HENDERSON, John (1826-1913). Autograph letter signed ("J.B. Henderson") presumably to Emily Pillsbury Burke. Washington, D.C., 28 February 1862.

3 pp. on bifolium; 8 x 5 in. (203 x 127 mm). Binder's thread along central fold; creasing from old folds.

LINCOLN MOURNS THE DEATH OF HIS 11-YEAR-OLD SON WILLIE.

In part: "You are aware that for some weeks, sickness in the President's family, prevented any satisfactory interview with him and since the death of his son, I have learned that he was oppressed with grief and was indeed much indisposed to be annoyed with business, such as could be awarded at the time. Therefore all business that I designed to submit to him, has been held back..." With an autograph note at end by E.P. Burke, presumably Emily Pillsbury Burke (1814-87), a New England educator: "Please return this: as I have it filed, with other letters on the subject. E.P. Burke."

Lincoln's 11-year-old son, William Wallace Lincoln, died from typhoid fever on 20 February 1862. A private tragedy during one of the most critical periods of the war, Willie's death devastated the Lincoln household, sending Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, into a prolonged state of mourning. Upon his son’s death, Lincoln is reported to have said, "He was too good for this earth...but then we loved him so." (Donald, Lincoln, p. 336). For months following Willie's death, Lincoln was sometimes overcome with grief, often shutting himself away in a room so that he could weep alone.

John Henderson was a U.S. Senator from Missouri, remembered as the co-author and co-sponsor of the Thirteenth Amendment that prohibited slavery in the United States. On 11 January 1864, Henderson presented Senate Joint Resolution 16 to abolish slavery in the United States, which was ratified by the states on 18 December 1865.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation

This lot is located in Chicago.