Scope and Contents:
This collection contains an 1846 account book, owned by John A. Mitchell, containing lists of Courier subscribers and personal financial accounts. Abraham Lincoln's 1846 subscription is recorded in this volume.
The Illinois Courier was founded in Charleston, Illinois, in 1840, and was the town's only newspaper until 1857. The newspaper aligned with Whig political views popular of the time. Its subscribers lived in many states in addition to Illinois, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania.
This collection contains a small, 112-page account book containing the "Courier Subscription List," which lists subscribers by town, county, and designated mail service. The volume also contains a list of journal exchanges between the Courier and other newspaper publishers, as well as personal financial accounts of Thomas A. Clements, John A. Mitchell, and E.G. Earnheart for 1846-1847.
Steven P. Hill of the University of Illinois donated this volume to the Library in 1982.