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Lot 80
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Abraham Lincoln Autographed 1849 Land Fraud Legal Doc, Nearly 100 Words In His Hand!
Abraham Lincoln Autographed 1849 Land Fraud Legal Doc, Nearly 100 Words In His Hand!
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Description:

Abraham Lincoln
[Sangamon County, IL], [September 11, 1849]
Abraham Lincoln Autographed 1849 Land Fraud Legal Doc, Nearly 100 Words In His Hand!
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A 1p autograph document in the hand of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), future 16th U.S. President. [September 11, 1849.] [Sangamon County, Illinois.] The legal document includes 95 words in Lincoln's hand on legal sized paper, with one contemporaneous edit, a struck-through word on the 13th line. One Edwin G. Walker has inscribed at bottom: "The above is the hand writing of Abraham Lincoln in a case in Chancery, Sangamon C. Circuit Court. Sept 11, 1849 - Judge David Davis, presiding; [illegible] K. Page 232. Edwin G. Walker." A former collector's pencil-inscribed purchase price of $50 is located at lower left. Expected wear including flattened folds, some professionally repaired verso. Even toning. Professional infilling of scattered areas of loss. Minor scattered discoloration mostly to edges and corners probably indicative of previous mounting. Else near fine. 7.375" x 12."

This legal document related to the case of William D. Enyart vs. Smith McAtee (1849-1851), which at its core revolved around a fraudulent land transaction. The plaintiff, William D. Enyart (also Enyert or Engart) was represented by three attorneys: Abraham Lincoln, William H. Herndon, and William I. Ferguson. The case was tried before the Sangamon County Circuit Court between August 1849 and March 1851, with Judge David Davis rendering a final verdict in favor of Lincoln's client. The land deed in question was voided and the property was transferred back to William D. Enyart. Defendant Smith McAtee died two months later, in May 1851, but his descendants appealed the case. The subsequent case McAtee et al. v. Enyart was heard before the Illinois Supreme Court in December 1851, where Lincoln, Herndon, and Ferguson reprised their roles as appellee attorneys. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision; Lincoln's client was vindicated more than two years after the initial litigation began.

Lincoln's client, William D. Enyart (born ca. 1825), was a young and impressionable man who had been convicted of stealing a pair of shoes in 1847 at age 22. Though he had paid bail, Enyart was convinced by his much older neighbor Smith McAtee (1801-1851) that Enyart still faced the risk of imprisonment; therefore, McAtee urged Enyart to sell him his land and escape. McAtee allegedly plied Enyart with drink in order to coerce him into fire-selling 90 acres of land for only $350 instead of its retail price of $1,000. In the ruling later delivered by the Illinois Supreme Court, Justice Samuel H. Treat emphasized that the crux of the case was not that Enyart's land had sold for less than it was worth, but because it had been gained through "fraudulent practices" and "improper influences."

Lincoln had just introduced the case into the Sangamon Circuit Court system a month earlier, in August 1849. While the ownership rights of the land were still in question, the current possessor of the land - defendant Smith McAtee - was prohibited from profiting from the land in any way but especially through timber-cutting.

Lincoln wrote in full:

"William D. Enyert / vs. / Smith McAtee

In Chancery - .

This day came the parties, and by agreement, this cause is set down for hearing at the next term of this court, till when, by agreement, the defendant is enjoined and restrained from cutting any timber, or doing any work whatever, upon the land in question, or on any part thereof, by the removal of fallen timber, or of rails made from timber on said land, or any otherwise howsoever - And it is, by the court, ordered and decreed accordingly, and the [crossed out word] cause is continued -."

The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln confirms that the Enyart v. McAtee case was one of three cases that Lincoln worked on on September 11, 1849. It confirms that, on this day, the next court hearing date was set and there was an injunction set against lumbering on the land in question.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.375" x 12"
  • Medium: AD

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