Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

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

An ACT authorizing David and Samuel Mitchell to establish a ferry across the Mississippi River at Albany, in Whiteside county.
1

Location.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That David Mitchell, and Samuel Mitchell, of the county of Whiteside, their heirs and assigns, be, and they are hereby authorized to establish and maintain a ferry across the Mississippi river at Albany, in the county of Whiteside, for and during the term of ten years from and after the passage of this act.

Rates of ferriage.

Sec. 2. The rates of ferriage for crossing said ferry shall be fixed by the county commissioners’ court of Whiteside county.

How furnished.

Sec. 3. The said David and Samuel Mitchell shall cause said ferry to be furnished with a good tight boat worked by horse or steam power, and sufficient for the safe and speedy transportation of all passengers, their horses, cattle and other animals, as well as their goods and effects, and said boat shall be furnished with person or persons of suitable strength and skill to manage the same.

How governed.

Sec. 4. The said David and Samuel Mitchell, in the management of the said ferry, shall be governed by the provisions of an act, entitled “An act to provide for the establishment of ferries, toll bridges and turnpike roads,” approved, February twelfth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.2

Approved, February 26, 1841.

1On December 29, 1840, Thomas Drummond in the House of Representatives presented the petition of David and Samuel Mitchell, requesting authorizing to establish a ferry across the Mississippi River. The House referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Drummond of the aforesaid select committee introduced HB 171 in the House on February 3, 1841. The House passed the bill on February 10. On February 18, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on Incorporations. The Committee on Incorporations reported back the bill on February 20, recommending its rejection. The Senate refused to read it a third time. The Senate later re-considered that vote, reading the bill a third time. 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., 158, 318, 341, 361, 473, 517, 524, 531; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 291, 341, 360, 361, 372.

2“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. In September 1840, Whiteside County had granted a license to David and Samuel Mitchell to operate the ferry between Albany and Camanche, Iowa. In July 1841, the county commissioners of Clinton County, Iowa issued a similar license. The Mitchell brothers ran the ferry using horse-power until 1850, when they purchased a steamboat. David Mitchell eventually sold his stake in the ferry to Samuel. Samuel and additional partners operated the ferry until 1860, when a tornado destroyed the boat.
Charles Bent, ed., History of Whiteside County, Illinois (Morrison, IL: Whiteside Sentinel, 1877), 114-15, 216; The History of Clinton County, Iowa (Chicago: Western Historical, 1879), 570.