Description:

Abraham Lincoln
Washington, DC, March 1, 1862
Abraham Lincoln's Secretary Thanks Correspondent for Condolences on Willie Lincoln's Death
Letter

This brief letter, written and signed by Lincoln's secretary, thanks New York poet and author Park Benjamin for his condolences after the death of Lincoln's son Willie on February 20, 1862. Both parents grieved deeply for weeks. Mary Lincoln remained in bed for three weeks and did not attend the funeral.

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] Manuscript Letter Signed (although very close, in our opinion secretarially), to Park Benjamin, March 1, 1862, Washington, D.C. 1 p., 6.5" x 8". Expected folds; general toning; on black-bordered mourning stationery.

Complete Transcript
Executive Mansion
March 1, 1862
My Dear Sir
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your kind favour of the 24 February; and I beg that you will accept the assurance of my sincere gratitude for your expression of friendly sympathy.
Yours very truly
A. Lincoln
Park Benjamin, Esq

Historical Background
William Wallace Lincoln (1850-1862) was the third of four sons born to Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Born in Springfield, Illinois, just ten months after the death of his older brother Eddie, he was named after his mother's brother-in-law, Dr. William S. Wallace.

Like his father, Willie was thoughtful and enjoyed writing. According to a teenaged Julia Taft, whose brothers played with him and Tad in the White House, he was "the most lovable boy I ever knew, bright, sensible, sweet-tempered, and gentle-mannered." Both Lincoln boys became very ill in early 1862, likely from typhoid fever. After a few days, Tad began to recover, but Willie weakened and died on February 20.

In earlier correspondence with Abraham Lincoln, Park Benjamin had sent congratulations on his election in November 1860 from "a literary man and not a party-politician; but your firm, fast and constant friend during the contest," as Benjamin described himself. Lincoln responded later that month "That my political position, and personal history, are such as to meet the unselfish approval of one possessing your high literary fame and character, is matter of sincere pride with me."

In March 1861, however, Benjamin wrote to Lincoln asking for a "position under his Administration." He specifically applied for the office of "Register of the Treasury" or "some other position, either abroad or at home." Lincoln appointed Lucius E. Chittenden (1824-1900) as Register of the Treasury and did not appoint Benjamin to any position.

Park Benjamin (1809-1864) was born in Demerara, British Guiana, but was sent to New England and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced law in Boston before leaving it for journalism there and in New York City. In 1839, he joined Rufus Wilmot Griswold in founding The Evening Tattler, a literary and news journal. In 1840, he helped to found and edit The New World, a weekly newspaper, in New York City. By 1849, when his son and namesake Park Benjamin Jr. (1849-1922) was born, he had retired to Long Island. He was also a poet and a correspondent, and friend of Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Homes Sr. James Fenimore Cooper once sued Benjamin for libel, and Walt Whitman worked for Benjamin for a time as a printer for The New World. During the Civil War, he traveled widely through the North, lecturing and reciting his poems on the war.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 6.5" x 8"
  • Medium: Letter

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