They knew Lincoln / John E. Washington ; with a new introduction by Kate Masur.
Washington, John E., author.; Masur, Kate, writer of introduction.; Reprint of (manifestation): Washington, John E. They knew Lincoln. 1942.
2018
E457.15 .W32 2018eb
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Title They knew Lincoln / John E. Washington ; with a new introduction by Kate Masur.
Author Washington, John E., author.
ISBN 9780190270971 (electronic book)
0190270977 (electronic book)
9780190270988 (electronic book)
0190270985 (electronic book)
9780190270964
0190270969
Published New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2018]
Language English
Description 1 online resource (lxxx, 244 pages, 20 unnumbered pages of plates pages of plates) : illustrations
Call Number E457.15 .W32 2018eb
Dewey Decimal Classification 973.7092
Note Originally published: E.P Dutton & Co., Inc., 1942.
"Originally published in 1942 and now reprinted for the first time, They Knew Lincoln is a classic in African American history and Lincoln studies. Part memoir and part history, the book is an account of John E. Washington's childhood among African Americans in Washington, DC, and of the black people who knew or encountered Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Washington recounted stories told by his grandmother's elderly friends--stories of escaping from slavery, meeting Lincoln in the capitol, learning of the president's assassination, and hearing ghosts at Ford's Theatre. He also mined the US government archives and researched little-known figures in Lincoln's life, including William Johnson, who accompanied Lincoln from Springfield to Washington, and William Slade, the steward in Lincoln's White House. Washington was fascinated from childhood by the question of how much African Americans themselves had shaped Lincoln's views on slavery and race, and he believed Lincoln's Haitian-born barber, William de Fleurville, was a crucial influence. Washington also extensively researched Elizabeth Keckly, the dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln, and advanced a new theory of who helped her write her controversial book, Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House (1868). Firm in his conviction that the history of Lincoln's presidency must include the history of African Americans, Washington sought advice and support from the white establishment and obtained an introduction to his book by writer Carl Sandburg and a preface by Lincoln scholar James G. Randall. A new introduction by Kate Masur places Washington's book in its own context, explaining the contents of They Knew Lincoln in light of not only the era of emancipation and the Civil War, but also Washington's own times, when the nation's capital was a place of great opportunity and creativity for members of the African American elite. On publication, a reviewer noted that the "collection of Negro stories, memories, legends about Lincoln" seemed "to fill such an obvious gap in the material about Lincoln that one wonders why no one ever did it before." This edition brings it back to print for a twenty-first century readership that remains fascinated with Abraham Lincoln."--Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 16, 2018).
Added Author Masur, Kate, writer of introduction.
Reprint of (manifestation): Washington, John E. They knew Lincoln. 1942.
Available in Other Form They knew Lincoln.
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Introduction by Carl Sandburg
Prelude
Recollections of the Ford Theater neighborhood
Part one: Those who loved Lincoln
Grandmother: her story of the three C's
The beginning of the artist: "Booth's annihilation"
Cousin Annie tells about the Keckley and Herndon books
Uncle Ben, the preacher: Cartoon of "Riding around the circuit" ; His stories of King Solomon's wisdom ; The divine preparation
Aunt Eliza
Aunt Eliza's death
Aunt Rosetta Wells: her stories of little Tad Lincoln and the White House
Uncle Buck
Aunt Mary Dines, the contraband singer: her stories of Lincoln's visits to the contraband camp ;Their exercises for him and his part in them
Old Aunt Phoebe Bias: her story of the "big watch-meeting" before the Emancipation Proclamation
Uncle Sandy: his story of the Ford's Theater ghosts
Interlude: slavery in the East
Part two: Those who served Lincoln
William Slade: confidential messenger and friend
Aunt Rosetta Wells: White House seamstress
Cornelia Mitchell: White House cook
Peter Brown: Butler and waiter at the White House
William Johnson: Lincoln's first bodyguard
Solomon Johnson: Lincoln's personal barber
Part three: Those who remembered Lincoln
Aunt Vina: her home and souvenirs of Lincoln ; Her description of Lincoln's funeral
Aunt Elizabeth Thomas: heroine of Fort Stevens
John Henry Coghill: living witness of Booth's capture and death ; His personal statement
Tom Gardiner: how he knew the conspirators and Booth's plans ; Personal statement by him
William J. Ferguson: the only witness of all the phases of Lincoln's assassination
Part four: The Springfield revelation
William de Fleurville: also known as William Florville and "Billy the barber"
Part five: Elizabeth Keckley
Elizabeth Keckley: companion and confidante of Mrs. Lincoln
"Behind the Scenes": story of Mrs. Keckley's book
Mary Todd Lincoln: love of the Negro for Lincoln's wife.505.

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