What education did the Lincoln boys receive?

[J. Beckert]

That makes sense Roger. I just remembered Pendel saying he was at his post at the WH as a crowd approached with the news. It was he who told Robert something had happened at Ford's.

[Dan Pearson]

In Pendel's reminiscences he states that he was at his post at the White House the night of April 14, 1865. When her received word of the president being shot, from Isaac Newton, Pendel went upstairs to inform Robert Lincoln of the news. Pendel then waited at the White House for Tad to return, and it was Pendel to whom Tad said, "They have killed Papa Dead," (or "they have killed Papa-day," depending on your interpretation). Pendel then got Tad calmed down a bit, and put him to bed and lay with him in the President's room.

[L Verge]

The Alphonso Dunn answer that I posted earlier came from the whitehousehistory page, so I guess we go with that.

BTW: I didn't post earlier on the question about Tad saying "killed Papa Dead" of killed Papa-day." I have never heard of the latter phrase, but in today's world, I have heard many children and adults talk about someone being killed dead. Maybe it's a colloquialism only used in certain sections?

[Craig Hipkins]

Robert went to Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter New Hampshire. A few years ago I acquired a nice little book called Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire written by Elwin Page back in the 1930's. It was a bit pricey, but somehow I was able to justify the purchase. Anyway, in the book there is a copy of a letter written by Robert Todd Lincoln to his mother from Exeter dated December 1860. In the letter Robert talks about the upcoming inauguration, and his schoolmates. Abraham Lincoln visited Robert at Exeter shortly after his Cooper Union speech.

Craig

[Jim Garrett]

I think I rememmber that Willie and Tad received very little formal education while the family lived in Springfield. I believe That AL felt there would be plenty of time later for them to receive an education. The young Lincoln children were tutored in the Whitehouse and I believe that aspect is covered well in "The Last Lincoln" by Lachman.

[Ashley Norman]

Wasn't Tad hard to tutor? I read that his parents were more lenient with him and after Willie's death they bencame even more lenient then they already had been.

[RJNorton]

Ashley, because of his short attention span, I would think he was quite difficult to tutor. Regarding Tad, the president's secretary, John Hay, wrote, "He had a very bad opinion of books and no opinion of discipline."

There is a difference in books on whom Tad was with at Grover's Theatre when his dad was shot. Some books say he was with his tutor. Other books say he was with Alphonso Donn, one of the detail of Washington Metropolitan Police force officers assigned to the White House.

[Ashley Norman]

Thank you for your answer Roger, i never could really find why he was hard to tutor or what happened with that. When I ws in Washington a while back the house where Abe died they said had been Alphonso perviosly and later when Mary sent for hum he was in a tutor's care. Believe thats what they told me I will double check. Thank you.

[RJNorton]

I'm finding two answers to who accompanied Tad to Grover's Theatre that night - one says "his tutor," and the other says Alphonso Dunn, the White House doorkeeper. And the search continues.....

Laurie, add Tom Bogar to the group of authors indicating Tad's tutor, Alexander Williamson, accompanied Tad to Grover's Theatre. It's in Tom's outstanding Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination. Williamson was a cousin of the Gourlay family. Books seem to be fairly evenly divided between the tutor or the doorkeeper/police officer, Alphonso Dunn (also spelled Donn in some books).