American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Silver thimble that purportedly belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, 1 in. height (oxidization, wear). -- Heart-shaped pin cushion constructed of black velvet front and red silk on verso, gold thread adornments along perimeter and surrounding embroidered green leaves and red berries, 3.5 in. x 4 in. (some minor stains on back of pincushion, wear and loose threads particularly to the detailed work on the pincushion).

Provenance:

Abraham (1809-1865) and Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882)
Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926) married Mary E. Harlan (1846-1937)
Jessie Lincoln (1875-1948) married Warren Wallace Beckwith
Margaret (Peggy) Beckwith (1898-1975)
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith (1904-1985)
Margaret Fristoe Beckwith (1921-2009)
By descent to Lincoln Descendant and sold in Cowan's 10 December 2010 American History Auction (Lot 317, affidavit relative to artifacts issued by Cowan's enclosed)
Purchased in 2010 by Present Consignor

Descended in the family of Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, great grandson of President Abraham Lincoln, and the last of Lincoln's direct descendants. Beckwith's mother, Jessie, was one of two daughters of Robert Todd Lincoln and his wife Mary Harlan Lincoln. Robert was the only surviving son of Mary and Abraham Lincoln's four children.

Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Harlan Lincoln had three children: Mary ("Mamie"), Abraham II ("Jack"), who died at age 16 of blood poisoning and Jessie. Mamie married Charles Isham and had one son, Lincoln Isham (1892-1971) who never married, and left most of his historic possessions to the Library of Congress.

Jessie married Warren Wallace Beckwith in 1897. The couple had a daughter, Mary Lincoln Beckwith, and a son, Robert Todd Beckwith.

Mary ("Peggy") Beckwith (1898-1975) never married and died childless. She spent much of her later life as a recluse at Hildene. Her death left Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith as the last surviving direct descendant of the 16th President of the United States.

Robert Todd Lincoln ("Bud" or "Bob") Beckwith (1904-1985) married three times. His first marriage to Hazel Holland Wilson ended without issue; his second marriage to Annemarie Hoffman ended in divorce in 1976 when she was discovered to be pregnant – but apparently not by Bud Beckwith. Beckwith married again in 1979, this time to divorcee Margaret Fristoe (1901-2009). At Bud's death in 1985 the items offered here passed to Margaret, and at her death in 2009, the collection descended to her daughter from her first marriage.

Accompanied by a photocopied affidavit produced during a period when Beckwith made donations of Lincoln family materials to a number of institutions including the Illinois State Library (now the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library), the Chicago Historical Society (now the Chicago History Center), the New York Historical Society, and others. The remaining material is associated only through oral tradition. Without further concrete documentation, it is impossible to ascertain whether the property belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, Mary Harlan Lincoln or other descendants. Given the documented personal wealth and civic largesse of Bud Beckwith, he had little monetary reason to fabricate provenance. 

[With:] Late 19th-century Cincinnati collar button in 14K yellow gold with a gold scalloped edge and gilouche enameling work with a "C" over a "C". Engraved on verso, Cincinnati 1897. Measures .625 inch in diameter, weight, 1.2 dwt.

Provenance:  Previously sold as Lot 294 in Cowan's Auctions June 11, 2010, sale featuring property descended in the family of Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, great grandson of President Abraham Lincoln, and the last of Lincoln's direct descendants.