1811 Kentucky Pioneer Benjamin Helm Signed Court Document—Early Elizabethtown and Lincoln Family Association
Original Hardin County, Kentucky, Circuit Court witness summons signed “Ben Helm” by Major Benjamin Helm, pioneer surveyor, legislator, court clerk and War of 1812 officer.
Issued during the September 1811 term, the document directs the Hardin County sheriff to summon William Lankin or Larkin to appear before the Circuit Court at Elizabethtown and give testimony in a Commonwealth prosecution. It concludes with Helm’s bold signature in his official capacity as clerk.
Benjamin Helm was among the formative figures of early Elizabethtown. He conducted the first survey of the town, served on its original board of trustees and became clerk of both the Hardin County and Circuit courts. He also served in the Kentucky Senate, attained the rank of major during the War of 1812 and later became a prominent merchant and bank president.
Helm occupied an interesting place in the extended Lincoln story. He purchased property owned by Christopher Bush, father of Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s beloved stepmother. Sarah later conducted business at Helm’s Elizabethtown store. Helm’s son John LaRue Helm became governor of Kentucky, while his grandson, Confederate General Benjamin Hardin Helm, married Emilie Todd, half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln himself referred to Benjamin Helm in an 1860 letter to Kentucky historian Samuel Haycraft.
A desirable early Kentucky legal document connecting pioneer Elizabethtown, the War of 1812, two generations of Kentucky political leadership and the extended families of Abraham and Mary Lincoln.
Manuscript on laid paper, written on both sides. Expected folds, toning, scattered staining, minor fold wear and remnants of an old seal or adhesive. The signature remains dark, complete and prominent.
Original Hardin County, Kentucky, Circuit Court witness summons signed “Ben Helm” by Major Benjamin Helm, pioneer surveyor, legislator, court clerk and War of 1812 officer.
Issued during the September 1811 term, the document directs the Hardin County sheriff to summon William Lankin or Larkin to appear before the Circuit Court at Elizabethtown and give testimony in a Commonwealth prosecution. It concludes with Helm’s bold signature in his official capacity as clerk.
Benjamin Helm was among the formative figures of early Elizabethtown. He conducted the first survey of the town, served on its original board of trustees and became clerk of both the Hardin County and Circuit courts. He also served in the Kentucky Senate, attained the rank of major during the War of 1812 and later became a prominent merchant and bank president.
Helm occupied an interesting place in the extended Lincoln story. He purchased property owned by Christopher Bush, father of Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s beloved stepmother. Sarah later conducted business at Helm’s Elizabethtown store. Helm’s son John LaRue Helm became governor of Kentucky, while his grandson, Confederate General Benjamin Hardin Helm, married Emilie Todd, half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln himself referred to Benjamin Helm in an 1860 letter to Kentucky historian Samuel Haycraft.
A desirable early Kentucky legal document connecting pioneer Elizabethtown, the War of 1812, two generations of Kentucky political leadership and the extended families of Abraham and Mary Lincoln.
Manuscript on laid paper, written on both sides. Expected folds, toning, scattered staining, minor fold wear and remnants of an old seal or adhesive. The signature remains dark, complete and prominent.
