The Ridgewood Historical Society Presents : Abraham Lincoln’s signature on display at the Schoolhouse
Museum’s “The Civil War Years” Exhibit.
Among the many Civil War items currently on display at the Schoolhouse Museum is an engraving of the Lincoln family completed by J.C. Buttre in 1861 and printed in 1865. The engraving shows Abraham and Mary Lincoln with their three then-surviving sons: Robert, Willie, and Tad. Tragically, Willie passed away from typhoid fever in 1862, adding to the heartbreak his family already felt over the war and the earlier death of another son, Eddie.
Inserted into the mat beneath the engraving is a scrap of paper that reads, “The conclusion of Solicitor Whiting above is approved by me.” It is then signed “A. Lincoln, April 12, 18–.” Because the paper is torn, the exact date of the signature is unknown.However, “Solicitor Whiting” presumably refers to William Whiting, who served as solicitor of the War Department from 1862-1865, so the original document most likely dealt with a military issue.
To see the actual Lincoln signature, one of the last photo’s of Lincoln, the Ford’s Theater Playbill from the night of the assassination, and the rest of the items on display in the museum’s “Civil War Years” collection, visit the Ridgewood Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum, on East Glen Avenue. The museum is open Thursdays and Saturday 1-3pm and Sundays 2-4pm. Please visit www.ridgewoodhistoricalsociety.org. for more information
