Legal Office Work to Joshua R. Stanford. Pekin, May 12, 1853

Name: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln— Volume 2: 1843– 1858 - Legal Office Work to Joshua R. Stanford. Pekin, May 12, 1853
Author: Abraham Lincoln

Mr. JOSHUA R. STANFORD.

SIR:—I hope the subject-matter of this letter will appear a sufficient apology to you for the liberty I, a total stranger, take in addressing you. The persons here holding two lots under a conveyance made by you, as the attorney of Daniel M. Baily, now nearly twenty-two years ago, are in great danger of losing the lots, and very much, perhaps all, is to depend on the testimony you give as to whether you did or did not account to Baily for the proceeds received by you on this sale of the lots. I, therefore, as one of the counsel, beg of you to fully refresh your recollection by any means in your power before the time you may be called on to testify. If persons should come about you, and show a disposition to pump you on the subject, it may be no more than prudent to remember that it may be possible they design to misrepresent you and embarrass the real testimony you may ultimately give. It may be six months or a year before you are called on to testify.

Respectfully,

A. LINCOLN.

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Chicago: Abraham Lincoln, The Writings of Abraham Lincoln— Volume 2: 1843– 1858, ed. Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin), 1859-1937 in The Writings of Abraham Lincoln—Volume 2: 1843–1858 Original Sources, accessed April 19, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BB197GWRKCT8HR5.

MLA: Lincoln, Abraham. The Writings of Abraham Lincoln— Volume 2: 1843– 1858, edited by Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin), 1859-1937, in The Writings of Abraham Lincoln—Volume 2: 1843–1858, Original Sources. 19 Apr. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BB197GWRKCT8HR5.

Harvard: Lincoln, A, The Writings of Abraham Lincoln— Volume 2: 1843– 1858, ed. . cited in , The Writings of Abraham Lincoln—Volume 2: 1843–1858. Original Sources, retrieved 19 April 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BB197GWRKCT8HR5.