Lincoln's Last Breath

 

On April 15, 1865 at 7:22 am, President Lincoln took his last breath. At that moment, a woman, Elizabeth L.C. Dixon was holding Mary Lincoln's hand. Who was she and why was she there? Very little was known about her. But recently Elizabeth L.C. Dixon's grandson's granddaughter discovered a collection of lost family papers - letters, diaries and keepsakes that retrace this woman's friendship with the Lincolns. A friendship that began during their first days in Washington until their last. It is a sweet story of an unknown friendship between Mary Lincoln and her friend, Elizabeth L.C. Dixon, and their journey offers a glimpse into the lives of the Lincolns from a new vantage point.

The most quoted piece of Lincoln writing

Feb 8, 1846 Diary Excerpts

Diary of Elizabeth Lord Cogswell Dixon 1845-1847 was published in White House History, Issue 33. This is her entry for Feb 8, 1846. 

At the end of this post is a link to her entire diary.  

February 8, 1846

It is a most beautiful building in Washington, after the Capitol, which I do think more imposing than any I know of, certainly the most so in the country and far more so than the Capitol at Rome.

My new friend, Mr Washington, who is the chief auditor, took us over the whole building, showing us the system of accounts for all the Post Offices in the United States, which is stupendous and all written most exquisitely without a blemish also the first book of accounts in Benjamin Franklin's handwriting.

He took us into his own room which is very pleasant and up flights of marble stairs for the whole building is marble showed us the secretaries, all his inventions which turn down and form a desk, all uniform in sizes and colors, which Lord Ashburton pronounced more perfect than anything he had ever seen.

He took us into the dead letter offices where two men sit from one year's end to the other opening dead letters which become dead after about six months and after every possible inquiry.

They contain all sorts of things and three of the men found a $50 bill while we were there. One watches the other and there is no deception. The paper lady was in on the pattern of the cloth also. This little lock of hair probably sent, perhaps from a father to a child or mother to a daughter, or to a little sister. Some were quite touching, as one was from a wife to her husband with a lock of hair of each of her children and piece of her newest one with the ages and date of each lock of hair, which was all beautiful. I wish the poor little girl could have received her paper girl.

There were some things very valuable sent by a mother to her son in this country from Germany with only his initials on the package "F.B" Pensacola Florida. There was a beautiful set of ruby earrings and an elegant pin with cipher in diamonds, also some very superior rings of great beauty and values and last a daguerreotype likeness of the father and mother both agreeable looking person. It will be a "treasure trove" should they be successful in finding the owner.

We saw a great iron chest full of money collected from letters and a closet full of other articles franked or forwarded with a pigeon holes for each state, there were cookery books, pocket books, gifts of different kinds and one theatrical costume, also cheeses have at different times been sent but could hardly have a place among the antiquities. The letters that are finally pronounced defunct are opened and their contents taken out and they are torn in pieces & destroyed.

Mr. Washington then took us into the room of the Postmaster General, Cave Johnson, who is a fine venerable looking man rather the belle of the Cabinet for beauty. He is tall with silvery hair & a fine gentlemanly person. We met the assistant Postmaster General a very pleasant man and friend of Mr. Kinney's for whom he inquired. We were presented to Mr. Johnson who insisted us to sit down and we made a short call and then made his adieu.

We had a peep into Mr Brown's room who has the appointing office to do & also cutting off of the heads and then we peeped into another office of one of the clerks who had the most splendid geranium I ever saw it covered the whole window which stretched nearly from the ceiling to the floor and was very fragrant. I wonder if it was the clerk who wrote so exquisitely both are said to be characteristic of refinement.

Link to Diary of Elizabeth Dixon: 

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/introduction-to-the-transcription-of-the-washington-diary-of-elizabeth-l-c-dixon

Lincoln 150 honored

April 14-15 2015

150 years after Elizabeth L.C. Dixon
witnessed Lincoln's death

To commemorate the 150 year anniversary of the death of President Abraham Lincoln Fords Theater partnered with National Portrait Gallery and National Park Service and hosted around-the-clock public events.

The grandchildren of Elizabeth L.C. Dixon

James Dixon, Francis S. Dixon, Marguerite Dixon Clark, William Corcoran Welling

In attendance, anonymously, were the great-great grandchildren of Elizabeth L. C. Dixon. She was the close friend of Mary Lincoln, who also witnessed President Lincoln's final hours of life. After his death, it was she who brought Mary Lincoln, now a lonely widow, back to the White House alone. Mrs. Elizabeth L.C. Dixon shunned all publicity and never wished to be associated to the night Lincoln died. 

In honor of her personal strength and the loving kindness shown to Mary Lincoln throughout the tragic event, the grandchildren of her grandchildren anonymously, with no fanfare, stood among the throngs of spectators in attendance during Fords150 events. 

During the 150Lincoln commemoration the Dixon cousins assembled for private viewing of Elizabeth LC Dixon's collection of letters and Civil War relics shared for the first time in 150 years. These artifacts were preserved by grandchildren so that their grandchildren may also be given a glimpse into the lives of the Lincoln's and their personal  friendships.

Who was Elizabeth L.C. Dixon? You can read about her life in Washington by reading her diary written twenty years before the assassination. Elizabeth L. C. Dixon Washington diary 1845-47 was published in 2013 in White House History, issue 33 by great-great granddaughter, Caroline Welling Van Deusen.

Online Version: http://www.whitehousehistory.org/introduction-to-the-transcription-of-the-washington-diary-of-elizabeth-l-c-dixon

In progress: the complete transcription of Elizabeth Dixon diary 1840-41 European Honeymoon Diary to be published by Caroline Van Deusen

Images of the diary by James Welling: http://jameswelling.net/projects/10

Masterpiece by Lincoln in Connecticut

Discovered at the Wadsworth Atheneum were pages from American history

On a visit to Hartford Connecticut I stopped in to see an item my family had donated to the Wadsworth Atheneum.   Prior to my visit I emailed a copy of the acknowledgement receipt given to my family by the Wadsworth Atheneum when we made the donation. 

I found the item within the vault. Within the vault there was a safe. From within the safe came the item I had heard so much about all my life---The Greeley Letter.

I was told by my aunt it was a masterpiece, the original three page letter written August 22, 1862 by President Lincoln to New York Tribune newspaper editor, Horace Greeley. Words from these pages are iconic;

My paramount object is to save the Union and is not either to save or destroy slavery...

The historian Phillip Shaw Paludan wrote about the importance of the letter;

 If there is one document that is more often quoted than any other in the argument, debate, or conversation about Lincoln it is the letter that Lincoln wrote on August 22, 1862 to Horace Greeley.

Why is this American treasure at America's oldest art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum? 

Dr. James Clarke Welling, president of George Washington University 1871-1894 was given the letter by President Lincoln and retained the original letter his entire life. In 1880, Welling wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in North American Review stating: 

 This letter appeared for the first time in the National Intelligencer on August 23, 1862 and the letter came into my hands from the fact I was one of the editors.

In his 1880 article James Clarke Welling included a facsimile of the letter 'for editorial curiosity'.  

In 1923, Miss Elizabeth L. Dixon, on behalf of the Welling family and brother in-law, Dr. James Clarke Welling, donated this Lincoln masterpiece to the Wadsworth Atheneum. 

Miss Dixon's father, Sen James Dixon was a life member of this revered institution. Since inception in the 1840s, the Wadsworth Atheneum has served the community as both public art museum, historical society and public library. Philanthropic stewardship by the Dixon-Welling family continued over the years donating family historical treasures to the Hartford Public Library and Connecticut Historical Society. 

1863 White House Dinner with Tom Thumb

   

Invitation sent to Elizabeth LC Dixon
From the President and Mrs. Lincoln 

It was Dixon family legend that during the Civil War our great-great grandmother, Elizabeth L. C. Dixon was a close friend of President and Mrs. Lincoln.

It was only after discovering this White House invitation and other papers in the Dixon-Welling papers at Connecticut Historical Society could we dispel the family lore as fact.

This White House dinner invitation was delivered February of 1863 to Sen. James Dixon and wife Elizabeth L.C. Dixon, our great great grandparents, requesting their presence to dine with the Lincolns at the White House.

What is not obvious from the invitation is the occasion. Could it be a belated birthday celebration for President Lincoln? Quite possible given it had been a year of mourning for Mrs. Lincoln since Willy's death.

The newspapers would report a day after the festive event the small gathering was in celebration of the wedding of P.T. Barnum's famous Gen. Tom Thumb and his new bride, Lavinia Warren.

We can only wonder if Sen.and Mrs. Dixon knew in advance who the guests of honor would be that evening.  The Dixon's had been well acquainted with "teenie" Tom Thumb and PT years before.  Each had been residents of Connecticut but this wasn't the thread that bound them. This odd foursome had became intimate friends in 1840 aboard the Great Western steamship. Barnum on his way to London and the Dixon's on their way to Europe for their honeymoon tour.

An excerpt of the 1840s Honeymoon diary, Elizabeth Dixon describes Tom Thumb as: 

The pigmy dandy Tittletat Titmouse in plain homespun language, with his ringlets always in tight curl, blue embroidered cravat, diamonds and rings, but all he could do, it would "take nine of him to make a man". He used always to jump over the seat and I was expecting he would alight in the astral lamp over his head and if he had I don't know how we should ever have got him out, he was so small.

Other than that diary excerpt we know little about their associations after attended the February 1863 White House dinner. 
Found in the private collection of the Dixon family is this CDV of Mrs. Tom Thumb and her baby, given to Mrs. Dixon as a keepsake and preserved for the last 150 years as a reminder of the past and forgotten Civil War friendships.

Mrs. Tom Thumb 

For information about Tom Thumb's visit:
http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/inside.asp?ID=210&subjectID=3

1864 Influence of Mrs. Dixon

Letter From Lincoln to Gen. Grant:

Executive Mansion
Washington, March 29, 1864

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT, Army of the Potomac: Captain Kinney, of whom I spoke to you as desiring to go on your staff, is now in your camp, in company with Mrs. Senator Dixon. Mrs. Grant and I, and some others, agreed last night that I should, by this dispatch, kindly call your attention to Captain Kinney.   A. LINCOLN.

 Mrs. ELC Dixon visits nephews
Ernest L. Kinney, Nathaniel C. Kinney

General Grant replied on the same day:

Your dispatch suggesting Capt. Kinney for a staff appointment just recd. I would be glad to accommodate Capt Kinney but in the selection of staff I do not want any one whom I do not personally know to be qualified for the position assigned them.' 

Captain Nathaniel Cogswell Kinney did not get the promotion, as Mrs. Dixon and her sister, Mary C. Kinney had hoped.  From CW Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 7. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -    ‘Captain Kinney has not been positively identified. Mrs. Dixon was presumably the wife of James Dixon.’

Referring URL: http://wiki.lincolntelegrams.com/index.php?title=March_29,_1864_(2)

Lincoln's Paramount object was to save the Union

The first time in 150 years

President Lincoln's Letter to Horace Greeley

Museum Archival Prints of the original letter penned by President Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862 are available for the first time in 150 years.  

The prints are available exclusively through Caroline Welling Van Deusen, great granddaughter of letter owner, Dr. James Clarke Welling and great niece of Miss Elizabeth L. Dixon. 

In 1923 Miss Elizabeth L. Dixon donated the famous Greeley letter, on behalf of the Dixon and Welling family, to the country’s oldest public art museum, the Wadsworth Athenaeum, in Hartford, Connecticut.  

Welling family received a gift receipt from the Wadsworth Atheneum in acknowledgement of their generous donation.  As proof of provenance a copy of the Wadsworth receipt is included with each print.

Purchase details to be posted soon. 

Published Diary of Elizabeth L. C. Dixon 1845-1847

The complete transcription of Diary of Elizabeth L. C. Dixon was published in White House History, Issue 33, by White House Historical Association.

Portrait of Elizabeth L. C. Dixon
Photo credit: Elizabeth Welling Regan

Diary of Elizabeth L.C. Dixon
Transcribed and submitted for publication by Caroline Welling Van Deusen

Extracts of the Diary of Elizabeth Dixon
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/introduction-to-the-transcription-of-the-washington-diary-of-elizabeth-l-c-dixon

Journal Written During a Residence in Washington during the 29th Congress.
Commencing with the first of December 1845. Elizabeth L. C. Dixon

To order your copy:
http://shop.whitehousehistory.org/the-white-house-neighborhood-and-the-war-unseen

http://youtu.be/Tdr1DHSsrNg

Relic From Mary Lincoln

To Elizabeth Dixon in gratitude from
family of Mary Todd Lincoln

President Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln's friendship with Elizabeth L.C. Dixon is noted in White House History journal by White House Historical Association. Link to Issue 33: White House History journal authors page 

August 22, 1862 Lincoln's Letter to Horace Greeley: Editing Mr. Lincoln

On August 22, 1862 President Lincoln wrote a public letter to Horace Greeley and gave it to National Intelligencer editor, James Clarke Welling, to be published the next day in his newspaper.

President Lincoln's private secretary, John  Nicolay recalled;

On August 22, 1862 President Lincoln wrote an open letter to Horace Greeley, editor of New York Tribune. This letter, which has become famous in history, he sent to the National Intelligencer for publication.

Dr. James Clarke Welling was at that time the editor in charge, and he did what few young editors would have ventured upon. He wanted to make a change to Lincoln’s text so he immediately carried the manuscript back to the President, and suggested its omission. President Lincoln good-naturedly complied, not that he was convinced of the alleged imperfection, but because he never stubbornly resisted advice where only trifles were concerned.

Recollections of John Nicolay

Private Secretary to President Lincoln

Princeton College Bulletin
Volume VII; April, 1895

From an early age, James Clarke Welling was passionate about historical accuracy. His college thesis at Princeton was Causes of Historical Discrepancies.

In 1880 Welling made another revision to the Lincoln-Greeley letter, Aug. 22, 1862. He referred to the original letter in his possession and corrected the misprinted word from "this" union to "the" union.

1862 Lincolns Proclamation Draft Preserved

Lincoln's Proclamation
Written July 25th, 1862

The original manuscript of President Lincoln's Proclamation, written July 25, 1862 was a prelude to the Emancipation Proclamation. James C. Welling donated the manuscript to the New Jersey Committee at the 1864 Great Fair of Philadelphia. 

The manuscript was sold by lottery and the lucky bidder was Anne Hampton Brewster, who bequeathed her books, manuscripts and maps to the Library Company of Philadelphia.

The donation to The Great Central Fair
Original manuscript of the proclamation of President Lincoln
as of July 25, 1862 by James Clarke Welling, Ed, N. Intl.

Anne Hampton Brewster playfully called a social outlaw
 by friend, Genevieve. 

Anne Hampton Brewster's friend was Genevieve Welling Wigfall, daughter of James Clarke Welling. 

References: 

Anne Hampton Brewster: 19th-century Author and "Social Outlaw"

http://www.librarycompany.org/steptowardfreedom

27 Jul 1861 Lincoln Letter to MD Congressmen

Dixon-Welling Family Papers.  Within the collections at the Connecticut Historical Society are the  Dixon-Welling Family Papers containing letters and photos of the mover and shakers of the day.

This blog entry features one specific autograph manuscript letter written by President Abraham Lincoln on July 27, 1861 to Maryland members of the House of Representatives. The letter was given to James C. Welling, who during the Civil War was the managing editor of the National Intelligencer newspaper. Lincoln or his secretary forwarded Welling the original draft letter to publish in the National Intelligencer on 07 Aug 1861.

Reprint of NI 

Interesting Correspondence

We find the subjoined correspondence in the National Intelligencer of yesterday: 

House of Representatives, July 27. 

To the President of the United States: 

Sir: The undersigned beg leave to lay before you the enclosed letter of James L. Ridgley, Esq , of Baltimore county, in the State of Maryland. Mr. Ridgely gave a circumstantial account of a visit to his premises, and of a search thereof, made by a party of soldiers of the United States, professing to act by authority of tbe government, which seems to us to be very extraordinary and unnecessary. Mr. Ridgely is a distinguished citizen of Maryland, well known for his private virtues and for his uniform and consistent loyalty to the Union and the Constitution. Any statement proceeding from him is entitled to full confidence. In bringing this letter, and the facts detailed, to your notice, we avail ourselves of the occasion to express our regret that similar cases of military visitation and search, sometimes accompaned by arrest, have been permitted in Maryland, without just reason or necessity. Such visits, searches, and arrests, more than anything which has occurred, keep the minds of our people excited, and afford to the enemies of the Union means of continued agitation. We respectfully suggest the propriety of having the military restrained to acts in support of the civil authority; or, if cases arise in which the public welfare requires prompter action, then that no visit, search, or arrest be made, except upon the order of the officer in command of the district, in writing, setting forth the cause of the visit, search or arrest, and the proof upon which the order issued. 

We have the honor to be, yours, 

Edwin H. Webster, J. W. Crisfield, C. L. L. Leary, Charles B. Calvert. 

P. S. Messrs. May and Thomas are not in the city, and hence they could not be consulted

To this letter the President of the United States replied as follows Executive Mansion, July 27, 1861

Hon. Edwin H. Webster, J. W. Crisfield, C. L. L. Leary, and Charles B. Calvert. 

Gentlemen: Yours of to-day, with the enclosure from Mr. Ridgely, has been received and referred to Gen. Scott, as I knew nothing whatever of the particular case. May I beg you to consider the difficulties of my position and solicit your kind assistance in it. Our security in the seizing of arms for our destruction will amount to nothing at all if we are never to make mistakes in searching a place where there are none. I shall continue to do the very best I can to discriminate between true and false men. In the meantime, let me once more beg your assistance in allaying irritations which are unavoidable. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. 

It was in answer to the representations made by Messrs. Webster, Crisfield, Leary and Calvert, and in conformity with the suggestions they had made, that the following army order was issued by Gen. Scott, and with which our readers are already familiar:  

Headquarters of the Army, Washington, July 30, 1861. General Orders, No. 12. 

Searches of houses for aims, traitors or spies, and arrests of offenders in such matters, shall only be made in any department by the special authority of the commander thereof, except in extreme cases admitting of no delay. By command of Lieut. Gen. Scott:  E. D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General

1861 July 20 Sen. Dixon of CT witnesses Bull Run

Saturday, July 20, 1861 

Sec. Simon Cameron returns from Gen. McDowell's  headquarters at Manassas, Va., and reports orally to President on preparation of army for impending battle.

 

Sunday, July 21, 1861. President Lincoln returns to White House about 7 P.M. and learns from Sec. Seward that battle has been lost. Remains awake all night, listening to stories of senators and congressmen returning from battlefield.

1860 National Intelligencer: JC Welling editor

In 1860, Hon. William Seaton, surviving editor of the National Intelligencer

announced James C. Welling as editor of editorial content. 

Intelligencer_endorsed_by_Buchanan

Ex-President Buchanan supports National Intelligencer 
Official organ for the Administration

* Aside: Now 150 years later reading through those historical Civil War manuscripts preserved by the editor of the National Intelligencer, James Clarke Welling, it seems a bit like touching history...  so fascinating... fertile soil and seed from which this blog hath bloomed.

Dixon - Welling Life Before and After

Rose-Mount

For a glimpse back in time and estate of the family of Sen. James Dixon in Hartford  head to Hartford, Connecticut, and head west from the downtown area.

On the left side of Farmington Avenue, in what is now historical neighborhood of Asylum Hill, you will see the site where once stood Rose-Mount, the estate of Senator James Dixon, his wife, Elizabeth Lord Cogswell and their children.

The Dixons purchased the tract of 14 acres of land in 1840 and built was a large mansion, several small out-buildings and a barn. Their beautiful gardens, inspired them to name their home: Rose-Mount. Mrs. Sigourney wrote in of the the Dixon's wonderful home;

Lydia Huntley Sigourney 1791–1865
Close friend and mentor of Elizabeth L.C. Dixon

"Many of the residences on Asylum Hill are conspicuous for their elegance and grace. Among these, Rose-Mount, the seat of James Dixon, Esq., is particularly distinguished by the.extent and arrangement of its grounds. Fourteen acres, highly cultivated, are divided into lawns, gardens, and groves, and embellished with parterres of flowers, hedges, and a variety of shrubs, fruits, and forest-trees. All is found here to constitute a delightful retirement for the man of letters and of taste, where cultivated intellect may enjoy the luxuries of literature, or woo the willing muse." Scenes In My Native Land [1]

Paradise Lost  The Dixon–Welling Place

Over the years, Rose-Mount became known as the Dixon–Welling Place, daughter Clementine married James C. Welling, editor of Washington, D.C newspaper National Intelligencer and was host to many of our nation's most celebrated writers, poets, dignitaries and military leaders of the day. For more than 70 years the Dixon and Welling family lived here until 1929 when they sold the 12 acre property to the Aetna Insurance Company.

Today, the only remnants of this paradise lost are several copper beach trees on the grounds and the Dixon’s large bell that hung outside the main house to summon the gardeners.

Lost Footprints Found

Imagine you discovered Civil War relics that confirmed someone in your family witnessed the death of President Lincoln. This is precisely what happened to me.

Found within our family collection of Civil War relics are artifacts left our great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth L. C. Dixon that confirmed she witnessed that fateful night and details of her close friendship with the Lincoln's - from their first days in Washington, until their last. 

The writing and relics left by Elizabeth L. C. Dixon, preserved over generations, offer an intimate glimpse into the past, from a new vantage point. 

So, 'Why was her friendship with the Lincoln's overlooked in history?' and 'Why am I the first of her children to share this trove of Civil War treasures publicly? The answers to these questions may surprise you. 

Over the last decade, after discovering dozens and dozens of Civil War relics, papers, diaries, photographs in our family's basements, attics and historical societies it has become clear that our family has needed these 150 years to heal -- Elizabeth L. Dixon must have been an archetype for the following generations and we have had to wait until her children's children's children were grown that her relics would be found and details of her friendship with the Lincolns finally shared, publicly.

The first of Elizabeth Dixon's writings; 'The Diary of Elizabeth Dixon', 1845-47' was featured in 'White House History', Issue 33, published by the White House Historical Association. 

For details go to:

https://shop.whitehousehistory.org/products/the-white-house-neighborhood-and-the-war-unseen

Twenty years before she witnessed Lincoln's deathbed she wrote at the end of this diary;

 

" I wonder if this will be of interest in after years, for that was my intent on writing it, a giddy life but my head was not turned by it". 

A stark contrast to her words in 1865, she never could have imagined what was in store for her, but we know don't we?

Begin at the End

In the 1950's the New York Times published text of a letter, discovered in a New Jersey attic, by a woman giving her eyewitness account of President Lincoln's death.

In the letter she recounted being awoken the night of April 14, 1865 and taken by carriage to a house where Lincoln lay dying and how she comforted her friend named Mary Lincoln, staying through the night-long vigil and in the morning taking Mary Lincoln, the lonely widow, back to the White House.

The letter was written by Mrs. Elizabeth L. Dixon, my great-great grandmother. In 2000, a curious urge prompted me to follow up to confirm or dispel this supposed friendship shared by the Lincolns and my family so with little more to go on than the 1950s New York Times article I set out combing history books and online sources for articles about Lincoln. Posted on this blog are the relics and footprints discovered.