Description:

Lincoln Abraham

Lincoln's Law Partner William H. Herndon Lengthy Legal Brief

 

3pp ADS with endorsement on separate leaf, with 400+ words in the hand of Abraham Lincoln's last law partner, William H. Herndon (1818-1891). Signed by defense attorney Herndon as "W. H. Herndon," plaintiff Rufus Calef as "Rufus Calef," and Sangamon County, Illinois Eighth Circuit Clerk Presco Wright as "P. Wright Clr" at the bottom of the second page. On cream blue-lined paper measuring 8" x 12.5". In near fine condition, with expected paper folds, isolated stains, and a few minor chipped edges or small closed tears. From the Collection of Norman Boas of Seaport Autographs and recently purchased at Christie's December 5, 2017 sale.

 

William H. Herndon was Abraham Lincoln's last law partner. In fact, when Lincoln left for the White House, he famously told Herndon to keep displayed the "Lincoln & Herndon" law office shingle so that Lincoln could continue practicing law after his presidential term ended. Lincoln had urged Herndon to join his practice as a junior partner in 1844, and the two had worked together through the 1850s when Lincoln was not politicking.

 

In the winter of 1860, Herndon was representing his client, successful midwestern livestock rancher named Rufus Calef, in the Eighth Circuit Court of central Illinois, a 400-500 mile route that Lincoln knew well. Herndon wrote and submitted this legal brief entitled "Amended Answer & Exhibits" on February 21, 1860. The case Grimsley et al v. Calef concerned the fair division of assets following the death of Calef's business partner, Henry Jacoby. Herndon itemized company assets on the third page of this legal brief. The impressive list, amounting to almost a half a million dollars' worth of revenue, included 3,500 head of cattle, 2,500 head of hogs, and 10 head of horses. While livestock comprised the bulk of the dissolved firm's wealth, profits from the sale of land were also considerable. Jacoby and Calef had gained regional and national celebrity in the early 1850s with their enormous fattened cattle. In the 1855 season, for example, the average Jacoby and Calef bullock, fed on prairie grass, timothy hay, and corn throughout the year, weighed in at over 2,000 lbs.

 

William H. Herndon continued practicing law after Lincoln's death, but also tried his hand at farming and biography. In 1865-1866, Herndon traveled throughout the midwest collecting research material that he would later incorporate into his 3-volume 1889 biography Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life.

 

Provenance: Ex-Christie's December 5, 2017 sale; Ex-Norman Boas, Seaport Autographs


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