Abraham Lincoln II

Abraham "Jack" Lincoln II (August 14, 1873 – March 5, 1890) was the second child and only son of Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Harlan Lincoln. He died in Kensington, England, at age 16, the only grandson of Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln II
Born(1873-08-14)August 14, 1873
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 1890(1890-03-05) (aged 16)
Kensington, London, England
Cause of deathblood poisoning
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Other namesJack
Jack Lincoln
Parents
Relatives

Early life

After President Lincoln's assassination, the former first family relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where Robert Todd Lincoln settled and married a U.S. senator's daughter, Mary Eunice Harlan. Abraham II was born in 1873, the second of three children, and was nicknamed "Jack".[1] His appearance and temperament were much like those of the president's fourth son, Tad.[2]

When 8 years old, his family moved to Washington, D.C., while his father was Secretary of War for four years. In 1881, Jack befriended President Garfield's son Abram, who was a year older, and they often played at the White House. Jack's family returned to Chicago in 1885.[3]

Later life
Abraham Lincoln II (top), with his sisters Mary "Mamie" Lincoln (left) and Jessie Harlan Lincoln (right) in 1889

At age 14 in October 1887, Lincoln unveiled Abraham Lincoln: The Man, an original well-received 12-foot bronze statue of his grandfather by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, at a dedication ceremony in Chicago's Lincoln Park.[4][5]

In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Robert Lincoln as Minister to the Court of St. James, and the Lincoln family moved to London. Jack was preparing for his Harvard University entrance examinations and went to Madam Passa’s school in Versailles to study French. While he was there, he had minor surgery to lance a carbuncle that had developed under his arm. The wound became infected, and Jack fell ill with blood poisoning. By mid-November 1889, his condition was critical, and the entire family moved to Versailles to be with him. Convinced that Jack would die if he remained in France, the family returned to London in January 1890, where Jack seemed to improve.

Death
Sarcophagus at Arlington National Cemetery in which Lincoln's and his parents' remains are interred

Jack's improvement was short lived. His wound refused to heal. He became increasingly exhausted and weak. On March 5, 1890, 16-year-old Jack Lincoln died. His parents and sisters were devastated. Robert Lincoln wrote to friend John Hay, "Jack was to us all that any father and mother could wish and beyond that, he seemed to realize that he had special duties before him…. I did not realize until he was gone how deeply my thoughts of the future were in him." To another friend, Robert admitted simply, "the loss is very hard to bear."

Robert accompanied his son's body to the United States, where Jack was buried in the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois. In 1930, four years after Robert's death, Mary Harlan Lincoln had her son’s body moved to lie beside his father's in Arlington National Cemetery.

References
  1. Randall, Ruth Painter (1955). Lincoln's Sons. Little, Brown & Company. p. 305. ASIN B00005W9AY.
  2. Lachman, Charles (2008). The Last Lincolns. Union Square Press. ISBN 978-1402758904.
  3. "The Short Life of Abraham Lincoln II". The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. July 28, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  4. "Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquires Saint-Gaudens 'Standing Lincoln'". Metropolitan Museum of Art. February 12, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. Volkmann, Carl. "The Standing Lincoln". Northern Illinois University. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
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