The Jefferson Lemen Compact - Was it True

[maharba]

I am sorry, marharba, but I am missing something...
First, the letter was written by John Nicolay, not Abraham Lincoln (as you noted later in your post). Second, I do not see this letter as proof of an acquaintance, let alone a friendship, between Lincoln and Lemen.>

There is the reply of Lincoln's secretary. It may not signify the level of interaction (if any) between candidate Lincoln and the Lemens. But it is certainly worth noting. I would guess that the letter FROM Lemen to Lincoln was thrown away long ago.
Did it have any personals to Lincoln, did Lemen expect a secretary to reply, and address the letter not to Lincoln but to a secretary? I don't know. Now I'll ask you directly, Roger: what level of deception...exaggeration do you currently think is the case here? Did the traveling preacher Rev. B.F.Lemen at times meet and discuss various items, as he may have met Lincoln in their Illinois business travels?

Where did I find Lemen as an Indian agent you ask, Anita?
From an old clipping in a scrapbook, undated. And not the case, it now appears to me. I looked at other sources and online, and I can not verify Benjamin F. Lemen as being appointed Indian agent. Then I look back at Lemen April 1 1860 letter to Lincoln. Lemen was from Illinois but then in the Rocky Mountains (which I guess is Colorado), and Lemen concludes saying that "...all we need are...Indian treaties...
etc". Though it seemed reasonable to me that Lemen was later made an Indian agent, now I doubt that is the case. The various Lemen (brothers, cousins) preachers may have gone far distant in their 'missionary work', and some religious based dealings with various Indians. But that still is not 'being appointed an Indian agent" by Lincoln or the government. I'll keep checking. Now, I'll ask you the same sort of question, Anita, as I did Roger: is all this "we were good friends with Lincoln" stuff entirely just made-up? You did read the details that Lemen gave and that Lincoln visited, the sofa donated to the Governor's Mansion. It just doesn't seem rational to me that all that is pure wish fulfillment and fantasy by the Reverend Lemen's. Do you Roger and Anita conclude that: by debunking the Jefferson claims and the Lincoln letter as a forgery, do you conclude that the 'experts' actually meant to expand their 'findings of fraud'...and to say that Lincoln really never met the Lemens, never visited them, and that all the Lemen statements involving Lincoln also were hoaxes?