Lincoln Legal Briefs

              A Quarterly Newsletter of The Lincoln Legal Papers
A Documentary History of the Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, 1836-1861
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July — September 2007 Number 83
Comprehensive Index the Last Hurdle for Selective Edition
The preparation of a comprehensive index for the
four volumes of the selective print edition is the
last major hurdle in the publication of The Papers
of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases.
In the spring, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln
commissioned Margie Towery, an award-winning
indexer, to prepare the index for the 1,779-page
publication. Working from final page proofs, Towery
created a 300-manuscript-page index that cross-references
the people, courts, cases, legal actions,
and legal documents that make up the documentary
record of Abraham Lincoln’s law practice.
Members of the editorial staff reviewed the
index, making suggestions for changes, which
Towery implemented. The editors also separated
some entries that referred to two people or combined
two entries that referred to one person in the edition.
In mid-September, the project turned the
index over to the University of Virginia Press for
typesetting. After the index is typeset and reviewed,
the last task is the printing and binding of the four
volumes. The University of Virginia Press estimates
that the four-volume set will be available in March
2008.
To place an advance order, visit the press’s
website at http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/
lincoln.HTM.
Abraham Lincoln worked as a deputy surveyor
in Sangamon County, Illinois, from 1833 to
1836. In 1836, Lincoln surveyed the towns of Bath,
Huron, New Boston, and Albany, Illinois. In the
spring of 1837, he began the practice of law in
Springfield as the junior partner of John T. Stuart,
and his surveying career largely ended. However,
Lincoln used his knowledge of surveying in his law
practice and at least on one occasion, the court
commissioned him to survey a disputed section of
land.
William Butler and William Tilford both
claimed a tract of eighty acres of land in Sangamon
County. After taking the matter to court, Butler and
Tilford reached an agreement in which Tilford agreed
to convey ten acres to Butler, and Butler could buy
more of the land at $1.25 per acre. Butler bought an
additional fifteen acres. Tilford later sold tracts of
land that included Butler’s property to William Smith
and William Whittington. Butler then sued Tilford,
Smith, Whittington, and others to obtain a survey and
proper titles to the land. In July 1839, the court
appointed Lincoln to survey the seventeen acres of
land in dispute. Lincoln surveyed the land in August
and made his report to the court. When the court
reconvened in November 1839, the defendants did
not appear, and the court ruled for Tilford. The court
Lincoln’s Last Survey?
See SURVEY (on page 2)
Compass Lincoln used as a Surveyor in New Salem
Image courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.