Who are the plumbers?

[L Verge]

(02-09-2015 05:43 PM)loetar44 Wrote:  We all know that after Lincoln was laid at rest at Oak Ridge his coffin was in the following years opened 5 times (Dec. 21, 1865; Sept. 19, 1871; Oct. 9, 1874; April 14, 1887 and Sept. 1901).

It was Samuel S. Elder (34), a skilled tinner from Springfield (his tin shop was just at the northeast corner of the Public Square where Lincoln's body lay in state) having soldered AL’s coffin shut on May 4, 1865, just before the body was removed to Oak Ridge Cemetery. He closed his written account (dated Feb. 6, 1899) with the following words (sic): “…The Moment when So far as this world is Concerned the face of Abraham Lincoln was Coverd to be Sean No More on Earth.” and thought he was the last person who saw Lincoln. He could not have known at that moment that this was fully untrue.

The coffin was again opened on Dec. 21, 1865. My question: who opened the coffin?

In the book "Myths after Lincoln" by Lloyd Lewis (1891-1949), published 1940, on page 265 is stated that plumber Leon F. Hopkins made an opening in the lead box on that date. But …. how could this be ??? Hopkins was born July 15, 1851 and was only 14 years (5 months and 6 days) old, still a child. Some accounts (internet) say that he was not a skilled plumber, but a “plumber’s assistant”. Why was it allowed that a young boy opened the lead lined coffin of AL? In my eyes that does not make any sense at all. Why is Lewis writing this? What was his source? I simply believe it can’t be true. But who did then open the coffin? Why is that not known?

Also, Lewis states in his book that Hopkins again opened AL’s coffin on Sept. 19, 1871. Hopkins was at that moment 20 years (2 months and 4 days) old. Still very young. I even don’t believe this too! George L. Cashman (custodian Lincoln Tomb, 1951-1975) wrote in a letter (dated May 25, 1970) to Mr. Bert Sheldon (the man who uncovered in 1971 that Samuel Elder closed AL’s coffin on May 5, 1865): “…When the time approached for the dedication of the Tomb it was found that the metalic casket would not fit into the marble sarcophagus which had been prepared to receive it. The body was then placed in a lead lined red cedar coffin, on October 9, 1874, and the lead lining was sealed by soldering by Col. A.J.Babcock”. So, Babcock and not Hopkins! But who is Col. A.J. Babcock? Why do we not know more about him?

As far as I know Hopkins did indeed open the coffin on April 14, 1887. It is well documented in written statements (I believe). And Hopkins was again present during the last viewing on Sept. 26, 1901, however it was his nephew Charles L. Wiley Sr. who did the work. So Hopkins claim that he was the “last person who saw Lincoln” seems (to me) not true.

Your comments are greatly appreciated. Is it possible to uncover the names (an more info) re. the plumbers who opened / and sealed the coffin air tight on the various dates?

I have no answers for you except to say that, given the child labor conditions in the U.S. and elsewhere in the mid-1800s, I don't find it hard to believe that a 15-year-old was qualified for and trusted with opening the coffin. He could very well have been apprenticed to a plumber for training while still 8-10 years old.

P.S. I knew Bert Sheldon back in the 1970s. He had been a police lieutenant with the Metropolitan Police Force in D.C. and was a leading Lincoln enthusiast who helped many researchers and was also instrumental in forming the Lincoln Group of D.C.