Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Sec 1 Be it enacted
1
Whereas it has been represented to this Legislature by the Petition of Nathaniel Sanburn of the County of Knox that sometime in the year 1837 he gave to his son Charles Sanburn, then & now a minor the sum of fifty Dollars as a gift to purchase forty acres of land which said sum of money was paid for the purchase of the North West quarter of the North west quarter of section twenty three of township six north of Range two East of the 4th principal Meridian lying in the county of Fayette 2. and it is further represented that since the time above specified the said Nathaniel Sanburn has & now labors under pecuniary embarrassments that he has a large family of children (including the said Charles Sanburn) to support & is unable to do without the process of the sale of the afore mentioned tract of land. Therefore

Sec[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That the said Charles Sanburn be and he is hereby authorized to execute a deed in fee Simple to James Black of the county

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of Fayette and State of Illinois, according to the terms of an agreement entered into between the saidNathaniel Sanburn father of the Said Charles Sanburn and said James Black, which shall be deemed and taken to be as good and valid a conveyance, both in law and equity as the Said Charles Sanburn could or might make if he were of lawful age3

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15 N^o 8

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H R
A Bill for an act to authorize Charles Sanburn a minor to execute a deed to the person therein named

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[12]/[12]/[1840]
Calhoun, John

to be Engrossed
Clk . H. R.

1On December 1, 1840, John Denny in the House of Representatives presented the petition of Nathaniel Sanburn, requesting the right of minors to sell lands. The House referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Denny of the aforesaid select committee introduced HB 27 in the House on December 12. The House passed the bill on December 14. On December 29, the Senate tabled the bill. On January 15, 1841, the Senate took up the bill, rejecting its passage by a vote of 14 yeas to 19 nays.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 42, 111, 113, 115, 229; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 78, 87-88, 102, 120, 166.

2On July 17, 1837, Charles Sanburn purchased forty acres in Fayette County. He was probably eleven years of age when this transaction occurred. The land description in the bill is incorrect. Township six, Range 2 east of the fourth principal meridian places the property in question in Fulton County. Township six, Range 2 east of third principal meridian places in the property in Fayette County. Since Nathaniel Sanburn lived in Knox County, and Knox was due north of Fulton, and both were east of the fourth meridian, it is probable that the error is with the meridian, not the county. This is further confirmed by the fact that James Black was identified as from Fayette County, and public land sales records list the principal meridian as the third.
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Fayette County, 145:170, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.

3Illinois law had no provision for minors to own or convey real estate. As the case of Charles Sanburn shows, minors purchased land, but fathers or guardians (in the case or orphaned minors) usually held conveyance power. When the law was insufficient in a particular case, petitioners often appealed to the General Assembly for a special act of conveyance. It appears that is what Nathaniel Sanburn was attempting in this instance.
“An Act concerning the Conveyances of Real Property,” 31 January 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 95-102; “An Act concerning Minors, Orphans, and Guardians,” 5 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 301-304.