Abraham Lincoln II
Abraham Lincoln II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 14, 1873 |
| Died | March 5, 1890 (aged 16) |
| Cause of death | blood poisoning |
| Resting place | originally the Lincoln Tomb (1890–1930), Arlington National Cemetery section 31 (May 27, 1930 – present) |
| Other names | "Jack" |
| Known for | being a namesake and grandson of President Lincoln |
Abraham "Jack" Lincoln II (August 14, 1873 – March 5, 1890), was the middle of three children of Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Eunice Harlan, and the only grandson of Abraham Lincoln. Jack and his sisters were described as ‘bright, natural, unpretentious children, well liked by the people of the town’.[1] It was claimed that Jack was much like President Lincoln.[2]
Illness and death
At the age of 16, Jack was in Versailles to study French in preparation for an entrance examination for Harvard University.[2] His family was in England while his father served as the last U.S. Minister to Great Britain, before the position was retitled "Ambassador".[3] Jack fell ill with blood poisoning after infection set in following surgery in Paris to lance a carbuncle that had formed under his arm.[2] He was moved from France to England on January 16, 1890, where he was to have been seen by the noted physician Thomas John MacLagan.[2] A second surgery was performed on February 27, 1890, though it gave no relief and Jack died six days later at the family residence.[2]
After Jack's death, his father wrote, "We had a long & most anxious struggle and at times had hopes of saving our boy. It would have been done if it had depended only on his own marvelous pluck & patience now that the end has come, there is a great blank in our future lives & an affliction not to be measured."[4]
Burial
Jack was originally buried in the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois; his mother later decided on burial at Arlington National Cemetery and Jack's remains were re-interred there in May 1930 near those of his father who had died four years prior.[5][6] Jack's name was not added to his father's memorial until 1976.[4]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Biography and Family Line of the Lincolns".
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e Schwartz, Thomas F. (2007). "A Death in the Family : Abraham Lincoln II "Jack" (1873–1890)" (PDF). For the People. Abraham Lincoln Association. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Robert Lincoln". part of an Abraham Lincoln Research Site. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Patterson, Michael Robert. "Abraham Lincoln II, Military Son". Arlington National Cemetery website. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ Abraham Lincoln's Tomb. Abraham Lincoln Online. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ Hill, Nancy. "The Lincoln Landscape: The Transformation of the Lincoln Tomb" Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Vol. 27, No. 1, Winter 2006, p. 39. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
References
- Robert Todd Lincoln Tomb, Abraham Lincoln Online
- Mary Todd Lincoln's Ancestors, Abraham Lincoln Discovery
External links
- Picture History, photo of Jack on December 25, 1889, "bed-bound and dying"