Hart, Rhoda

Flourished: Menard County, Illinois

Rhoda and her husband Moses Hart settled in what is now Menard County, Illinois, as early as 1829. After her husband's death, Rhoda served as executrix of the estate. From 1837 to 1841 she retained Abraham Lincoln at least five times in legal actions to settle the estate.

U.S. Census Office, Fifth Census of the United States (1830), Sangamon County, IL, 135; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Menard County, 816:18-19, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; For Rhoda's cases, search "Hart, Rhoda," under Participant, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org.