Fascinating History

[wpbinzel]

In JWB and the Women Who Loved Him, Ernie Abel wrote that "in 1862, [t]wo days before Valentine's Day, John and June were both staying at their brother Edwin's house in New York" when JWB made his Valentine for Lucy (p.175). That is possible under Art Loux's timeline. Ernie cited Asia's Unlocked Book (p.121) as his source; however, Terry Alford's edited version of Asia's book has the Valentine's creation date of "the Tuesday before February 14th, 1865" (p. 86). According to Loux, JWB was in NYC on February 14, 1865; however, February 14, 1865 was a Tuesday, which is why I believe that Ernie thought that "two days before Valentine's Day" made 1862 the correct year. (JWB was in NYC on February 7, 1865 as well.) I have not done the research to try to determine which date is correct, but it is just one of those details over which we scratch our heads in an effort to determine what really happened... The fact that Miss Hale accompanied R.T. Lincoln and John Hay to Mount Vernon on February 8, 1862 only adds to the uncertainty.