Three Lincoln documents donated to the Lincoln's Presidential Library

[David Lockmiller]

My sister sent to me an email this morning containing an undated article from The [Illinois] State Journal-Register reporting on the gift of “3 Lincoln documents given to his presidential library” (title of article). They were donated by a Central Illinois collector who wishes to remain anonymous.

One document is a letter from Lincoln regarding an 1851 libel case. Another, a note on White House stationery, apologizes for not being able to review troops. The third proclaims a new treaty between the United States and Belgium.

The libel case involved two men who built competing schools in Danville. George W. Cassedy wrote an article accusing his rival of abandoning his dead wife’s body to be buried by other people. William Fithian was outraged and hired Lincoln to sue for libel.

In the letter, Lincoln explains his client did leave his wife to be buried by someone else, but only because he needed to be at the side of his son, who was seriously ill in a town 40 miles away. Lincoln’s client won and was awarded $547.90. Details of the case can be found by searching “Fithian v. Casseday at http://www.LawPracticeOfAbrahamLincoln.org.

The other Lincoln documents are an 1863 note to a general in which the president apologizes for not having time to review an New York military unit and an 1864 letter instructing the secretary of state to “affix the seal of the United States to my proclamation of the Treaty” with Belgium.

Alan Lowe, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, said: “I am especially excited about the document related to the treaty with Belgium. Lincoln’s foreign policy genius is an often-overlooked topic, and this document will allow us to better tell that important story.”

I should like to thank the anonymous person who donated to the public these items of Lincoln history, especially the Lincoln “libel” letter.

I would have liked to have read the entire letter in order to see exactly how attorney Lincoln expressed himself on the subject of libel in this case. The letter is not in “Fithian v. Casseday at http://www.LawPracticeOfAbrahamLincoln.org. There were four letters listed in the documents file of 14 items, but not this letter.

However, the following information is provided:

Fithian was outraged by the article's accusation and retained Lincoln to sue Casseday for libel, seeking $25,000 in damages. Casseday pleaded justification, saying that the alleged libel was the truth, but the jury found for Fithian and awarded him $547.90 in damages. Casseday promptly paid the judgment and for years thereafter listed on his personal property tax schedule, "The character of Dr. Fithian, $547.90, which I bought and paid for."

[Rsmyth]

A quick search of Find A Grave reveals that William Fithian's first wife Orleatha was buried in Danville, Il. The libel case was an old issue since Orleatha had died years before. William was a doctor. prairie legislature, Civil War surgeon and friend of Lincoln's. On the campaign trail, Lincoln once stayed at the Fithian home and gave a speech from their second floor balcony.

[RJNorton]

There is an excellent video on the Fithian Home here.

[David Lockmiller]

(10-22-2018 07:46 AM)Rsmyth Wrote:  A quick search of Find A Grave reveals that William Fithian's first wife Orleatha was buried in Danville, Il. The libel case was an old issue since Orleatha had died years before. William was a doctor. prairie legislature, Civil War surgeon and friend of Lincoln's. On the campaign trail, Lincoln once stayed at the Fithian home and gave a speech from their second floor balcony.

For those in interested in the facts of the case, there is the following published in the book “Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit” by Guy C. Fraker at pages 111-112:

The most notable case that Lincoln handled for Fithian was the high-profile slander case of William Fithian v. George W. Casseday. Casseday, also a prominent Danville citizen, built the first steam mill on the river in 1836 and had a long history of bad blood with Fithian. It started with Casseday’s vicious attack on Fithian in a Danville paper during Fithian’s Illinois senate campaign in 1842. Another dispute started between factions of the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. As the bitterness deepened, the Methodist Church, led by Casseday, built a seminary. The Presbyterians responded by building their own seminary. Judge Davis described the incident as a “Squaw War” that had divided the people of the town: “Casseday is at the bottom of it all. The result. They built two seminaries to cost $4,000 or $5,000.” This led to a battle of libelous handbills between the two men. In the final one, Casseday accused Fithian of abandoning his deceased wife’s body prior to burial in Paris, Illinois, referring to Fithian variously as an “inhuman monster,” “vile heartless wretch,” and “unfeeling reptile.” These accusations were too much for Fithian, who engaged Lincoln, Oliver Davis of Danville, and Usher Linder of Charleston, Illinois, to sue Casseday for libel. Edward A. Hannegan of Covington, Indiana, defended Casseday. . . . Forty-one witnesses testified, including many of the leading citizens of the city.