Lincoln's Boys

[Thomas Thorne]

I just finished the Jason Emerson biography of Robert Lincoln. It seems clear that Robert was quite friendly with Hay and Nicolay. The climax of their relationship was Robert Lincoln's commissioning of them to write the official Lincoln biography which most people believe suffered from the authors' acceptance of Robert's fierce editorial filial devotion.

The story that Abraham Lincoln had a father/son relationship with Ellsworth,Hay and Nicolay that was stronger than his relationship with Robert should be treated with extreme caution. Unlike the others Robert was away from Washington most of the time. The Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed Abraham Lincoln's letters to Robert at Harvard along with the original Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham also confided to Robert his profound disappointment in Meade's failure to aggressively pursue Lee after Gettysburg.
Tom