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Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) [Recommendation of his boyhood friend George May for judge].

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04500 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: [Washington] Type: Autograph endorsement signed Date: 1861/12/13 Pagination: 2 p. + docket Order a Copy

Lincoln writes "I knew George May as a boy, and young man, then a little inclined to dissipation -- If free from that now, he has intellect enough for almost any place..."

Basler, Roy P. The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), Vol. V 1861 - 1862, p. 68

Notes: Basler 5: 68. Basler indicates that there is no record of May's appointment.

[Letter of Wilson, Harlan, and Grimes:]
Washington, Dec 9th 1861
To the President of the U.S.
The undersigned recommend the appointment of George May of Plattsmouth, N[ebraska] T[erritory] to a Judgeship for the Territory of Utah.
Jos. F. Wilson
Jas Harlan
James W. Grimes

[Lincoln's endorsement:]
I knew George May when a boy, and young man, then a little inclined to dissipation. If free from that now, he has intellect enough for almost any place. I suppose the within names ought to be a sufficient voucher as to that.
A. Lincoln
Dec. 13. 1861.
[clerical docket:]
Recnd for judgeship in Utah

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

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