An outstanding idea, Roger, but the rose doesn't grow in Florida either.

Hint #2: It is believed to have witnessed other very well-known people of the "Lincoln saga".

Hint #3: Again, try to think about the state, and the setting/venue.

Illinois ?

Good guess, Gene, but not Illinois either.

When Mary was a young girl she rode her pony out to Henry Clay's mansion, Ashland. So is the rose in Kentucky at Ashland? (or along the road to Ashland?)

A good idea, Roger, but the rose isn't in KY either.

Hint #4: Mary may have seen it in 1861, but the mainly witnessed "subjects" are other VIPs of the saga.are
Hint #5: Again - can someone name some (non-geograpghical) places where you would see roses? I promise it will help!

I am totally lost, Eva.

Does it have anything to do with the death/funeral/burial of Elmer Ellsworth?

Good idea, Roger. While it doesn't have anything to do with E.E. it does grow in the same state he was born and buried.

(And please give #5 another thought...where would you find roses?)

Boston ?

which reminds me of a song (click on "show more" for the lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-we400fkXuw

Is it something the inaugural train passed when it went through New York in 1861?

(08-13-2016 05:38 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Boston ?

which reminds me of a song (click on "show more" for the lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-we400fkXuw

Wow, I didn't know there's a Boston in NY!
   
The rose grows 155 miles or 13 hrs by bike (says Google) farther East.

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(08-13-2016 05:59 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Is it something the inaugural train passed when it went through New York in 1861?

A very good guess, but the train didn't pass the place.

Hint #6: The place where the rose grows is nowadays accessible to the paying public, not so back then.

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Hint #7: Precisely, it grows in a garden.

The New York City Botanical Gardens has one of the most famous Rose Gardens in the country, but I'm not sure it's old enough to qualify. It was established by one of the Lady Rockefellers, but I think it was after the Civil War - so just a guess on my part.

Good guess and info, Laurie, but has never been a botanical garden, just a private pastime one, and the location is the state of NY. Doesn't the combination of NY and garden/horticulture bring someone of the Lincoln saga into your mind?

Is it at the Seward House in Auburn, New York?

Kudos, Roger, that is correct - and thanks to Bill Binzel, who happened to visit Auburn last week, for taking the picture upon my request to inquire about any surviving roses Seward might have planted.

Roger, you win lots of red roses from Hildegard Knef - and may all he wishes come true for you:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z_K_w1Yb5Yk

It Shall Rain Red Roses for Me*

At sixteen
At sixteen I silently said
I want
I want to be big
Want to win
Want to be happy
Never lie
At sixteen
At sixteen I silently said
I want
I want everything
Or nothing
It shall rain red roses for me
All wonders shall encounter me
The world shall rearrange itself
And keep its worries to itself
And later
Later, I still said
I would like
To understand
To see a lot
To experience
To keep
And later
And later I still said
I wouldn’t like
To be alone
But still be free
It shall rain red roses for me
All wonders shall encounter me
Happiness shall behave in such a way
It shall manage my destiny with love

And today
Today I silently say
I was supposed to
Conform
Make do
Oh, I can’t conform
I can’t make do
I always want to win too
I want everything
Everything or nothing
It shall rain red roses for me...
 
*(In German, the metaphor "rote Rosen regnen" does not evoke an image of roses raining down from the sky but of being showered with roses thrown in reverence, e.g. for an actor on stage.)

Thanks, Eva! I just followed your clues and finally guessed Seward's. I like Hildegard Knef.