Lincoln Dining Room Chair

[Excelsior]

My grandmother was a Dinkel here in Minnesota, her grandfather Michael Dinkel came to American in the 1840's and was a tailor on the East Coast before joining the army. He was a scout in Missouri, then came up to Minnesota and was the first sheriff of Todd County. I believe Philip Dinkel was a relative, for some reason this article is in our family history "stuff" - anyone know about the Dinkels and the Lincolns?

Tom

The newspaper picture isn't great and is more than 500k
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(The left-hand column of the photo-copied article is cut off so the first word is often only half there.)

Comment of Family Here Surrounds Lincoln Chair.
By BETH HUGHES


One of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln’s dining room chairs today is many miles from Springfield, Ill., where the former Lincoln family home was located at Ninth and Jackson Sts. Surrounded by sentiment, it [resides] in the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Dinkel of [Glendale] two blocks from the [Alameda] Ave. Burbank city line. The small, brown, stained chair was given by Mary Todd Lincoln to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Dinkel, who were her neighbors on Eighth St.
Friday, the little chair [went] to school with 9-year-old George Dinkel of Pacoima, Philip and Barbara’s great great grandson and grandson to the George Dinkels.
When Mr. Lincoln was elected President of the United States, Mary Todd was proud wife, excited and awed by the thought of moving into the White House as First Lady of the land. And because the Lincoln’s had lived in Springfield home from 1844 until early 1861, she also felt somewhat sad over parting from her friends of 17 years.
In closing up the home, she gave away personal belongings as keepsakes. To her friend Barbara – Mrs. Philip Dinkel, she presented the chair, saying “Here, I want you to have it to remember us by.”
A history of the little chair has been written out as a permanent record by Mrs. John Dinkel, wife of Barbara’s great grandson and young George’s mother.

Join to Can Fruits

There was a close, neighborhood relationship between great-great grandmother Barbara and Mary Todd Lincoln. So much that every year they joined in the housewifery tasks of canning fruits together in Mrs. Lincoln’s kitchen.
One summer nearly became the exception, but for Mrs. Lincoln’s resourcefulness. Apparently without the usual arrangements Mrs. Lincoln had invited Barbara to bring her jars and do some canning.
“I can’t,” Barbara replied, “I’m getting ready to bake bread.” And accordingly to the record her bread that day was baked in Mrs. Lincoln’s kitchen.
At the time of the George Dinkels’ 50th wedding anniversary two years ago, their son John and his wife “washed down” the treasured Lincoln chair and uncovered a faint gold-leaf design on the rounded leges and curved rungs on its back.

Protect Finish

They applied a protective coating of clear shellac to the frame and covered its worn seat with a piece of needle-point which had been worked by Emma Dinkel Adams, daughter of Barbara’s only son George.
In 1949 Emma presented the chair to her brother George [End?]

Caption under Photo:

PRIZED POSSESSION – Dining room chair, once owned by Abraham Lincoln, is conversation subject for the Dinkel family of Glendale and Pacoima. From left are George Dinkel Sr. of Glendale, grandson George 9 and son John of 8900 Gullo Ave., Pacoima.

[RJNorton]

Tom, forum member Susan Higginbotham once posted a link you might be interested in:

http://blogs.dickinson.edu/hist-288pinsk...d-in-1860/

In Appendix C of Lincoln's Springfield Neighborhood by Bonnie E. Paull and Richard E. Hart it says (in a listing of German families living in the Lincoln neighborhood):

"Barbara Dingle (Dinker, Dinkel, Dinckel), a 35-year-old widow and native of Wurtemburg, Germany, lived on the south side of Edwards between Eighth and Ninth Streets. Living with her were eighty-eight-year-old John M. and sixty-two-year-old Margaret Margenthaler (Merguthole), also natives of Wurtemburg, Germany."

In By Square & Compass: Saga of the Lincoln Home Dr. Wayne Temple talks about the home in 1860 and mentions Mary Johnson as one roomer. He then mentions Phillip Dinkel as the second roomer.

Dr. Temple writes:

"The second roomer was Phillip Dinkle, a lad of about 15 and born in Illinois. He perhaps helped the Hon. A. Lincoln, Presidential candidate, with the household chores. Mary tended to put on airs with her elevated position, although the Presidential race changed Abraham but little.

Young Phillip's mother - Barbara Dinkel - was a widow and resided at No. 54 on the south side of Edwards Street, between Eighth and Ninth, and must have needed an additional income. She lived near enough for Mary to have learned of her misfortune and to have assisted her. Mrs. Lincoln possessed a large and kind heart.

Barbara Dinkel, in 1860, was approximately thirty-five years of age and claimed Württemberg, Germany, as her native land. In addition to Phillip, she had two younger children at home with her: George, 13, born in Illinois, and Mary, 11, also of Illinois. Two elderly relatives lived with her, too. They stemmed from Württemberg, the same as Barbara did.

Where Phillip Dinkel went after the Lincolns departed for Washington is unknown. We do know that he died in Springfield on October 25, 1865, with consumption, the same dangerous disease which had snuffed out the life of little Eddie Lincoln in 1850 and probably caused the demise of Willie Lincoln on February 20, 1862, and even Tad Lincoln later. Phillip had been the eldest son of Mrs. Dinkel and worshipped at the First Baptist Church."

[Excelsior]

Hi -

Nice sleuthing - the " Emma" and Emily would seem to match, meaning I believe the California Dinkels are real descendants with an actual chair. My Michael Dinkel does have a father and grandfather named Johann. My Michael's father Johann is born 1799, the gentleman in the article (John M.) is 88 in 1861 so he's born in 1872, so it works if Barbara is Michael's cousin and their grandpa is living in Springfield. Wurttenburg does border Bavaria, the cousin's would have to be from different towns ....

He (Michael Dinkel) was born in Bavaria on August 16, 1833, and his youth was passed in his native land. Our information is that he came to America when 18
years of age because he did not see fit to submit to compulsory military service for causes in which he did not believe. He landed in Baltimore, where he remained
for a year, during which time he learned the tailor's trade. After the year was completed, he enlisted in the Second Regiment of United States Infantry, in which military unit he served for five years. Much of this enlistment was spent in the west in Indian campaigns. On his discharge from the army he opened and conducted a small general store at Perryville, Mo. This first period of enlistment by Mr. Dinkel is
worthy of more than passing notice, for it covered a most critical period of the history of Missouri during the Civil war. Missouri was normally a southern state and much of the state was in sympathy with the southern cause and there is little doubt that Missouri would have seceded from the union in 186l had it not been for the influence of the German immigrants who had settled in the state. One of the most thrilling historical novels in American history was written by Winston Churchill in depicting this period of our history. Michael Dinkel and his relatives were among those who held Missouri for the Union. His army service in Uncle Sam's regular army had taught him the way to wage war. At first, the loyal portion of the state was organized in what was called the state troops. His unit was the 4th Missouri. Latter this body of troops was reorganized with regular army officers. In this reorganization, Mr. Dinkel became an orderly sergeant and his brother-in-law was first sergeant. As we have stated, in 1865 Michael Dinkel became a storekeeper at Perryville. Mo., but he had other ambitions and in 1866 sold out and set out for the north, reaching St. Cloud, where he worked for a year as a bridge carpenter. The next spring, 1867. he was joined by Mike Nesslein and Aaron Schrenk, and the three came to Todd county and took homesteads in Long Prairie township. This was the year that Todd county was organized and Mike Dinkel took an active interest in all that went on. It was indeed a new country and much was to be done to build up a prosperous settlement. These half dozen settlers from Missouri were the material of which pioneers are made.

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A little too hasty - Barbara would be his cousin's wife, but "Grandpa Dinkel" could be living there ...

Tom

[Eva Elisabeth]

Please allow me to remark that you certainly mean Württemberg which was a kingdom and German state. "Dinkel" correctly translates to "spelt" (a genuine grain) btw. (so possibly they were millers or farmers as names used to indicate professions)