The Lincoln Chair- I was there!

[Houmes]

(05-16-2015 10:27 PM)historybuff22 Wrote:  On another matter, what I like to call it as being "The Postmortem Career of John Wilkes Booth," Finis Bates had purchased "booth the mummy" form the undertaker in Enid, Oklahoma in the early 1900s.

Actually, Finis Bates pulled a fast one on the Enid undertaker. First he attempted to procure the body in 1903, posing as legal representative of David E. George (AKA John St. Helen), which went nowhere. Finally, in 1920 (Bates gets credit for being persistent) he offered a partnership with the undertaker, William Penniman, using the mummy as a traveling sideshow exhibit. That was the last time Penniman ever saw the mummy. It was Finis Bates, not his wife, who offered the mummy to Henry Ford and was turned down. When Finis died in 1923, his wife wanted to wash her hands of the mummy (good idea--the mummy was embalmed four times, and the body was a toxic waste dump of arsenic and other chemicals) and it ended up being bought, sold, leased, kidnapped and held for ransom, and in 1928 was owned by Agnes Black. She arranged to have it "autopsied" in 1931 while it was on tour in Chicago. That's where xrays were taken of the right and left ankle which revealed no healed ankle fracture. No fracture, no John Wilkes Booth, although press releases at that time reported otherwise. Copies of the xrays were obtained by Otto Eisenschiml and exist in his files at the University of Iowa. The Fred Black files (he researched the mummy for Henry Ford) are at Oakland University in Michigan.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(05-17-2015 10:24 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Thanks Eva!
I had a replica of the Lincoln chair in my home. Unfortunately, my dogs chewed in the railings of it and ruined it. I had to scrap it. Anyway, I am the same height as Abraham Lincoln- 6' 4'' tall. I can tell you that Lincoln's head was quite visable and a prominent target for Booth.

Wow, a replica of the rocker - it never cheases to amaze me what all is available on the Lincoln market!! Where did you get it?

[JMadonna]

(05-17-2015 08:53 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Does anyone know a source for Stanton rocking in the chair in his office?

A Threat to the Republic p.143

[LincolnMan]

Great bit of history in and of itself Laurie. Thanks for sharing it!

[RJNorton]

(05-18-2015 05:44 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  

(05-17-2015 08:53 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Does anyone know a source for Stanton rocking in the chair in his office?

A Threat to the Republic p.143

Hi Jerry. Do you know where you originally read this? You do have a footnote for the chair/Stanton, but this refers to Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. It does not address the issue of Stanton having the chair in his office for over a year after the assassination. Many thanks, Jerry.

[JMadonna]

(05-19-2015 06:22 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(05-18-2015 05:44 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  

(05-17-2015 08:53 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Does anyone know a source for Stanton rocking in the chair in his office?

A Threat to the Republic p.143

Hi Jerry. Do you know where you originally read this? You do have a footnote for the chair/Stanton, but this refers to Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. It does not address the issue of Stanton having the chair in his office for over a year after the assassination. Many thanks, Jerry.

Pretty sure it was from a brochure on the history of the chair from the Henry Ford museum. I'm speculating that the original information came from Frederick Lee Black, Henry Ford's investigator for Lincoln memorabilia. The picture above is a newspaper sketch of Stanton hold up in his office to prevent it from being taken over by Andrew Johnson during the impeachment crisis. I can imagine Stanton sitting in Lincoln's chair holding off the charge.

[LincolnMan]

A Henry Ford Museum brochure that I have notes that:

"The comfortable parlor rocker in which Lincoln had been sitting the night of the attack became an unlikely symbol of Lincoln's vision and personal sacrifice. After being used as evidence in the trial of Lincoln's conspirators, the rocker languished in storage for decades until Henry Ford purchased it in 1929 for Greenfield Village...the Lincoln rocker serves as a tangible reminder not only of President Lincoln's personal tragedy but also the sacrifice he made in order to create a more perfect Union."

Another interesting note in the brochure is that Henry Ford's uncle, Barney Litogot- was a member of the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. This regiment had been especially chosen to accompany President Lincoln's remains from the Capitol Building in Springfield to Oak Ridge Cemetery.

[LincolnMan]

(05-18-2015 04:23 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(05-17-2015 10:24 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Thanks Eva!
I had a replica of the Lincoln chair in my home. Unfortunately, my dogs chewed in the railings of it and ruined it. I had to scrap it. Anyway, I am the same height as Abraham Lincoln- 6' 4'' tall. I can tell you that Lincoln's head was quite visable and a prominent target for Booth.

Wow, a replica of the rocker - it never cheases to amaze me what all is available on the Lincoln market!! Where did you get it?

It was available on a web site that no longer exists- and I have forgotten the name of it. At the time, the rockers were selling for eight hundred dollars. The dog also chewed the legs of my 1925 Victor Victrola- also completely ruined.

[LincolnMan]

Speaking of Henry Ford, I'm puzzled as to why the Henry Ford Museum declined to purchase the U.S. Grant house in Detroit. It would have made a wonderful addition to its Greenfield Village.

[Eva Elisabeth]

(05-20-2015 06:13 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(05-18-2015 04:23 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(05-17-2015 10:24 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Thanks Eva!
I had a replica of the Lincoln chair in my home. Unfortunately, my dogs chewed in the railings of it and ruined it. I had to scrap it. Anyway, I am the same height as Abraham Lincoln- 6' 4'' tall. I can tell you that Lincoln's head was quite visable and a prominent target for Booth.

Wow, a replica of the rocker - it never cheases to amaze me what all is available on the Lincoln market!! Where did you get it?

It was available on a web site that no longer exists- and I have forgotten the name of it. At the time, the rockers were selling for eight hundred dollars. The dog also chewed the legs of my 1925 Victor Victrola- also completely ruined.

Well, the dog certainly didn't know...and I actually didn't know dogs chew furniture!

[LincolnMan]

My precious dogs- they certainly didn't know. I now have three dogs. The new male puppy is named Lincoln.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Neat! What dogs are they? I have a kitty named Willi - almost like Willie Lincoln. (It's actually "Willibald", the shelter named him like that.)

[LincolnMan]

They are Catahoulas.
I love the name of your cat!

[estonensb]

(05-16-2015 01:05 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Wonderful post, Bill. Do you know if the Henry Ford Museum explains to the visitors that the dark stain on the red upholstery on the back of the chair is due to soiling from the hair pomade that was fashionable for men at the time (and not President Lincoln's blood)?

That is very interesting Roger! We were never told what the stain was from when we reviewed the assassination in school. I knew that he slumped forward after being shot, so it couldn't have been blood. I couldn't make sense of what the stain was. Now I know!

[LincolnMan]

A Henry Ford Museum docent once told me that the stains on the chair had been analyzed and there were no blood traces at all.