Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb. 22, 1839.

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of notaries public.
1

Petition for notary public.

Duty of Gov.[Governor]

Proviso.

Further proviso.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That whenever fifty legal voters of any city, town, village, or township, in this State, shall, by petition to the Governor, request the appointment of a notary public in such city, town, village, or township, the Governor shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a notary public conformably to such request: Provided, That not more than five appointments shall be made in any one city, town, village, or township: And provided, also, That each petition shall be signed by different voters; and not more than one appointment shall be made upon the petition of the same persons.

Powers of notary public.

Sec. 2. Notaries public appointed under the provisions of this act shall have and possess all the powers, and perform such duties as is or may be required by law; and vacancies occurring shall be filled upon petitions as is required to obtain appointments by the foregoing section.

Number.

Sec. 3. In cities, towns[,] and townships, in which one or more notaries public have been appointed under existing laws, The number of notaries shall not be increased by the provisions of this act to more than five, including those already provided for.2

Approved, February 22, 1839.

1On January 18, 1839, William Thomas introduced SB 100 in the Senate. On January 25, the Senate refused to pass the bill. On February 2, the Senate passed the bill. On February 18, the House laid the bill on the table. On February 20, the House passed the bill. On February 22, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 337, 343, 433, 464, 479; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 188, 201, 225, 265, 375, 387.

2An 1828 Illinois law provided for a notary public in each county and gave the governor power to appoint notaries in the event of vacancies. Apparently, by 1839, increasing populations in towns and counties across the state required the services of more notaries public to meet increasing demand for their services.
“An Act for the Appointment of Notaries Public,” approved 30 December 1828,” The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 512.