Crain Estate Settlement

In the 1830s this lot was the property of Lewis F. Crain. Benjamin Kellogg Jr. was appointed administrator of the estate of Lewis F. Crain, which included properties scattered all over town. Unfortunately Crain was $21,000 in debt at the time of his death. In 1838 Kellogg hired Stuart and Lincoln to guide the case, called Ex parte Kellogg, through probate court. The estate properties, including this lot, were sold off for only $200.

In the accompanying illustration from an 1877 aerial map of Pekin, the triangular Kellogg lot is shown at the center of the image, bounded by Broadway, Capitol, and Sabella ("Isabella") streets.

The same Benjamin Kellogg Jr. later was a witness in the 1838-9 case of Cromwell & McNaghton v. Bailey. Kellog also was represented by Abraham Lincoln in an 1854 case in Pekin over stolen gunny sacks, as explained elsewhere in this tour.