“Lincoln in the Bardo,” won the Man Booker Prize

[kerry]

(12-12-2017 01:43 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  "When Mrs. Lincoln returned to Springfield for the funeral of her husband, she sent for Mr. and Mrs. Miner, and told them of the last day of Lincoln's life."

Something is way off here....

Yeah, some of it is definitely confused, as she was repeating what she heard years later. I think she meant to say Chicago. A ton of accounts mention when Mary came back to Springfield after Lincoln's death - people just assumed that was what happened. She's supposedly quoting from a letter, though, about the visit to the cemetery, so that part seems to be accurate. The more research I do, the more it becomes clear that human memory is frighteningly inaccurate. A common issue is mixing up Tad, Robert, and Willie, even when the person claims to have met one of them (and there is evidence to support that they have). Clearly they just looked it up or were going on what they read most recently. Then there are people who met Tad and insist his name was "Tats", Teddy (both of which are excusable), or "Dot" (not excusable). Or in one of Alexander Williamson's accounts, he clearly indicates that he interviewed with Mary in September 1861, and then clearly indicates that she wrote Lincoln of her decision regarding a tutor while at Long Branch, which was in August. I try really hard to look for inconsistencies and take out questionable accounts, but it's clear that even people who did have regular contact with the Lincolns cannot keep the story straight.