Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force March 1st, 1837

AN ACT for the relief of John Logsdon, Butler Logsdon, Joseph Logsdon, Nancy Brown, and Susan Williams.
1

Certain lots in Shawneetown released by State to John Logsdon, Jo. Logsdon, B. Logsdon, and others

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That all the rights, title, and interest, which the State now has, or hereafter may acquire, by escheat, in and to in-lots in Shawneetown, known and designated on the plat of said town as in-lots numbered 1215 and 1216, the estate of John Cox of Shawneetown, deceased, to, and the same is hereby released to, and conferred in and upon John Logsdon, Butler Logsdon, Joseph Logsdon, Nancy Brown, and Susan Williams, of the State of Illinois, in equal and corresponding shares.

How said persons are allowed to obtain said lots

Shall be entitled to full benefit of act 1st March, 1833

Sec. 2. The said John Logsdon, Butler Logsdon, Joseph Logsdon, Nancy Brown, and Susan Williams shall be entitled to proceed in their own names, in the same manner as the state’s attorney, in behalf of the state, is authorized to proceed, under an act regulating escheats, approved March 1st, 1833, and the same process shall be awarded to the said releases and confirmers, and judgment had in their names and for their benefits, as the state would be entitled to under the said act; the court proceeding in all respects by the same rules as are prescribed in said act, for the regulation of information on behalf of the State.2

Sec. 3. It is hereby intended that the rights of the

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unknown heirs of the said John Cox, deceased, if any there be, shall stand and be in all respects as they are, under the provisions of the escheat law of this state now in force.3

Approved 1st March, 1837.

1On February 8, 1837, Daniel Stone introduced HB 185 in the House of Representatives. On February 17, the House passed the bill. On February 27, the Senate passed the bill. On March 1, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 185, 515, 610, 731, 768, 794; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 458, 496, 531, 572.

2Sections two, three, four, and five of the escheat statute governed the duties of state’s attorneys, regulation of information, and court proceedings.
“An Act regulating Escheats,” 1 March 1833, The Revised Laws of Illinois (1833), 264-66.

3Sections two and six of the escheat statute protected the rights of any unknown heirs, giving said heirs five years to contest any judgment vesting lands in the state. Infants, married women, persons outside the limits of the United States, and persons with disabilities were awarded additional time to file their petitions for redress.
“An Act regulating Escheats,” 266-67.