Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln

[Buckeye Bill]

Robert Todd Lincoln passed away on this day in 1926. Robert was the eldest son of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was an American lawyer, U.S. Army officer (American Civil War), businessman and politician. Robert was at the White House when his father was assassinated. He was feet away in the train station when President James Garfield was assassinated. He was outside the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, when President William McKinley was assassinated. Robert is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

* Did you know Robert Todd Lincoln attended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrender to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant at the McLean House on April 9th, 1865 at Appomattox, Virginia?

 

[Kurtlg]

I recommend "Giant in the Shadows" , a biography of him written by Jason Emerson

 

[jackt62]

His summer home at Hildene, Vermont is well worth a visit!

 

[huskerblitz]

I have always thought the actor Bruce McGill looked just like Robert Lincoln.

 

[JackADriscoll]

Could you imagine growing up in all that? He was a success in his own right.

 

[frontrank2]

He was an officer on Grant's staff.

 

[lupaglupa]

His summer home at Hildene, Vermont is well worth a visit!

@Gary Morgan, @NH Civil War Gal, and I did a trip there a few years back. It's a lovely home and very interesting. There's a thread of our trip somewhere.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

@Gary Morgan, @NH Civil War Gal, and I did a trip there a few years back. It's a lovely home and very interesting. There's a thread of our trip somewhere.

Hildene, the Robert Todd Lincoln home in Manchester, Vermont | Traveler's Companion - Visit Historic Sites

@Gary Morgan , @NH Civil War Gal, and I met up in Manchester, Vermont to tour the summer home of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's only surviving child, Robert Todd Lincoln. Hildene, as the house is known, was built as a summer home by Robert in 1905. By the Robert had had a successful career as...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

My comment- he looks more like a Todd than a Lincoln.

It is difficult to grow up in the shadow of a famous parent, and his father's status was the very highest for many Americans.

 

[John Hartwell]

It was probably sometime in 1864 or early in 1865 (he could never recall the exact date) that Robert Lincoln was passing through the railroad station at Jersey City, NJ. As he was exiting his car, the whole train lurched, and Robert slipped and nearly fell off the platform, between the cars. It was a dangerous situation. At the last moment a strong arm reached down, and dragged him to safety. The man who had likely saved his life was actor Edwin Booth, brother of his father's future assassin.

Lincoln recognized Booth, but it was only months later that the actor learned the identity of the man he had helped.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

It was sometime in 1864 or early in 1865 (he could never recall the exact date) that Robert Lincoln was passing through the railroad station at Jersey City, NJ. As he was exiting his car, the whole train lurched, and Robert slipped and nearly fell off the platform, between the cars. It was a dangerous situation. At the last moment a strong arm reached down, and dragged him to safety. The man who had likely saved his life was actor Edwin Booth, brother of his father's future assassin.

Lincoln recognized Booth, but it was only months later that the actor learned the identity of the man he had helped.

He led a very fascinating life!

The Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. Obviously, Robert is not buried in this tomb but he is recognized in the family section. I highly recommend a tour to the Lincoln sites in Springfield.

 

[Library Lady]

Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas J. Craughwell is a fascinating book, not just about the plot itself but also about all the difficulties involved in getting the tomb to the state it is in above. I heartily agree that the Lincoln sites in Springfield - his home, his tomb and the old statehouse - are well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Stealing Lincoln’s Body — Harvard University Press

On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to...

www.hup.harvard.edu

 

[LetUsHavePeace]

R. T. Lincoln was a committed advocate of his father's tariff policy. After Grant became too sick to serve as President of the Association for the Protection of American Industries in 1883, R. T. Lincoln was asked to lead the successor organization, the American Protective Tariff League. He declined to be the public leader, as he did consistently throughout his life; but he was a tariff man until the day he died. He never forgave Albert Beveridge for betraying his father's legacy in promoting "free trade" (sic). When Beveridge asked to have the same access to his fathers' personal papers that had been granted to Hay and Nicolay, R. T. Lincoln refused.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas J. Craughwell is a fascinating book, not just about the plot itself but also about all the difficulties involved in getting the tomb to the state it is in above. I heartily agree that the Lincoln sites in Springfield - his home, his tomb and the old statehouse - are well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Stealing Lincoln’s Body — Harvard University Press

On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to...

www.hup.harvard.edu

Great Book!

 

[Bill Mountjoy]

R T Lincoln had a son, who died in Virginia several years ago (I forget the exact date). HE had no offspring.

 

[huskerblitz]

R T Lincoln had a son, who died in Virginia several years ago (I forget the exact date). HE had no offspring.

That was Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith who died in 1985 with no children and was the last direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln. He's actually a grandson of Robert Todd Lincoln.

 

[Desolu64]

I don't envy him--it's never easy to be the child of a famous person, particularly when that person is as gigantic a figure as Lincoln.