Petition of Ezekiel Bowman and Others to U.S. Congress, [13 February 1849]1
To the Hon. the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled:
The undersigned citizens of the State ofIllinois would respectfully pray your Honorable bodies that a grant of lands be made to the
state of Illinois to aid in building a railroad from the Upper and Lower Mississippi to Chicago, on the same general terms and conditions of the bill for the same object, which
passed the Senate at the last session, by the large vote of twenty-four to eleven.2
These routes being par excellence, great national thorough-fares, in the construction of which, all sections of the country have a direct interest,
particularly the Northeast, the West, and Southwest, and being to Illinois the most
important within its borders, so that an undivided and strong support will be obtained
in Congress for them, if left unencumbered by other roads; we would respectfully pray
that the passage of the bill be not endangered by amendments, and that the terms of
the grant be made liberal to the State as in the former bill, so as to secure the
completion of the roads, and that it be passed the present session, before the best
lands shall have been absorbed by speculators in soldiers’ warrants. And your petitioners,
as in duty bound, will ever pray.3
| Ezekiel Bowman | John J. Russell |
| Soloman Kahn | William Allison |
| John Pritchhart | Edm Rankin |
| Mathew Smith | Jonathan Vanay |
| Abraham Lucas | |
| John Allison | D. F. Wright |
| Rbt Martin | Johnson. W. Wright |
| Zadok Mundy | |
| Christopher Ewing | |
| Lewis Craig | John Pershaw4 |
| John M Edwards | Craig Goldsmith |
| John. R. Skelton | James Ewing |
| James Briggs | James Enslow |
| Michael Tierney | Samuel Goldsmith |
| Hugh Cappy | Charles Briggs |
| John Tierney | |
| Peter Tierney | Levi Johnson |
| Edward Rankin | Henry Johnson |
| E. B. Coder | Samuel Altic |
| James Primm | Aberham Altic |
| Alfred Sams | Jacob Lantis |
| David Smith | Joseph Orendorff |
| John Smith | Victor Reese |
| Conrod Miller | Wm S Rankin |
| Daniel Lantis | John Hoblett |
| [Limurynis?] Bacon | Boston Hoblett |
| Sinnet Rankin | Sydney Ewing |
| Preston Pendltn | Berry Musick |
| Berryman [Bunghar?] | Andrew Bruner |
| John Altic | Bryant Wilkins |
| Wm Rankin | Solomon Dixon |
| Jesse Furbis | |
| David Dixon | |
| [Thos.?] J. Enslow | Jeremiah Dixon |
| Silas Allison | James Covington |
| H. A. Bateman | Anninise Hall |
| Patrick Bennett | John Musick |
| Ezra Boren | John Gravall |
| James Russell | Rbt Grawall |
| John Cowardin | |
| I. L. Ginnings | David Cowardin |
<Page 2>
[ docketing
]
Petition of Ezekiel Bowman & others, citizens of Logan county, Illinois asking a grant of Lands to aid in the construction of a Rail Road from the upper
& Lower Mississippi to Chicago in said state.5
[ docketing
]
30th—95
1This partially printed petition was filled in by an unknown author. Abraham Lincoln
penned two instances of docketing on the back page, and signed one.
2Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced this bill--S. 95-- in the Senate on January 20, 1848, and the Senate referred it to the Committee
on Public Lands. The committee reported back the bill on January 24 without amendment.
The Senate passed the bill on May 4. On August 12, the House of Representatives refused
to read the bill a third time by a vote of 73 yeas to 79 nays, with Lincoln voting
yea.
S. 95, 30th Cong. (1848); U.S. Senate Journal. 1848. 30th Cong., 1st sess., 125, 129, 290, 314, 592; U.S. House Journal. 1848. 30th Cong., 1st sess., 1270; Cong. Globe, 30th Cong., 1st Sess., 214, 230, 723 (1848).
3Lincoln presented this petition in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 13,
1849. Lincoln presented five other petitions on this topic on January 29 and February
13. Many more petitions on this topic were presented by Illinois congressmen between
January 29 and February 24, but it does not appear that the House of Representatives
acted upon them.
U.S. House Journal. 1849. 30th Cong., 2nd sess., 337, 344, 361, 380, 390, 415, 420, 429, 440, 445, 475,
498, 529; Petition of William C. Greenleaf and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of R. C. Cowden and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of A. H. H. Perkins and Others to U.S. Congress; Petition of Thomas Karr and others to U.S. Congress; Petition of R. W. Burton and Others to U.S. Congress.
Partially Printed Document Signed, 2 page(s), RG 233, Entry 367: Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thirtieth Congress, 1847-1849, Records of Legislative Proceedings, Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to Committees, 1847-1849, NAB.