, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to JS, [, Hancock Co., IL], 27 Mar. 1843; handwriting of ; dockets in handwriting of and ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL.
I received your letter by the hand of a few minutes since, the contents of which are surprising to me, though I am glad that you have let me know your feelings, so as to give me a chance to reply to them. Why it is that you have the feelings which you seem to entertain I know not and what caused you to think that I had any connection with . at any time is not within my power to say. As to the Post office I never asked one word about it when I made application for it. If he ever wrote to the Department at any thing about it, it was, and is without my knowledge for surely I know of no such thing being done without it <at any time> neither did I know; at the time I applied for the office, that you were intending to apply for it, nor did I know it for some time afterwards. as far as the Post office is concerned these are the facts. I wrote myself to the department offering myself as an applicant and refered the Department to several members of congress to ascertain my character. This is all I ever did on the subject, I never wrote but the one letter to the Department on the subject, neither had I at the time any acquaintence of any amount with , nor for a very considerable time afterwards. He never was at our house but very little and then always on business and always in a hurry did his business and went off immediately. I know not that ever knew that I had applied for the office and I am quite satisfied he did not, till some time after I had written to the Department on the subject, and, if he ever did any thing about it, it was and is to this day without my having any knowledge of it. [p. [1]]