Digitized Content from the Thomas Halligan Affidavit | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

The digitized content of the Thomas Halligan Affidavit consists of a New York soldier's affidavit allowing a proxy voter to cast his vote in the 1864 presidential election.

Thomas Halligan, born in 1823, was a private in Company I of the 104th New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He was from Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, New York. Prior to the Civil War, New York soldiers away from home at the time of an election could not vote, but in 1864 the State of New York passed an act permitting men serving in the military to vote in elections via proxy.

The digitized content contains three forms filled in by hand, giving John Tracy of Lansingburgh, New York, power of attorney to cast a vote on behalf of Thomas Halligan in the November 8, 1864 general election. Completed while Halligan was stationed in Petersburg, Virginia, the forms were signed by a witness and commanding officer.

The Thomas Halligan Affidavit, 1864 was completely digitized in 2020. Items are available online at the University of Illinois Digital Library. A preservation copy of the items is available to IHLC and digital preservation staff at the Library Digital Repository: https://medusa.library.illinois.edu/collections/1641.