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Lot 160
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Unique Signed Abraham Lincoln 1840 Financial Document involving the Schools of Sangamon County and with many fabulous associations!
Unique Signed Abraham Lincoln 1840 Financial Document involving the Schools of Sangamon County and with many fabulous associations!
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Description:

Lincoln Abraham

Promissory Note Signed"A. Lincoln," April 20, 1840. Single page printed recto with docket and additional notes on verso, 7.5" x 6.25". Expert conservation to several intact tears, with light chipping infilled with period paper. Remaining flaws do not overly affect a fine appearance.

 

On April 20, 1840, William Butler borrowed $100 from school fund commissioner Erastus Wright and promised with this document to make payments semi-annually with 12 percent annual interest until repaid. Nathaniel Hay and Abraham Lincoln co-signed the note as sureties that Butler would repay the loan. Hay immediately paid $6 as interest for the first six months, paid $12 in April 1841 for interest for one year, and paid $106 on September 6, 1842, for the principal and remaining interest.

 

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 had established the principle of setting aside the sixteenth section (640 acres) of each township for the support of education. In Illinois, each county appointed a school commissioner to sell land in these sections and to make loans of the proceeds to support public schools in the county. In the case of the loan to Butler represented by this document, the school fund gained $24 in 29 months on the loan of $100. When purchasers or borrowers failed to pay their debts, the school commissioner turned to the local courts to obtain payment. Lincoln and his partners handled dozens of such cases for Wright.

 

Erastus Wright (1799-1870). Wright moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1821, and became one of the earliest teachers in Sangamon County. A native of Massachusetts, Wright was a fervent abolitionist, and his home was reputedly a stop on the underground railroad. More colorfully, in 1830, Wright obtained an elk that had been partially trained to work in harness but was “rough to ride.” Wright hitched the elk to his wagon to haul it into town. For ten years, Wright was the school commissioner of Sangamon County, and he made loans and sold land on behalf of the school fund for the county. In 1865, he was a pallbearer at Lincoln’s Springfield funeral.

 

William Butler (1797-1876). In 1828, Butler came to Sangamon County, Illinois, where he was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court by his early friend and Abraham Lincoln’s later law partner Judge Stephen T. Logan. In that capacity Butler met Lincoln, who was a struggling young lawyer. He gave Lincoln the test that admitted him to the bar and entered Lincoln’s admission into the court record. Although Lincoln had passed the bar, he faced a difficult task of becoming a successful attorney. Butler took Lincoln under his wing, beginning a friendship that would continue for life. Lincoln was heavily in debt ($400), due in part to his generous nature. Butler paid those debts, over Lincoln’s objections, and provided frequent dinner visits, laundry washing, and he even sold Lincoln’s horse for him. Between 1836 and 1842, Lincoln ate most meals with the Butler family. When Lincoln dressed for his wedding, it was at the Butler home. It is difficult to overstate the importance of William Butler in the early life of Abraham Lincoln. He saw the potential and encouraged the young man. His influence was a major factor in Lincoln’s success, first as a successful attorney and later as President. Butler “took no little interest in Lincoln, while a member of the Legislature.” wrote contemporary biographer William H. Herndon. “After his removal to Springfield, Lincoln boarded at Butler’s house for several years. He became warmly attached to the family, and it is probable the matter of pay never entered Butler’s mind. He was not only able but willing to befriend the young lawyer in this and many other ways.”

 

Nathaniel Hay (1808-1856). In 1832, Hay came to Springfield with his father John Hay, who operated a brick yard in Springfield. When he returned from Congress, Abraham Lincoln made his first investment loans to Nathaniel Hay and John Hay. Lincoln also purchased bricks from Hay’s brick yard for his home. Among John Hay’s seven sons were also Charles, a Warsaw, Illinois, physician whose son John became one of Lincoln’s Civil War secretaries and later biographer, and Milton, who had studied law in the office of Stuart & Lincoln. Lincoln had handled cases for the Hays from the beginning of his law practice. In November, 1839, Lincoln had sued Thomas Laswell in the Sangamon County Circuit Court for failure to deliver cord wood to Hay’s brickyard in accordance with an agreement made the preceding year. He also sued Mock & Lawell on Hay's behalf to recover a stud horse and bridle. Lincoln and Nathaniel Hay traded professional services on Lincoln’s part for bricks on Hay’s part, and when Hay died, Lincoln admitted that Hay’s estate should have a credit for bricks that Hay supplied for “the pit of a privy” in August 1855, against a promissory note that Hay gave Lincoln in March 1855.

 

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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