Genetic Lincoln

[Steve Whitlock]

(03-30-2020 05:31 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Steve, the reason I asked was because Mary Lincoln was sitting on a chair next to Lincoln's rocker. I have seen her chair described as a "carved-back, cane-seat parlor chair." Personally, I do not think I've ever read that Lincoln's rocking chair is missing any pieces of wood, but I could be wrong on that.

Roger,

Don't be deceived by the photo. It is a very small piece that wouldn't be missed. Perhaps just a sliver. I haven't seen the original in person, so I can't state size. I'll check with Suzanne again, but I'm guessing maybe an inch in length, give or take. The piece used was the shorter of the 2 in a V formation.

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(03-30-2020 05:31 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Steve, the reason I asked was because Mary Lincoln was sitting on a chair next to Lincoln's rocker. I have seen her chair described as a "carved-back, cane-seat parlor chair." Personally, I do not think I've ever read that Lincoln's rocking chair is missing any pieces of wood, but I could be wrong on that.

Roger,

You may be on to something if that other piece in the upper right corner, that looks like wicker, is from the same chair. It obviously isn't from the same chair Abraham Lincoln sat in. I was researching people and lineages for provenance without considering which chair was involved.

From my notes there is a way to know more:

How Abraham Lincoln's assassination chair ended up in Michigan
Updated Jan 20, 2019; Posted Apr 14, 2015

“The chair has been in the Henry Ford collection ever since.

In the mid 1990s, a major conservation effort was taken on the chair. The silk fabric is fragile and was encased in a polyester sheer fabric to keep the original silk in place.

A chemical analysis of the material found three locations of blood. "But what we don't know is whose blood it is." Major Henry Rathbone was stabbed in the arm by Booth during the assassination and bled a fair amount.”
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If those blood stains are still available after the conservation effort we can answer the question posed above, "But what we don't know is whose blood it is." An mtdna study will tell whether it is Lincoln or Rathbone's blood, conclusively.