The Bloody Pillow Case

[Anita]

Warren, THANK YOU for the great articles. EUREKA!!!

When I saw the pillow at the Reagan library I became curious about the black marks. I found an article where Charles Rector was quoted saying the black marks could have come from Lincoln's overshoes. I did research and found that Lincoln did indeed wear overshoes made of India-rubber. I posted this on this thread with a link.
http://www.chicagohistory.org/wetwithblo.../comb3.htm


BUT UNTIL YOUR ARTICLE I couldn't find proof that Lincoln wore overshoes the night he was shot and in fact had them on at the Petersen house. And now here is Mrs.Rector saying "When Mr. Lincoln was carried to the house he had on a pair of rubbers. They were taken off by my brother and among other things were stored away. I had them for several years wrapped up with this pillow. You see the marks on the rubbers where the heat has melted them. Well Secretary Belknap of the War Department on day heard that the Petersen family had never been recompensed one cent for the trouble they had been caused and that the Lincoln family had never thanked a single member of it and he sent over for that pair of rubbers. He kept the rubbers and sent me a check for $55 and they are now in the museum in the old Ford Theater building."



I had written to Allison Dixon at Ford's theater about the black marks on the pillow. Here's her reply. On 8/26/2013 9:48 AM, Dixon, Allison wrote:
> Hello Anita,
>
> Thank you for your email. We are excited that you had the opportunity to see the pillow on exhibit at the Reagan Presidential Library, as that particular pillow is not on permanent exhibit in Ford's Theater due to its fragile condition. We have another pillow on exhibit in our museum.
>
> You are correct, the image we provided the Reagan Library for their catalog was of the reverse side of the pillow. They chose to exhibit the other side for the purposes of their exhibition.
>
> The pillow is not from the Oldroyd collection. It was donated to the NPS in 1955 by Miss Marjorie F. Webster. The pillow was first owned by the Petersen's daughter, Pauline, and was passed down through the family over several generations to Miss Webster.
>
> The black marks on the pillow were there when we acquired the pillow in 1955. Like several other artifacts, the pillow was examined by the FBI laboratory, and is said to be some sort of resin, although they could not determine the exact cause.
>
> I hope this answers some of your questions! I am glad you enjoyed your visit to the Reagan Presidential Library. They were a pleasure to work with. We hope to see you at Ford's Theater some time!
>
> Best,
>
>
> Allison Dixon
> Museum Technician
> National Mall and Memorial Parks
> Ford's Theatre National Historic Site


I truly believe that the black marks on the pillow came from Lincoln's overshoes thanks to your article.