Ex- Slave Record for Patsy Johnson of Hardin County, Kentucky, together with a Livingston's Law Register, 1853, containing reference to Abraham Lincoln, 2 items total. 1st item: "Ex-Slave Record" partially printed "duplicate" document petitioning the U.S. Government for "benevolent charity" and for "legislation favorable to the alemoration of same of the hardships and exposures now being undergone by a class of American citizens who were freed to give their early life to others without pay," by former slave Patsy Johnson of Elizabethtown, KY. Recorded and attested at "The Supreme National Chamber" in Washington, DC May 3, 190_ (last numeral illegible), approved and signed by S.P. Mitchell, Commissioner I.L. Walton, and Solicitor Lucy Winters__. Partial gilt seal lower left. 8 1/2" H x 6" W. Note: in the late 1800s, several organizations across various former slave states were formed to campaign for pensions and other forms of reparations for freed slaves in the United States. Although our research has not uncovered the full name of the N.I. Council (or the AAS and CAF) referred to in this document, we are aware of a similar organization, the Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association (MRB&PA). It was led by a freed Tennessee slave from Rutherford County named Callie House in an effort to provide compensation for old and infirm former slaves. Despite a lack of evidence, the The Federal Post Office accused the MRB&PA of fraud, prompting a Justice Dept. investigation that culminated in House being sentenced to prison. Her arrest dampened the reparations movement, although it continued in a weakened state until the Depression. 2nd item: LIVINGSTON'S LAW REGISTER by John Livingston, published at the office of The Law Magazine, New York, 1853, and listing "Every Lawyer In the United States." Future president Abraham Lincoln is listed on page 90, practicing in Springfield, Illinois. Green cloth boards with gilt lettering. 9" H x 6" W.

1st item: Toning, fading and edge chipping, tape repair at centerfold. 2nd item: chipping to spine, some scuffs to cover, toning to pages, overall good condition.