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Eva Elisabeth · (This post was last modified: 03-24-2014 11:25 AM by Eva Elisabeth.)

I'm always impressed when folks know what (Lincoln/CW/assassination) sights/gravesites where (still) exist (that are accessable) or the places where artefacts are on display. E.g. I recently learned that Frederick Douglass' house in Washington still exists and is open for tours. Such places are not mentioned in "common" travel guides, and to put them together from websites/other books is (for me) pretty difficult (as I often simply don't know of their existence). So I wonder - is there any such thing as a "Lincoln/CW travel guide"? What I have in mind is a state-by-state guide wherein you can check each city/region for the local sights, exhibitions, etc. with addresses, short info+opening hours, etc. Does such a guide exist? Or a similar website?

Gene C · 03-24-2014, 08:49 AM

I don't have it yet, but this might be what you are looking for

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0786710683/ref=...TK6IHX5E53

RJNorton · 03-24-2014, 09:16 AM

The book Gene mentioned is an invaluable resource. It covers every state, city, place, etc. Lincoln was ever in during his life. It mentions hotels he stayed in, street locations of private homes he stayed in, locations of his speeches, etc. Mary's travels (in the USA, not Europe) are covered also. The book by Don Davenport is also good, but it's not as complete as Ralph Gary's.

Eva Elisabeth · (This post was last modified: 03-24-2014 09:30 AM by Eva Elisabeth.)

Many thanks! Sounds like an excellent recommendation. Does it also cover exhibitions/places where artefacts are on display? Or any Lincoln-related places (like the above mentioned Douglass' house, of which I only had learned by chance)?

L Verge · 03-24-2014, 09:32 AM

Ralph's book has been a good seller at Surratt House.

There is one place that Lincoln is said to have spent the night while a Congressman, but I have never seen written proof of it. That place existed until the 1960s and was named the Marlborough Hotel. It was in the Prince George's County seat of Upper Marlboro, Maryland - about fifteen minutes from Surrattsville. I remember it from my childhood, but it was in poor condition at that time. It had to be demolished to make way for a new county administration building (a modern monstrosity of the 1970s that is totally out of keeping in the town that dates back to the 1790s).

Both Joan Chaconas and I have seen reference to this years ago, separately, but we have never been able to verify it. I believe the year was 1848(?). If I remember correctly, it is not in Lincoln Day By Day.

It stands to reason, however, that Lincoln might have been in our county seat campaigning for the Whig Party at that time. Prince George's County was a strong, economic base for the State of Maryland and was just across the D.C. line. In fact, most of the District of Columbia was created out of Prince George's County, Maryland. And, it was the largest slave holding county in the state.

Eva Elisabeth · 03-24-2014, 09:38 AM

As for places Lincoln visited - one usually reads he had never travelled abroad. But I wonder if he perhaps set a foot onto Canadian soil when he visited the Niagara Falls?

RJNorton · 03-24-2014, 09:47 AM

(03-24-2014 09:30 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote: Many thanks! Sounds like an excellent recommendation. Does it also cover exhibitions/places where artefacts are on display? Or any Lincoln-related places (like the above mentioned Douglass' house, of which I only had learned by chance)?

Yes, the Douglass' house is mentioned on pp. 377-378. As a very general rule, however, the book is devoted to places Lincoln actually set foot in. (There are some exceptions such as the Douglass' house, but the exceptions are pretty much limited to Springfield, Chicago, and Washington.)

L Verge · 03-24-2014, 10:37 AM

The Frederick Douglass home, Cedar Hill, is definitely a must-see if you are in D.C. on a visit. Unfortunately, it is in Anacostia (Uniontown in 1865) - an area that is desperately in need of revitalization. Cedar Hill is operated by the National Park Service, but it is advisable to travel there in a group or take a taxi to its door.

There is a visitors' center with a nice selection of books. And, the house itself appears as if Mr. Douglass had just stepped out the door. The lucky NPS has many of the original furnishings.

Susan Higginbotham · 03-24-2014, 11:10 AM

I just finished "Kate Chase and William Sprague: Politics and Gender in a Civil War Marriage" by Peg A. Lamphier. An interesting book about a marriage that went spectacularly sour.

L Verge · 03-24-2014, 01:07 PM

Susan - Would it change my opinion of Kate Chase; that she could have benefited from some good discipline in her growing-up years (and later)? I have not read a lot on her, but what I have read made me think that I would not like her.

RJNorton · 03-25-2014, 06:27 AM

(03-24-2014 09:38 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote: As for places Lincoln visited - one usually reads he had never travelled abroad. But I wonder if he perhaps set a foot onto Canadian soil when he visited the Niagara Falls?

Eva, I think it's likely that he did set foot on Canadian soil. On July 22, 1857, the Lincoln family departed Springfield for a trip to New York. On July 24, they were registered at the Cataract House in Niagara Falls. Not a lot is really known of this trip.

On September 20, 1857, Mary Lincoln wrote a letter to Emilie Todd Helm. In the letter she mentioned the trip and said, "The summer has so strangely and rapidly passed away. Some portion of it was spent most pleasantly in traveling East. We visited Niagara, Canada, New York, and other points of interest."

Susan Higginbotham · 03-25-2014, 08:03 AM

(03-24-2014 01:07 PM)L Verge Wrote: Susan - Would it change my opinion of Kate Chase; that she could have benefited from some good discipline in her growing-up years (and later)? I have not read a lot on her, but what I have read made me think that I would not like her.

The book focused on her courtship and marriage, so it didn't delve heavily into her younger years or into her rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln, except as background. She does seem to have made a genuine effort to make her marriage work, which wasn't easy, as her husband turned out to be a philandering alcoholic whose behavior became increasingly erratic over time. Her last years were difficult--her only son killed himself, one of her three daughters was mentally disabled, and she was reduced to selling produce from her estate to neighbors--and she bore these circumstances with grace.

There's a compilation of letters between her father, herself, and her younger sister, called Spur Up Your Pegasus: Family Letters of Salmon, Kate, and Nettie Chase, 1844-1873, that makes for interesting "dip-in" sort of reading.

I started Jason Emerson's biography of Robert T. Lincoln last night. Enjoying it, except that it's a big book that's not at all conducive to reading with a dog in one's lap. I didn't know that Abraham Lincoln had patented an invention!

L Verge · 03-25-2014, 08:54 AM

STRAIGHT FROM THE AUTHOR'S MOUTH: I had a phone call from Dr. Terry Alford this morning informing me that his Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth manuscript was submitted to the publisher in New York this past Friday. The production schedule calls for a mid-February release with it being in all book stores by mid-March. Just in time for the 2015 Surratt Conference.

Eva Elisabeth · (This post was last modified: 03-26-2014 08:01 AM by Eva Elisabeth.)

Roger, thanks for the info on Canada and the reference to Mary's letter!!

(03-25-2014 08:03 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: I didn't know that Abraham Lincoln had patented an invention!

Hi Susan, exactly one week ago (incredible how time flies) I took this picture of the model at Petersen House:

I knew of the vessel device patent, but I didn't know he built this:

Rob once posted this link to the patent:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=ajRFAAA...&q&f=false
I found it quite interesting to learn that while AFAIK A. Lincoln's invention has never been built, his patent was recently (2010 + 2012) cited in the patent for an emergency encapsulated lift system. (If that has been built?)
(The drawing is better here: http://www.pddoc.com/skedaddle/articles/...patent.htm )

A. Lincoln also held two different lectures on discoveries and inventions (in 1858/59), you find them here if you scroll down a bit:
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/...9&CRLI=167

Susan Higginbotham · 03-26-2014, 10:10 AM

(03-25-2014 06:23 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote: Roger, thanks for the info on Canada and the reference to Mary's letter!!

(03-25-2014 08:03 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: I didn't know that Abraham Lincoln had patented an invention!
Hi Susan, exactly one week ago (incredible how time flies) I took this picture of the model at Petersen House:

I knew of the vessel device patent, but I didn't know he built this:

Rob once posted this link to the patent:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=ajRFAAA...&q&f=false
I found it quite interesting to learn that while AFAIK A. Lincoln's invention has never been built, his patent was recently (2010 + 2012) cited in the patent for an emergency encapsulated lift system. (If that has been built?)
(The drawing is better here: http://www.pddoc.com/skedaddle/articles/...patent.htm )

A. Lincoln also held two different lectures on discoveries and inventions (in 1858/59), you find them here if you scroll down a bit:
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/...9&CRLI=167

Thanks, Eva!