Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb.[February] 26, 1841.

An ACT to authorize Henry Hand to keep a ferry across Rock River.
1

Authority to establish ferry

Sec. [Section]1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Henry Hand be, and he is hereby authorized to establish and keep a ferry for ten years, across Rock river, at a point in the vicinity of Cleveland, in Henry county, where the State road2 from Knoxville

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in Knox county, to Port Byron in Rock Island county crosses said river.

How furnished.

Sec. 2. Said Hand shall cause said ferry to be furnished with a tight, good boat, sufficient for the speedy and safe transportation of all passengers, their teams, horses, cattle, and other animals, as well as their goods and effects; said boat shall be furnished with men of suitable strength and skill to manage the same.

Ferry landing

Sec. 3. Said Hand shall have the right to land his boat, and other ferry craft, at any point within one mile above or below, where said road crosses said river.

Rates of ferriage.

Tax for license.

Government.

Sec. 4. Said Hand shall receive such rates for crossing at said ferry as may be allowed him by the county commissioners’ court of Henry county; said Hand shall pay a tax of ferry license, such as the county commissioners’ court may require him to pay; and in the management and regulation of said ferry, the said Hand shall be governed by the requisitions of the act entitled “An act to provide for the establishment of ferries, toll bridges and turnpike roads,” approved, February the twelfth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.3 This act to take effect from and after the date of its passage.

Approved, February 26, 1841.4

1On December 24, 1840, John Denny in theHouse of Representatives presented the petition of citizens of Henry and Rock Island counties, which the House referred a select committee. In response to this petition, Denny of the aforesaid select committee introduced HB 164 in the House on February 3. The House passed the bill on February 10. On February 12, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on Incorporations. The Committee on Incorporations reported back the bill on February 19, recommending its rejection. The Senate agreed to read the bill a third time by a vote of 20 yeas to 13 nays. The Senate passed the bill without amendment on February 22. On February 26, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 152, 317, 336, 359, 473, 507, 514, 531; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 290, 306, 352, 372.

2State roads were those public roads established or designated by the General Assembly and usually crossed county lines. Only the General Assembly could establish, alter, or abandon state roads, until 1840 and 1841, when the General Assembly gave counties the authority to alter or to abandon state roads upon petition by a majority of voters in the area of the change.
An Act concerning Public Roads, sec. 9; An Act Authorizing Commissioners’ Courts to Alter, Change, and Relocate State Roads; An Act concerning Public Roads.

3“An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Ferries, Toll Bridges And Turnpike Road,” 12 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 220-27.

4Henry Hand established and operated the first ferry on Rock River at Cleveland.
The History of Henry County, Illinois (Chicago: H. F. Keitt, 1877), 561.