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.