September 05, 2009: Barry Cauchon
Hi all: Recently I was contacted by Ernestine G. who lives in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. A few years ago Ernestine was at a flea market and found a framed photo of what she thought looked like a picture of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin. At the time of this writing only one authenticated photograph of Abraham Lincoln in death exists. It was taken on April 24, 1865 by New York photographer Jeremiah Gurney, Jr. He took the photo in New York City during the 13-day Lincoln Train funeral tour from Washington D.C. to Springfield, IL. During this trip, the train traveled through 180 towns making stops at 11 cities where public viewings of the body occurred. It was during the New York stop that the now famous photo was taken.
If Ernestine’s photo is authentic, it would have had to have been taken sometime between the first viewing of Lincoln’s body in the White House (displayed just days after the assassination) to possibly the last viewing in Springfield, IL on May 03, 1865. After the New York incident however, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered his officers to not allow any photos to be taken. Assuming that this order was followed, the window of opportunity to take a photo of the deceased President is even slimmer therefore making the time line sometime between April 16 – 24. Most experts dismiss photos of this kind as faked, misidentified or outright fraudulent.
Because the man in Ernestine’s photo closely resembled that of the President (and much more so than most I’ve seen in the past), I asked Mr. Harold Holzer for his opinion. He stated that he believes this is not not an image of President Lincoln but rather of a “Man with a beard”.
Ernestine respectfully listened to Mr. Holzer’s opinion but still believes in the possibility exists that this an image of the President. After all, it is a picture that can make you look twice and then think “Hmmm, this sure looks like …”
Thank you so much Ernestine for sharing your ‘treasure’ with us. One never knows what they may have in their possession and it’s always great to share these with everyone.
If you have ‘treasures in your attic’, basement, bank vault or home, please feel free to share them with me and if appropriate, I’ll gladly post them here for everyone to view.
Best
Barry
Samuel Arnold – Lincoln assassination conspirator, found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He served just four years before being parolled in 1869. Born September 06, 1834. Age 175.
