(06-12-2014 11:19 AM)L Verge Wrote:  It also means that funerary customs are fresh in my mind so that I can give informed answers. It reinforces my contention that a good historian understands fully the customs and background of the era that he studies before making generalizations.

(06-12-2014 11:36 AM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  BRAVO Laurie!

After I finished typing my response I realized that lilac was indeed considered a mourning color in Victorian times. Didn't the great poet Walt Whitman even write a poem about lilacs blooming when AL was assassinated? If MTL had worn pink or red to the funeral, perhaps there would have been some cause for concern!

BTW I got the same response as yourself about my post being too long when I originally tried to reply.

Strange!

(06-12-2014 11:19 AM)L Verge Wrote:  I'm not sure how others were allowed to post under the original, long name of the previous thread. When I tried, the computer informed me that Mr. Lockmiller's title was too long. So, in the interest of full disclosure, I have shortened that title a bit in order to express my thoughts.

This reference to Mary's dress at the death of Baker is so typically Burlingame...

If he had researched Victorian mourning customs, he would have found that the all-black attire that women chose was relegated mainly to relatives of the deceased -- widows, grieving children, sisters, aunts. In some areas of southern climate, all-white was used for heavy mourning (and still is).

Varying shades of purple were used when coming out of mourning, but were also perfectly acceptable when attending the funeral of a friend. The death of Baker did not necessitate Mary observing deep mourning. He was a friend, but he was not a statesman of note that would have required a state funeral or national mourning. Mary made a perfectly acceptable choice in dress.

In one of the six sources that I consulted, I found this interesting comment about the morbidity that was created by the American Civil War - which may have resulted in relaxing funeral customs over the successive decades:

"In America, the change in mourning had been brewing long before Victoria’s death. The Civil War helped to instigate this change. The war lasted from 1861 to 1865, and approximately 618,000 soldiers died. Twice as many Southern soldiers died than Northern and practically the whole population of the South was in mourning. The depression that all the women in black caused added to an already grieving nation. At one point the governor of Mississippi actually tried to pass a law banning Victorian mourning garb because of the low morale of the people. War changed America’s rigid mourning rules out of neccessity. "

It is fine with me that this additional topic on bashing MTL is posted at this time. Surratt House Museum has a mourning exhibit mounted right now that is intriguing our visitors. It also means that funerary customs are fresh in my mind so that I can give informed answers. It reinforces my contention that a good historian understands fully the customs and background of the era that he studies before making generalizations.

(06-12-2014 04:24 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  The cited source references used by Professor Burlingame were: Clipping from the New York, Commercial Gazette, 9 Jan. 1887, J. G. Randall Papers, Library of Congress; Washington correspondence by Vidette, 11 Dec. 1861, New York Commercial Advertiser, 13 Dec. 1861; reminiscences of John Palmer Usher, unidentified clipping, Otto Eisenschiml Papers, University of Iowa.

(06-12-2014 07:10 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(06-12-2014 04:24 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  The cited source references used by Professor Burlingame were: Clipping from the New York, Commercial Gazette, 9 Jan. 1887, J. G. Randall Papers, Library of Congress; Washington correspondence by Vidette, 11 Dec. 1861, New York Commercial Advertiser, 13 Dec. 1861; reminiscences of John Palmer Usher, unidentified clipping, Otto Eisenschiml Papers, University of Iowa.

David, thanks for citing the sources.
When they are right, it's good to share the credit
When they're wrong, you get to blame somebody else

(06-12-2014 04:52 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I am saying that Mrs. Lincoln was not a blood relative of Baker and therefore was not bound to dress all in black. I am also insinuating that Prof. Burlingame picks and chooses his historical citations in reference to the First Lady in order to address his personal opinions. Given the 1887 citation, the distant date from the occasion makes it questionable as does the word "reminiscences" in describing Mr. Usher's citation - and to see that it came through the Eisenschiml Papers makes me even more suspicious.

And Gene, you are absolutely correct in assuming that someone of Mrs. Lincoln's social standing (from childhood on) would know proper etiquette. Her weakest time on the social scene would have been her early years of marriage to a "prairie lawyer." BTW: Has anyone researched how long Mr. Lincoln remained in mourning for his friend? Did he wear an armband or rosette in remembrance for any extended period - or at all? If so, the professor should have noted that in his bio to reinforce his ideas of the compassionate Abraham Lincoln.

(06-12-2014 11:03 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  Also, I don't think that the professor noted whether President Lincoln was wearing black at the funeral. Maybe Professor Burlingame should devote a whole book to the funeral of Colonel Baker.

(06-13-2014 06:03 AM)Gene C Wrote:  So much attention has been given to what Mary Lincoln wore, I'm a bit curious as to what Abraham wore.