William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln

Yesterday, Feb. 20, 2012 was the 150th anniversary of Willie Lincoln's death. I meant to post this that day.

Willie was born December 21, 1850 in Springfield, Illinois. He was the third son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was born about 10 months after the death of his brother Eddie. Willie was named for Dr. William Wallace who was the husband of Mary's sister, Frances and the physician who nursed Eddie Lincoln before he died.

It is said Willie was very much like Lincoln. He felt that his son, Willie "had a mind like his own, and those who knew the boy considered him intelligent, generous , and kind-hearted".

When the Lincolns moved into the White House both younger boys, Willie and Tad, had a great time. The boys loved animals and had all kinds of them. The boys often accompanied their father when he reviewed the troops in camp. They also went with Mary Lincoln when she took fruits, books, papers and other gifts to soldiers. Both boys were mischievous. They had free roam of their father's office and would often overturn furniture and papers. Mr. Lincoln's secretary, Herndon would often get upset.

The public loved the boys and showered the boys with presents. Willie actually received the gift of a pony one time.

In Feb., 1862 both Willie and Tad became ill with typhoid fever. It is said it possibly was from drinking polluted water in the White House. Tad recovered but Willie died on Feb. 20, 1862. Both his parents were at his bedside. They were devasted. Mrs. Lincoln was so devasted she could not attend his funeral and remained bed ridden for three weeks. President Lincoln would shut himself in his room and weep after the funeral and would have dreams of his son. They say he and Mary never recovered from the loss. Actually on the day of Lincoln's assassination it is written that he told Mary, "between the war and the loss of our darling Willie, we have both been very miserable". This was said in 1865 three years after Willie's death. It shows the depth of their loss.

Willie's funeral was in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 24th. The Reverend Phineas D. Gurley of Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church conducted the service. Willie was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. After President Lincoln's assassination, Willie's casket was exhumed and his remains accompanied his father's on the funeral train. Willie and Eddie were buried with their father in Springfield, Illinois.

From: William Lincoln/ Lincoln Life/ Lincoln Bicentennial/Live the Legacy at http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/lincolns-life/lincolns-family/william-lincoln/default.aspx

It is ironic that both warring Presidents lost their sons during the conflict. So in addition to dealing with the deaths of thousands of young men they had to deal with their own.

Many of the generals in both armies also lost children to disease. The deaths of children was so common in those days, that was why the "average age" of people in general was so low. If you survived childhood, you could get to 70 and 80. It was surviving childhood that was the hard part.

Thanks for the post - very good! Jefferson Davis and W T Sherman both lost their sons during the war. It seemed nobody anywhere could be untouched by it. Davis lost his son Joe from a fall - Varina never got over it. Sherman's son Willie died of probably typhoid but Ellen, who had a bad migraine at the time, blamed herself for not seeing he was sick and Sherman blamed himself for bringing her and the kids to Vicksburg - it permanently strained their marriage. As you mention, the Lincolns didn't get over it either. He was a lively boy and very much his father's favorite. One night some arsonist set fire to the White House stables and Lincoln went racing out to help, leaping tall hedges like an Olympic hurdler because his dead son's pony was in that barn!

General Sherman went into a great depression over the death of his young son Willie. When his wife went North to take Willie's body back Sherman wrote his wife: "Why was I not killed at Vicksburg and left Willy to grow up and care for you?" From"The Language of the Civil War" pp. 325-326.

There is one aspect of the story that I am unsure about. Lincoln had a law partner named William Herndon, did he also have a secretary of the same name. Herndon is a prominent name in Springfield. The family was in Retail until the advent of the chain stores and malls

William Herndon was Lincoln's 3rd and final law partner. He knew the two boys, Willie and Tad. Lincoln would bring them to the law office. Herndon wrote about Lincoln and the boys: "get them to monkey around -- talk -- dance -- speak -- quote poetry, etc." from Lincoln Life on William Lincoln at same site as stated in my first post.

Lincoln's secretaries were John Hay and John Nicolay. "They lived at the White House,worked next to the President's office, slept across the hall, accompanied him to the theater, and acted as his eyes and ears in Washington and beyond."

See Abraham Lincoln's Secretaries at http://www.abrahamlincolnclassroom.org/Library/newsletter.asp?lD=22&CRLl=102


I hope that site was okay on the Secretaries. It is from Charles M. Hubbard, Lincoln Reshapes the Presidency.

Herndon is responsible for some really good stuff about Lincoln and some really bad stuff! They were partners for years and years but they did have a falling out - mainly regarding Mary. Mary was not everybody's cup of tea and she sure wasn't Herndon's!