Interesting Relic

[AussieMick]

(07-11-2018 08:26 PM)BettyO Wrote:  

Quote:Interesting Relic
In 1845, Sir John Franklin of the Royal British Navy and 134 crew members set out with two ships to chart the Northwest Passage. He and his crew were never heard from again. Until their belongings began turning up on the Canadian tundra.
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, has more than 400 of the relics from the expedition, recovered by 19th-century search parties. Personal belongings, like bone combs and soap, are emotional to contemplate. A piece of uniform found beneath a skeleton in 1859 was placed in Abraham Lincoln’s coffin by a dignitary.

The Franklin Expedition is another interest of mine - fascinating story....never heard of the Lincoln angle.....

It is a fascinating story. One with questions to which, I assume, we will never have answers. Such as which dignitary, what was in his/her mind as she placed the piece, what would Mary have thought of the idea, how and when was it done, were any other items placed in the coffin.
( It seems a little presumptuous to be using someone else's coffin as a rubbish bin .... even though I'm sure that wasnt the original intention).