Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Mar.[March] 1, 1839.

AN ACT to incorporate the Springfield Academy, in the county of Sangamon.
1

Body politic.

Name & style.

Powers.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Washington Iles, F. Webster, jr., Stephen T. Logan, John F. Rague, Nicholas H. Ridgeley, Robert Allen, and Charles R. Matheny, and their associates, be, and they are hereby, created a body corporate, by the name and style of “The president and trustees of the

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Springfield Academy;” by which name they shall have succession for twenty years, with power to acquire, purchase, receive, possess, hold, retain, and enjoy to themselves and their successors, property, real, personal, and mixed, and the same to sell, grant, and convey, rent, or otherwise dispose of, at pleasure; and they shall, by said name, have power to contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all courts of competent jurisdiction; and may have and use a common seal, which they may alter or break at pleasure: Provided said corporation shall at no one time hold more than one acre of real estate.

Stock.

Proviso.

Sec. 2. The stock of saidcompany shall consist of shares of fifty dollars each, to be subscribed for in the manner that the trustees shall prescribe, and which shall be deemed personal property, and shall be transferable on the books of said corporation, in such manner as the board may direct: Provided the capital stock shall not exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars; and that its funds, privileges, and rents shall be used for the purposes of education only.

Management of concerns.

Quorum.

President.

Vacancies.

Sec. 3. The corporate concerns of said company shall be managed by a board of trustees consisting of seven members, who shall be stockholders; any five of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. They shall be elected by the stockholders on the first Monday in April next, and hold their offices for the term of two years, and until their successors are elected. The said trustees shall elect one of their number president of the board, and shall have power to fill vacancies in their own body.

Officers.

By-laws.

Sec. 4. The board of trustees shall have power to appoint officers and agents, and to make, pass, ordain, establish, and enforce, all such ordinances, rules, regulations, and by-laws as a majority of them shall from time to time deem necessary and expedient for the good government of said academy, its officers and agents, teachers and pupils, and for the management of the property and affairs of said corporation.

Deeds, how made.

Sec. 5. All deeds or instruments of conveyance shall be made by a majority of the trustees, sealed with the seal of said corporation, if any they have, signed by the president, and by him acknowledged in his official capacity.

Trustees.

Sec. 6. The abovenamed persons shall be deemed trustees until others are elected; and they are hereby empowered to appoint all necessary agents and officers, whose offices shall expire with their own.

Sec. 7. Said academy shall be located in the town of Springfield, in the county of Sangamon.

Approved, March 1, 1839.

1On February 19 1839, Archer G. Herndon introduced SB 237 in the Senate. The Senate read the bill twice and referred it to the committee on School Lands and Education. On February 23, Orville H. Browning from the committee on the Judiciary 1 reported back the bill with an amendment, with which the Senate concurred. On February 26, the Senate passed the bill. On March 1, the House of Representatives passed the bill. On February 28, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 3, 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 525, 548, 552, 568; Journal of the Senate of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 3, 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 351, 391, 429, 454-55, 466, 475.

2Apparently, this is an error. The Journal does not indicate that the committee on the Judiciary acquired the bill from the committee on School Lands and Education.