Lincoln Funeral Car Mystery Solved

[Linda Anderson]

Frances Seward died on June 21, 1865. According to Thomas Goodrich in The Darkest Dawn, "The body of Mrs. Seward was escorted to New York in the same train that had carried Lincoln." The source is the Charles C. Appel diary which can be found in the Pennsylvania Historical Society.

It seems fitting that Mrs. Seward was given this honor as she was also considered a martyr as a result of Powell's attack on her family on April 14.

"That she didn't die immediately was a tribute to her nerve and her love. Instead, she called upon her slender reservoir of strength and began the arduous, anxious work of caring for the sick. The instant that it became clear that William Henry and Frederick would survive, Frances' energy and will collapsed."

Sensitivity and Civil War by Patricia Carley Johnson.