Lincoln participates in at least seventeen cases in the U.S. Circuit Court. In fourteen of the cases, Lincoln & Herndon represent the Missouri-based firm of S. C. Davis & Company, which is suing to recover money owed to it by various individuals and firms. The case of S.C. Davis & Co. v. J.W. & J.R. Allen is representative of the action that Lincoln & Herndon take this day in ten of the suits. Lincoln & Herndon ask the Court to order the defendants to "plead...by Wednesday Morning next," and Judge Samuel H. Treat grants the requests. Three other S.C. Davis & Company cases are chancery cases involving the foreclosure of mortgages, where the borrowers used land to secure the promissory notes they gave to the company. The case of S.C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley is representative of the action taken in these three cases. Lincoln & Herndon ask the Court to order the defendant(s) to "answer...by Wednesday morning next," and Judge Treat grants the requests. Lincoln also participates in three other cases not related to the S.C. Davis & Company. In the debt case of Bank of Commerce v. Emporium Real Estate & Manufacturing Co., Lincoln & Herndon, representing the plaintiff, ask the Court to order the defendant to "plead...by Wednesday Morning next." In the case of Lawrence v. Coler, Lincoln & Herndon represent plaintiff Hoel K. Lawrence of Wisconsin in a suit involving a bill of exchange. Lincoln & Herndon ask the Court to order defendant William N. Coler to "plead...by Wednesday Morning next." Judge Treat grants the request. In the case of Gale v. Morgan County Bank, Lincoln and Stephen T. Logan defend the financial institution. Plaintiff Dewitt C. Gale is suing the bank for failing to credit his account for two drafts, totaling $4,000, that he submitted for payment. Both parties agree to a January 13 trial date. Declaration, filed 9 December 1857, S.C. Davis & Co. v. J.W. & J.R. Allen, Record Group 21, case file 231; Order 4 January 1858, S.C. Davis & Co. v. J.W. & J.R. Allen, Record Group 21, General Records, Vol. 1, 180; Bill to Foreclose Mortgage, filed 8 December 1857, S.C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley, Record Group 21, case file 245; Decree, 4 January 1858, S.C. Davis & Co. v. Campbell & Hundley, Record Group 21, Chancery Record, Vol., 39; Order, 4 January 1858, Bank of Commerce v. Emporium Real Estate & Manufacturing Co., Record Group 21, General Records, Vol. 1, 179; Order, 4 January 1858, Lawrence v. Coler, Record Group 21, General Records, Vol. 1, 181; Deposition of Charles S. Watrons, 5 December 1857, Gale v. Morgan County Bank, Record Group 21, case file 142; Order, 4 January 1858, Gale v. Morgan County Bank, Record Group 21, General Records, Vol. 1, 188, all in U.S. Circuit Court, Southern District of Illinois, National Archives and Records Administration, Great Lakes Region, Chicago, IL.

In the name of Lincoln & Herndon, Lincoln signs an order promising to pay G. W. Hawes & Co. $2 on receipt of a copy of the State "Gazetteer of Illinois" for the years 1858 and 1859. Private Collection.