Another Lincoln Romance?

[Gene C]

The Newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association, "For the People" Winter 2020,
has an article by Guy Fraker titled "Lincoln's Curious String of New Salem Romances"

https://abrahamlincolnassociation.org/wp...0-2021.pdf page 7


In the article it mentions " Recent research by Kathy Bazzoli of the
Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga, California, suggests a subsequent romance
with another New Salem charmer, Susan Reid. It provides evidence of the
extended reach of the story of Lincoln’s early life.......

"The courtship that ensued included horseback rides, and attendance at
church and Sunday school together. She noted Lincoln’s honesty and lack of guile, but said he was “homely,” “very awkward,” and “very bashful.” She
also called him a “queer fellow,” because he was so “superstitious.” Lincoln proposed to her twice, but she quickly rejected both.

So what's the source of this interesting detail of Lincoln's personal life?
An interview with Susan by the San Francisco Call in May 22, 1897.
She was 82 by that time. The only other newspaper that picked up the news was the Iowa Register on June 4. No other newspaper seemed to reprint the story.
(I'm wrong about the other newspapers - see Steve's post)

And according to Guy Fraker..."Contemporary evidence confirms that
they did know each other. Lincoln and Boyce had fought side-by-side in the
Black Hawk War. Later they joined in signing petitions related to roads in the
area. In July 1837, Lincoln represented Susan’s father, Louis Reed (sic), in the
case of Reed v. Fleming, in which Reed sought money damages. The case ended in a hung jury. Both Susan Boyce and William P. Boyce were listed as witnesses
(Susan had married William on June 18, 1837)
Mr. Fraker does not reveal what the contemporary evidence is.

I was skeptical about this part of his article. How could this important detail about Lincoln's life have remained hidden for so long. So I turned to our New Salem expert, the author of "New Salem - A History of Lincoln's Alma Mater" written by forum member Joe Di Cola. Joe noticed she's not mentioned in 'Herndon's Informants", nor is she mentioned in Benjamin Thomas's book "Lincoln's New Salem." Joe didn't mention her or her parents either in his book.

I checked "Lincoln Day By Day" by William Baringer for July, 1837 and the law case of Reed vs Fleming isn't mentioned. That may not mean much, but it would have been nice had it been listed.

I also noticed the newspaper refers to Susan 'Reid', but Gut Fraker refers to her father as Louis 'Reed (sic)'

So I've gone from being skeptical to highly skeptical.
I'm still open minded to listen to something that might verify the newspaper's story interview.
Maybe someone can find the newspaper article that the researcher Kathy Bazzoli found, the one Guy Fraker refers to.
What's your opinion on this?

[RJNorton]

I found her mentioned in Michael Burlingame's The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln.

The author writes, "A young New Salem woman, Susan Reid, stated that when Lincoln courted her in 1836 he seemed to be 'a very queer fellow': 'very bashful,' 'very awkward,' and 'very homely'."

Professor Burlingame's source is the same interview you mentioned, Gene.

The fact that she wasn't interviewed about this until 1897 makes her story somewhat questionable in my mind. For example, she could have contacted Herndon in 1865-1866.

[Steve Whitlock]

Gene,

I just checked IL and CA for mention of Susan Reid. There were a couple more CA papers with the same 19 May 1897 story I have here. The 23 May 1897 San Francisco Call story also includes a drawing of Susan. The 30 Jun 1897 clip from the Dixon Evening Telegraph, IL has more information.

The SF Call story was too hard to read so I made 2 clippings.

I just added one more clipping with a little more insight. The same story was in a 28 May 1897 Oregon newspaper, but I already had this one saved. The Mrs Susan (Reid) Boyce newsclips are all over the place in 1897, even in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, so the information was pretty common knowledge, after May 1897. Not finding anything earlier with a quick check. I did see a clip that indicated Susan died in Napa Co., CA in 1900.

Final 2 clips added. One is Feb 1897 notification for Widow of Indian Wars pension, which she mentions in the other clips. Also, 7 Dec 1900 is notice of probate for her estate. She had some small real estate transactions in Calistoga, Napa, CA during the 1880's, but I didn't save them.

[RJNorton]

She says Lincoln went to Springfield to borrow law books from William Seward. If that represents the quality of her memory, then I have trouble believing her Lincoln reminiscences.

[AussieMick]

If you can persevere through the 10 question survey , this link gives some further information . To save you time, I cut and paste it below.
https://napavalleyregister.com/community...3703b.html

( There was a Boyce family in Sangamon https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/documents/D208349)

"This is the story of Susan Reid Boyce and her hand-stitched quilt made nearly 150 years ago, soon to be on permanent display at the Sharpsteen Museum. History connects us to the past as Susan’s story will show you, from Kentucky to Calistoga, from the making of her quilt to its donation to the museum. During our research, we arrived at a variety of interesting commonalities between Susan, her personal history, her quilt, and Sam Brannan’s Calistoga.

Susan A. Reid was born in 1815, in Mason County, Kentucky, to a well-to-do farmer and his wife. By 1836, Susan and her family were living in Illinois on the Sangamon River where she would experience her first serious courtship. Susan’s father, Lewis, had befriended a young man with whom he felt a political kinship. According to Susan, “They often talked politics by the hour.” This young man was Abraham Lincoln.

In the late spring of that year, Susan and her family had been invited to the home of a neighbor, a Mr. Able, for a day’s social. There were many young people in attendance that afternoon, including Mr. Lincoln. It became evident after a time that Mr. Lincoln’s attention was focused more on Susan than anyone else. Thus began their courtship culminating in a proposal of marriage.

“In those days there were no buggies to speak of, and the way young folks courted very often was to go out on horseback. Mr. Lincoln often took me out horseback riding, and though he was not as ardent a wooer as I’ve seen since he kept his case going pretty lively and pressed me very hard for an answer.”


Marty Schottenheimer, NFL coach with 200 wins, dies at 77
Alas, Susan did not love Mr. Lincoln. She refused his proposal and chose to marry another. Susan and William P. Boyce were married in 1839 in Petersburgh, Illinois. (Coincidentally, William was also a friend of Lincoln’s. He had enlisted in the Third Regiment of Illinois Volunteers and took part, alongside Lincoln, in the Black Hawk Wars of 1832.)

By 1850, Susan and William and their three children had begun their journey west first settling in Texas. Following the lure of gold and silver mining, they next lived in Hangtown (now Placerville). Their final relocation would be Calistoga, initially purchasing property in Knights Valley in 1866. Two years later, they moved into Calistoga proper where William had been elected to the office of constable and held the office of deputy sheriff for three consecutive terms.

Both Susan Reid Boyce and William Boyce are buried at Pioneer Cemetery. Susan passed in 1907, but the exact year of death for William is unknown, only that it was many years prior to 1897. Susan lived out her days in Calistoga with her widowed sister, Augusta Reid Benedict.

Now we start connecting to the quilt. This past December, the museum received an email message from a woman, Diane Zagar Gandara, living in Napa. This message asked if the museum had any information regarding Susan Reid Boyce. “I have a quilt in my possession made by Susan Reid Boyce and was wondering if you had any interest?” You can imagine our reaction! This project was handled by board member Bev Barnes, who has brought this acquisition home. (I realize we are supposed to be somewhat mature women, but there was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down on this one.)



The quilt was made in the “Touching Star” pattern as early as 1880. It was passed down to Susan’s daughter Mary L. Boyce McCready, then again passed onto Mary’s daughter Laurence McCready Pittman (Susan’s granddaughter). Approximately six months before Laurence’s death in 1978, confident this family heirloom would be in good hands, she gifted the quilt to her good friend Dorothy “Dotty” Zagar, Diane Gandara’s stepmother and founder of the Santa Rosa Quilt Guild. Dotty stored this quilt for 35 years before she herself passed way in 2013. Upon the death of Gandara’s father last year, Dotty’s entire collection of 63 quilts was passed into Diane’s possession.

As Diane looked carefully and closely at the many quilts, one in particular caught her eye. It was different from the rest, and obviously very old. Turning it over, there was a label attached written by Dotty with the quilt’s history and the name of its maker, Susan Reid Boyce. This sparked Diane’s curiosity and she began researching only to find the rich history attached to this piece. She was also able to locate a descendant of Susan Boyce, a great-great-granddaughter, Diane McBain, living in Washington State. Diane Gandara contacted McBain. They discussed the need for a safe and permanent resting place for the quilt, a place where it can be enjoyed by others and its history shared and appreciated. They decided together the best home for the quilt would be the Sharpsteen Museum."

[Gene C]

Thanks for posting the news articles and extra information.

[Steve]

Mr. Fraker is wrong about William P. Boyce and Lincoln serving together during the Black Hawk War (besides the fact they were both veterans of the war). According to the Widow's Pension index card, Boyce was a sergeant in Capt. Gideon Simpson's company:

   

Simpson's company was in the 1st Regiment of Illinois volunteers. Capt Abraham Lincoln's company was in the 4th Regiment. During his second enlistment during the war Lincoln was a private in Elijah Iles company, which if I understand the book in the link below, was in the 2nd Regiment (but for some reason isn't explicitly state in the list of regiment captains)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49402/49...htm#i174_2

Here is William P. Boyce's Find A Grave page:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9512...tman-boyce

[Steve Whitlock]

(02-11-2021 03:46 AM)Steve Wrote:  Mr. Fraker is wrong about William P. Boyce and Lincoln serving together during the Black Hawk War (besides the fact they were both veterans of the war). According to the Widow's Pension index card, Boyce was a sergeant in Capt. Gideon Simpson's company:



Simpson's company was in the 1st Regiment of Illinois volunteers. Capt Abraham Lincoln's company was in the 4th Regiment. During his second enlistment during the war Lincoln was a private in Elijah Iles company, which if I understand the book in the link below, was in the 2nd Regiment (but for some reason isn't explicitly state in the list of regiment captains)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49402/49...htm#i174_2

Here is William P. Boyce's Find A Grave page:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9512...tman-boyce

Here is the attached W.P. Boyce obit 18 Sep 1885, Fri, Pg3, Napa County Reporter, CA.

Susan A. Boyce's Find A Grave and gravestone shows a 1907 death; however, there was a 1900 probate for her estate. I don't know which is correct.

Susan A Reid Boyce
Birth 1813
Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky, USA
Death 1907 (aged 93–94)
Calistoga, Napa County, California, USA
Burial
Calistoga Pioneer Cemetery
Calistoga, Napa County, California, USA
Plot Benedict family plot
Memorial ID 23328908 · View Source
Daughter of Lewis C. Reid

Wife of:
William Putman Boyce, married 1839 in St Clair Co, IL

News article published in "The San Francisco Call" dated May 23 1897, entitled: "Abraham Lincoln's Lost Love" A Story of the Woman who was his first sweetheart. Mrs. Susan Reid Boyce of Calistoga tells of the courtship of 1836. Susan Reid lived in New Salem, Illinois on the Sangamon River and was courted by Abraham Lincoln. She later meets Mr. William P. Boyce and marries him March 14, 1839 in Petersburgh, Illinois. They move to Shullsburg, Wisconsin and then to Calistoga, Calif.
She is also mentioned in regard to their relationship in a book entitled, "The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln" (on pg 124).

Napa Valley register, page C5- Marriage was in the town of Petersburgh
Family Members
Spouse

Photo
William Putman Boyce

1804–1885

Children

Frances Virginia Boyce Cameron

1841 – unknown
William Edwin Boyce

1841 – unknown
Photo
Mary Louisa Boyce McCready

1847–1928

Flowers • 3

Plant Memorial Trees

Left by Anonymous on 24 Jun 2020

Left by Diane McBain on 17 Aug 2013
***********************************
Susan A H Reid
in the Illinois, U.S., Marriage Index, 1860-1920
Name: Susan A H Reid
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 15 Mar 1837
Marriage Place: Sangamon, Illinois, USA
Spouse Name: William T Boyce
Spouse Gender: Male