Evening star., 1923-02-18
Letter Found Among US. Papers
Believed Last Pe'tned by Lincoln

Recent. discovery in the files Of the
Department of Justice Of several
dusty and neglected documents dated
1890. in the handwriting of Edmund
Randolph, first Attorney General, led
to a search which brought to light q
number of papers of historical value.
Outstanding among them was let
ter believed to be the last official
document written by President Lin
coin. -.-
Dated April 13. 1856. the day be-
fore his assassination, the letter was
written on the small four-page folded
note paper in use at the White House
at the time. and except for the
printed words. Executive Mansion,
WASHINGTON was in Lin
coins handwriting. 1t read:
Executive Mansion,
Washington. April 13, 1855.
Attorney General, .....
Dear Sir: Send me a commission
for william Kellogg. to be Judge in
Nebraska in place Of w. p. Kellogg,
resigned.
A. LINCOLN.
Several other letters written by
Lincoln on small paper lined with
Ilue ink, like the penny note books
used by school children, also were
found.
Notation on Back of Card.
The last words ever written by
Abraham Lincoln, Mr.. Daugherty said,
were scribbled on the back of a call
of April II, 1865. George Ashmun was
waiting in the White House lobby for
an audience when the President
passed through on his way to join Mrs.
Lincoln who was seated in the carriage
to take them to Fords Theater. Lin
coin asked Mr.. Ashmun for his card
and drawing a pencil from his pocket
wrote:
Admit Mr.. Ashmun and friends al
9 am. tomorrow.
April IA. 1865. A. LINCOLN"
These papers with q number of
others discovered in the files will be
bramed for preservation as a part of
the nations collection of historical
documents, and kept among the
archives at the Library of Congress.
The result Of the investigation was
the discovery of letters written by
various early Presidents, several
opinions by the first Attorney Cen
eral and other documents written on
oddly shaped, torn and ye1lowed bits
of paper. All of them have an inter-
eSt1ng bearing on the early days OF
the American republic. Four opinions
written by Gen. Randolph, who served
from 1889 to 1894, bear the earliest
dates, but others among the collec-
tion perhaps exceed these in historic
interest.
Letter From Grant.
Among these are: A letter from
President Grant suggesting the dis
missal as IAN unfit person for the
position" OF an assistant attorney
general who had written the Presi-
dent direct regarding minor civil
war claim: memoranda prepared by
as President, advising President Madi-
diers to eject intruders from Indian
lands in Georgia; letters in the hand
writing of Henry Clay. John c. Cal
houn and Daniel Webster as Secre-
taries OF State seeking advice from
the Attorney General.
While the Department of Justice
does not ordinarily concern itself
with divorces, the earliest OF all the
documents found, dated 1888, was a
letter affirming marriage six years
previous, affirming a divorce. and Of
fered in connection with a land set
tlement case in what is now Louisi-
ana.
"Yr. mo. obdt- G. humble servt." is
the phrase with which most of the
old letters were concluded. indicating
that the writers Of the time, while
particular to observe the amenities,
were not unmindful of the time and