Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

Comprising:

1. Autograph document, signed twice ("Lincoln"), 16 September 1851. 1 p.; 12 1/2 x 7 3/4 in. (317 x 184 mm); docketed on verso; creasing from old folds. Lincoln writes on behalf of the defendants, Milden and Elizabeth Kitchell, who were accused of "speaking the following... 'Mary Ann Jacobus is a whore,' 'Mary Ann Jacobus gets her fine clothes by whoring'..." Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln (LPAL) 42115

2. Autograph document in Lincoln's hand, no date. 1 p.; 12 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (317 x 190 mm); docketed on verso, creasing from old folds. Records the sworn statement by Mary Ann Jacobus that she is "wholly unable to pay the costs in this suit...[as] affiant has known the plaintiff for a considerable length of time, and has not known of her having any property whatever, beyond her wearing apparel." Signed by defendant Milden Kitchell. LPAL 87203

3. Autograph document in Lincoln's hand, no date. 1 p.; 12 x 7 3/4 in. (305 x 197 mm); creasing from old folds. Notation on verso in Lincoln's hand: "Mary Ann Jacobus vs Milden Kitchell & Wife." In full: "This day came the parties, and issue being joined between them, the defendants in open court, deny that they or either of them ever made any charge against the chastity of the plaintiff; and they admit that neither of them has ever had any knowledge, information, or reasonable belief, of any want of chastity on the part of the plaintiff, or of either of her sisters. And thereupon, by the consent of the parties, this suit is dismissed, each of the parties paying the costs made by them respectively." LPAL 42131

Whenever possible, Abraham Lincoln preferred to settle slander cases out of court, believing as many lawyers did at the time that in such cases the aim was more to repair the reputation of the accused than to collect damages. It is known that during his time as a practicing lawyer, Lincoln settled at least three slander cases by having the defendants affirm the good name of the accused in open court. One of the best known of these cases was the slander case brought against Milden and Elizabeth Kitchell in Tazewell County, Illinois by Mary Ann Jacobus, who charged that the Kitchells had called her a whore, along with her sisters Catherine and Elizabeth Ann. The case was dismissed after the Kitchells swore under oath that they had never made such an accusation, and both parties went their separate ways.

The present documents create a full narrative arc from Lincoln's first involvement in the case to its dismissal, and illustrates his desire to see cases to their ends in as satisfactory a manner as possible to all involved.

Provenance:

Nathaniel E. Stein (1904-1978), former president of The Manuscript Society; previously sold Sotheby's New York, his sale, 30 January 1979, lot 115

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California