LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865). Autograph legal document signed ("A. Lincoln") to James H. Matheny. Springfield, Illinois, 3 October 1845.

1 p.; 6 x 8 in. (152 x 203 mm). Emendations in the hand of Probate Justice of the Peace Thomas Moffett (including "The Probate adds to this sum for same"). Docketed on verso; creased from old fold; blindstamp in top left.

LINCOLN PROVIDES LEGAL SERVICES FOR HIS CLOSE FRIEND AND BEST MAN.

Reads in full: "The estate of Marvelous Eastham to James H. Matheny To commencing and carrying to decree a chancery case-- [crossed out] 5.00 $10.00 [crossed out]. To collecting $200 on fee bills $10.00 [crossed out]. To copying 175 fee bills, and putting certificate & seal to most of them. 32.75 / $37.75 The Probate adds to this sum for same 25 00 62.75 Having been called on to estimate the value of the above services, I have set down the above as being about fair-- The allowance for the first item is small; that for the second very small; that for the third full, but not more. Oct- 3. 1845. A. Lincoln".

An early autograph legal document by Abraham Lincoln as a young Springfield, Illinois lawyer. Here, Lincoln provides one of his first friends in Springfield, James Matheny (1818-90), a deputy clerk for the Sangamon County Circuit Court, with an appraisal of Matheny's legal services in relation to his claim in the estate of late Circuit Court Clerk Marvelous Eastham.

"In 1845, Lincoln's fellow attorney and close personal friend James H. Matheny asked Lincoln to estimate the value of Matheny's services to the estate of Marvelous Eastham. Matheny had served as Eastham's deputy while Eastham was the clerk for the Sangamon County Circuit Court. Eastham died in 1842 after holding office for only eleven months. With Matheny's assistance, Eastham's executor had already filed a $900 claim against Sangamon County for unpaid fees due to Eastham's estate for Eastham's service as clerk. Matheny had also filed a $163.07 claim against the county for his services as deputy, and he continued the necessary paperwork to collect the outstanding court fees due to the estate. Matheny sought Lincoln's appraisal to prepare an additional claim against the estate for his continued assistance." (Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, Vol. 4, p. 210)

James H. Matheny (1818-90) was a Springfield native, attorney, and a close and personal friend of Lincoln's. They met shortly after Lincoln arrived in Springfield in the early 1830s, with Matheny afterward becoming a fixture in the circle of young lawyers that sprang up around Lincoln and Joshua Speed. Over time, Matheny and Lincoln grew into confidantes, with Matheny serving as Lincoln's best man at his wedding to Mary Todd.

Marvelous Eastham (d. 1842) was elected justice of the peace for Sangamon County in February 1838, and served as register of the land office in Springfield, from 1840-41. Later in 1841, he was appointed Circuit Clerk for Sangamon County and was also a director of the Illinois State Bank. Stowell, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases, Vol. 4, pp. 209-211; Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln 129897; Not in Basler.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Exhibition:

The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America, at the Huntington Library, October 1993-August 1994

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation

This lot is located in Chicago.