He Served in Place of Abraham Lincoln

[Susan Higginbotham]

Since we might otherwise be waiting a long time for that source, here it is: Larner's remarks appeared in the Washington Critic in 1886 and were picked up by various papers. This is from the September 16, 1886, issue of the National Tribune:


https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4092373/noble_larner/

If you can't view the link, it's in the fifth column here:

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/s...d-1/seq-2/

Read in context, the "ne'er do well" comment appears to refer to Larner's reputation at the time he was recruited. Perhaps at the time he was considered so--he wouldn't be the first young man to shape up in maturity.