Abraham Lincoln signature found at Royal Oak Historical Society Museum

[LincolnMan]

I don't know if this story reached any of you. The signature was found in July 2012 in a box containing Lincoln memorabilia that had been collected by George A. Dondero-who was one of Royal Oak, Michigan's historical figures. The signature was on a two by three inch piece of paper which had been cut out of a letter written in 1864. According to the Museum Curator, the message from Lincoln said:

"Let John S. Ennis...take the oath of Dec.8, and his discharge. January 16, 1864" (signed) A. Lincoln

The President was responding to a congressman whose writing is on the other side. Lincoln was agreeing that if a confederate prisoner of war named John Ennis took a loyalty oath to the Union he could go free. Ennis was being held at Camp Douglas in Chicago.

The signature was authenticated through the efforts of the PBS show "History Detectives." They took the piece to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield where it was verified as the signature of Lincoln.

I emailed the museum curator this past week. They have made a copy of the signature for public display for now. They are raising funds to build a permanent display at the museum. I plan on going there maybe next week. I thought this story might be of interest to you all. We have many researchers on this Forum. You never know what you might find tucked away in some file or box while looking for information. Isn't it amazing and wonderful that in 2012 things are still being discovered?