DS, signed “Moore & Lincoln p.d.,” one page, 7.75 x 4.5, no date. A portion of the demurrer in the case of Andrew Johnstone v John Weedman, in which Attorneys Lincoln and Clifton H. Moore defended Mr. Weedman in the DeWitt County Circuit Court. In need of one heck of a lawyer—or at the very least adequate representation—John Weedman discovered the former when availed himself of the services of attorney Abraham Lincoln. Weedman found himself on the defendant’s side of a civil complaint when Andrew Johnstone sought damages from the man he accused of having killed his horse. Weedman was paid $1 a month by Johnstone to feed and pasture his steed when one day, without permission from the horse’s owner, Weedman rode the animal a distance of 15 miles. A few hours later, it was dead. In a civil suit for what amounts today as the wrongful taking of another’s property (known as “conversion” at common law), Johnstone sought $300 in damages! Enter Abraham Lincoln. The cunning strategist pled on behalf of his client that the horse’s death was not caused by its being ridden, but instead resulted from disease. Overwhelmingly convinced by the future president’s argument, the jury found Weedman not guilty. The offered document is part of the answer to the plaintiff’s complaint submitted to the court by Lincoln—a demurrer, in fact—whereby the defendant admitted the facts asserted by the plaintiff, but maintained that, for said facts, the pleading could not be sustained. In Lincoln’s hand was penned: “And as to the second and third counts of said declaration & each of them the defendant says action non because he says that said counts and the matters & things therein contained in manner & form as the same are therein stated and set forth are not sufficient in law for the said plaintiff to have and maintain his action thereof against him, and this he is ready to verify-wherefore he prays judgment &c. (signed) Moore & Lincoln p.d.” Lincoln’s cursive writing remains strong and completely legible. As was required by the court’s rules, Johnstone’s attorney, Wells Colton, signed his name (“Colton”) below Lincoln’s script. The document exhibits fine condition with a horizontal fold, and a smaller spot over the “Mo” of the signature. Today, Johnstone v. Weedman is a staple of most law books on civil suits in tort. When Johnstone later appealed the case before the Illinois Supreme Court, the High Court affirmed the former ruling, as it too found convincing Lincoln’s argument that riding the horse was not a “conversion” for which damages could be recovered. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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