Stephen A. Douglas
Jacksonville, IL, March 1835
Stephen A. Douglas Writes Petition to Circuit Court to Divide Land Among Heirs of Morgan County Man
ADS

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, Autograph Document Signed, Petition for Partition in West v. Calkins, March 1835, Jacksonville, Illinois. Also signed by Stephen H. West. 3 pp., 8" x 12.75". Expected fold; light toning; very good.

Attorney Stephen A. Douglas wrote and signed this petition on behalf of Stephen H. West, the court-appointed guardian of the minor heirs of Nehemiah H. Calkins. Douglas and West were petitioning the court to divide Calkins's assets among his four children, after setting aside the dower of his widow.

Complete Transcript
State of Illinois
Morgan County
To the Hon Judges of the Morgan Circuit Court March Term 1835.
The representations of your petitioner, Stephen H. West Guardian of the Infant heirs of the late Nehemiah Calkins, deceased, respectfully sheweth. That Nehemiah Calkins late of the County of Morgan and State of Illinois departed this life sometime in the year 1833 seised of the following tracts of Land, situated lying & being in the County & State aforesaid viz Lots No. 28, 29, 30 and part of 66 of the Original Plat of the Town of Jacksonville, and the W 1/2 of S.E. Qu of Sec 29, Town 14 N. R. 9 W. Containing 80 acres. The S 1/2 of W 1/2 of N. E. Qu of Sec 7 Town 13 N. R. 9 W. Containing 40 acres. and a part of the W 1/2 of the S.E. Qu of Sec 9 Town 15 N. R. 10 W. containing 10 acres and also Lot No 34 in Sec No 16 Town 15 N. R. 10 W. containing 5 acres. Your petitioner would further represent that he was appointed by the Judge of Probate of Morgan County administrator of the personal Estate of the said Nehemiah Calkins, deceased, and that as administrator aforesaid he has satisfied all of the demands that have been presented against said Estate, and has made a final settlement of the same with the Judge of Probate, without resorting to the Real Estate. The debts of said Estate being paid, the above described real Estate as your petitioner conceives belongs to the heirs of the deceased, after setting apart the widows dower. The heirs of the said Calkins are Silas Calkins, Mary Jane Calkins,
Samuel Calkins, and Sarah Ann Calkins, all of whom are Infants, and for whom your petitioner has been duly appointed Guardian, and being mindful of the responsibility imposed on him as Guardian of said Infant heirs he is clearly of the opinion that their interests and the interests of each of them respectively would be promoted by a partition of said real Estate among them by metes and bounds equally according to law and would therefore pray that there may be Commissioners appointed by this Honorable Court at the present Term to examine said premises, and make such a partition among the parties as justice to each would require and to report the result to the next Term of this Court. Your petitioner would respectfully suggest that, as a petition has been presented to this Court at its present Term, praying that Commissioners be appointed to set apart the widows dower in the above described premises the same persons who may be appointed Commissioners to award dower, may be appointed Commissioners for the partition, and thereby save the trouble of examining the premises but once[.] That the Hon Court Will hear the petition of your petitioner, he as in duty bound will ever pray
Stephen H. West
Guardian of Silas Calkins, Mary Jane Calkins, Samuel Calkins, and Sarah Ann Calkins Infant
heirs of Nehemiah Calkins deceased
Stephen A. Douglass
Attorney

Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was born in Vermont, and his father died when he was a few months old. After attending Canandaigua Academy in western New York, he began to teach school and study law. In 1833, Douglas migrated to Illinois and settled in Jacksonville, where he was admitted to the bar in 1834. As a Democrat, Douglas served in the Illinois House of Representatives (1836-1837), as Register of the U.S. General Land Office in Springfield (1837-1838), as Illinois Secretary of State (1840-1841), and as associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court (1841-1843). Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, he served from 1843 to 1847, when he became one of Illinois' U.S. Senators, a position he held until his death. He became a leader in the U.S. Senate, and his sponsorship of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and popular sovereignty in the U.S. territories drew the opposition of fellow Illinoisan Abraham Lincoln. Their series of debates in 1858, when Lincoln tried to unseat Senator Douglas, drew national attention to both men. In 1860, southern opposition to Douglas as the Democratic nominee for president divided the Democrats, allowing Abraham Lincoln to win a plurality of the votes and a majority in the electoral college. Douglas strongly supported the Union and urged compromise to avert secession before dying of typhoid fever in June 1861.

Nehemiah H. Calkins/Caulkins (ca. 1805-1833) was born in Kentucky and married Hannah Covert in 1825 in Indiana. They had two children before she died in 1829. Later that year, he married Rebecca Applegate (1803-1877), with whom he had three more children, but one died as an infant. They moved around 1830 to Morgan County, Illinois, where he died in August 1833.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

  • Dimensions: 8" x 12.75"
  • Medium: ADS

Accepted Forms of Payment:

ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house world-wide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses that proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with a signature required option, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third-Party Shipping Option: If a third-party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third-party. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third-party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third-party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third-party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

by University Archives
July 28, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
88 Danbury Road
Suite 2A
Wilton, CT, US 06897

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000