Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Jan.[January] 16, 1836.

AN ACT simplifying the mode of acknowledgment of Sheriffs Deeds.
1

Sheriff’s deeds to be acknowledged or proved before clerk.

Admitted to record.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all deeds heretofore executed, or which may hereafter be executed by any Sheriff or other officer, for any real estate, sold on execution, upon being acknowledged or proven before any clerk of any court of record in this state, and certified under the seal of such court, shall be admitted to record in the county where the real estate sold, shall be situated.2

Duty of successor to Sheriff.

Sec. 2. The successor of any sheriff or other officer, shall be authorized to execute deeds for real estate sold by the predecessor, or to acknowledge any deed executed and not acknowledged by such predecessor.

Sec. 3. Deeds heretofore executed by officers for real estate, sold on execution, and acknowledged or proven, and certified in the manner required by law, for the acknowledgment or proof of deeds of conveyance, shall be considered as having been duly executed.

Deeds acknowledged or proved, deemed valid.

Sec. 4. All deeds executed and acknowledged, or proved, according to the provisions of this act, shall be deemed to have been duly executed, and shall be admitted as evidence, without further proof of the execution thereof.3

Approved, Jan. 16, 1836.

1Edwin B. Webb introduced HB 48 in the House of Representatives on December 19, 1835. On December 22, the House amended the bill by adding a fourth section and then passed the bill. On January 12, 1836, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee, which reported back with a substitute on January 14. The Senate approved the substitute and passed the bill as substituted the same day. On January 15, the House concurred in the amendments of the Senate. On January 16, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 34, 111, 127, 325, 342, 346, 358; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 95, 210, 225, 240, 265, 268, 280.

2Sections thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen of the general act governing judgments and executions empowered sheriffs to execute deeds for property sold on execution.
“An Act concerning Judgments and Executions,” 17 January 1825, Laws of the State of Illinois (1825), 156.

3On January 14, 1836, the Senate amended the bill by substituting the text shown here. The substitution mostly clarified the language of the original. In 1845, the General Assembly repealed this act.
Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 240; “Revised Statutes,” 3 March 1845, Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois (1845), 456.