Don't Accuse Attorney A. Lincoln of not Disbursing Money

To Mrs. Deziah Vance [1]

Mrs. Deziah Vance Springfield,
Madam June 9, 1860

Your letter of June 5th. is received. I have no money collected by me for Mr. Vance, and I had ceased trying to collect any for him long before his death. You speak of my letters to Mr. Vance; and if I remember, they will show that the charge of Mr. Vance's claim here was transferred to Mr. W. H. Herndon. I think his claim was against a man, or men, by the name of Vanmeter. I never keep any body's money, which I collect, an hour longer than I can find a chance to turn it over to him. If you doubt this, get some of the busy bodies who are imposing on you in this matter, to find somebody who will swear he paid me money for Mr. Vance. If there is any such man he can be found.

If, as you say, Mr. Trimble spoke to me, and I gave him no satisfaction, it was because the truth was not satisfactory. Let Mr. Trimble or any one else come here and see the man or men, of whom they or you, think I received money for Mr. Vance, and learn of them how the truth is. I have no papers in my hands, belonging to Mr. Vance. I do not certainly know, but my opinion is that nothing can be got on those old claims, or that old claim of Mr. Vance.

Yours &c


A. LINCOLN

Annotation

[1]   ALS, owned by William H. Townsend, Lexington, Kentucky. Since Mrs. Vance's letter of June 5 is not in the Lincoln Papers, it is not possible to clarify entirely the matter about which she wrote, but it probably concerned claims similar to those about which Lincoln wrote to her husband, John W. Vance, on July 7, 1844 (q.v., supra).