Lincoln, Abraham

1 page (9 5/8 x 7 3/4 in.; 247 x 195 mm) on a leaf of wove paper, Springfield, 27 May 1858; lightly soiled on verso, two tiny pinholes at intersecting folds. Accompanied by the original autograph envelope, directed to "Samuel Caldwell, Esq. | (Yale College) | New Haven | Connecticut," bearing Springfield postmark and three-cent stamp; frayed at edges. Also accompanied by 10 documents relating to Samuel Caldwell, including his law license and Illinois State Militia appointments; some lightly soiled and with fold separations.

An unrecorded letter by Abraham Lincoln, written three weeks before his nomination by the Illinois Republican Convention as a candidate for the U. S. Senate, advising a Yale student that he "will find many better opportunities here than in my office."

Samuel Caldwell was born in Pennsylvania but relocated at a young age to Farmington, Illinois, with his family. He attended college at Yale and after graduation he planned to return to Illinois to study law. Caldwell wrote to Lincoln (perhaps among other Illinois attorneys), who was then in practice with William Herndon, seeking a place to learn the practice of law. Lincoln must have given some consideration to the request, because he kept the letter for two months before responding. Ultimately he turned Caldwell away, alluding to his semi-annual absences to travel the Eighth Judicial Circuit and cushioning the disappointing news with characteristic self-deprecation:

"Your letter of the 17th of March, asking an opportunity to study law in my office, I have had a long time. It would afford me pleasure to oblige you; but you perhaps are not aware that I do not keep office in a way that is most suitable for a young man to study law in. I am from home perhaps more than half my time, so that as preceptor, I should be of no value. You will find many better opportunities here than in my office."

Samuel Caldwell did return to Illinois but did not immediately study law. He worked as a printer before joining the Illinois Volunteers in July 1861, serving successively as Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain in Company E, Eighth Infantry Regiment. He was discharged from service on May 4, 1866, at Baton Rouge. Later that year he was licensed to practice law in Illinois. Caldwell died in September 1872, at the age of thirty-eight.