It was during his presidency.

Walt Whitman?

Yes, Joe. Indeed it was Walt Whitman. The quote was in his notebook under the date of August 12, 1864. Good job, Joe!

Who was surprised to find boots under his bed?

Tad Lincoln?

nope, not Tad

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Apparently, this person would have been pleased to see the boots because he'd recently lost his job.

(11-08-2023, 03:37 AM)AussieMick Wrote: Who was surprised to find boots under his bed?

I don't know the answer to the question but,
that does remind me of a song (no not that one, this is a G rated site)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d05tQrhNMkA

(Big tick for that, Gene.)

The man was sure the boots were not there when he went out. He didn't sleep in his room that night. It was when he returned that he saw the boots.

George B. McClellan?

Abraham Lincoln?

Roger, Anita .... one of you is close.

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.... sort of.

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Another man would later incorrectly claim that the room was in fact "his".

The man whose name I want was a clerk in the War Department. He had been in the 13th Regiment Massachusetts. He later went on to work in real estate and died of a heart attack aged 44.

The boots? They didnt fit many people but apparently children like to try them on.

This is a way out there guess. Is the person William T Clark, the boarder whose room in the Petersen House was where Lincoln died? After Lincoln's body was removed Clark found Lincoln's boots under the bed.

Anita ... (as usual) you're correct.
He used the boots as collateral for a loan to go gold digging. The boots found their way to a classroom and then to a museum.
Of course, there were other versions of the 'truth' and other attempts to fake the boots.
Also another occupant of the house (Mr Proctor) in later life became confused when talking to a newspaper man and 'claimed' to be the room occupant.
Oh, and one boot would have been fractionally larger.

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https://richardhowe.com/2021/02/13/willi...m-lincoln/

https://lincolnconspirators.com/tag/proctor/

https://michaelanthonybootmaker.com/news...coln-boots

https://theshoeman647325124.wordpress.co...lns-boots/

Interesting question, Michael. I was not aware of Proctor. Dave Taylor sure did a great job of covering Clark, Proctor, etc.