the Era is increasing throughout Illinois with great rapidity, and if it continues at its
present ratio, but a very few months will elapse before I shall have the largest circulation
in your state of any paper in the west. You can be of essential service to Mr R, if you feel so inclined, and I should be pleased if you can find time if you will
drop me a line in regard to the matter.
You probably are aware that Chambers of the Republican refused to sign the original call for a Taylor meeting in this city. I mean in a few days
to republish the call as originally appearing in the Era. By giving your assistance
to Mr Ramsay, you can lay me under obligations to you that I never can forget or will fail
to reciprocate.5
Truly Your friendGeo T M DavisHonl A LincolnWashington D.C.<Page 3>
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No 31
Marshal Illinois.
1849.
Bond Benjamin.
Recommended by, George T. M. Davis of Saint Louis, Missouri
Marshal Illinois.
1849.
Bond Benjamin.
Recommended by, George T. M. Davis of Saint Louis, Missouri
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Also, Recommends the appointment of C. G. Ramsey Esq.[Esquire] as Post Master at St. Louis, Mo.
3Benjamin Bond received the appointment and held the job until 1853. In March 1849,
Abraham Lincoln wrote several letters soliciting on Bond's behalf, though he preferred
that the appointment go to another.
Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; Abraham Lincoln to John M. Clayton; Abraham Lincoln to John M. Johnson; 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), 247; 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), 267; 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), 259.
4“Mr. Smith” could have been either Caleb or Truman Smith. Taylor offered Truman Smith the job of secretary of interior, but Smith turned
him down. Neither Edward D. Baker nor Edward Bates received a cabinet position.
Elbert B. Smith, The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988), 52-56.
5Charles G. Ramsey did not get the appointment; John M. Wimer kept his job until 1850,
when Archibald Gamble became postmaster.
Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of
the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849, 505; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of
the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851, 570.
Autograph Letter Signed, 3 page(s), RG 59, Entry 760: Appointment Records, Applications and Recommendations for Office, Applications and Recommendations for Public Office, 1797-1901, NACP.