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Petition of George Pasfield and Others to the Town of Springfield, Illinois, [14 June 1838]1
To the Honorable the President and Trustees of Springfield.
We the owners of lots on so much of Fifth Street, in the town of Springfield, as lies between the North East corner of Block No 21 and the South East corner of Block No 10 in said town, do hereby petition and apply to your Honorable body to levy a special tax upon all the owners of lots or parts of lots upon the above described part of Fifth Street aforesaid, for the purpose of grading and paving or McAdamising the above described part of a street2
Geo Pasfield ^38 & 79^
N. A. Rankin 20 Feet
William F. Irwin 22 ft.[feet] 9 in–[inches]
James Bell Co 22–9 inches–
F. Vaughn ^19 feet ½^
P. C. Canedy 20 feet 20 ft
Joseph Thayer
Grimsley & Levering ^20.7—^
Ninian W. Edwards 20 feet 20 ft.
S. M. Tinsley 20 feet by 50[feet?]
E. C Blankenship [110?] feet.
H. Yates. (by N A Rankin) 20 Feet.
David Spear 20 feet
John Williams pr E. C Blankenship 20 feet
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[ docketing ]
Petition of E. C. Blankenship and others for grading and M’Adamizing street
1Abraham Lincoln wrote the petition.
2On August 9, 1839, the Board of Trustees, with Lincoln acting as president pro tem, approved this petition.
The Illinois Incorporation Act of 1831, under which Springfield residents incorporated the town of Springfield on April 2, 1832, did not have a specific clause dedicated to petitioning for a special tax upon owners of lots for grading or paving sidewalks and streets, but the charters for Lawrenceville, Carlinville, and other towns included specific sections to that effect.
Springfield Board of Trustees Minutes, 9 August 1839, 25, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; An Act to Incorporate the Town of Lawrenceville; An Act to Incorporate the Town of Carlinville; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 565.

Handwritten Document Signed, 2 page(s), Box 1, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).