A Dried Flower from Abraham Lincoln's Bier Found in Historical Society Attic in 2018.

A single delicate dried flower that lay on Abraham Lincoln's Bier Box[1] / Catafalque[2] has been discovered in the archives of a historical society in Will County (founded on January 12, 1836) in Lockport, Illinois. At first glance, it appears to be just another dried flower, a carefully preserved memory from a wedding, prom, or similar special occasion.

A Replica of President Abraham Lincoln's First Casket.

• The original would have been crafted from solid walnut wood.
• Lining in lead to preserve the body during the long funeral procession.
• Covered in expensive black cloth for a somber and respectful appearance.
• Decorated with silver handles and studs along all sides and the cover.

A Replica of Another President Abraham Lincoln's First Casket.

 

Sandy Vasko, President of the Will County Historical Society, discovered the single white rose in January 2018 while looking through some old boxes in the attic at the Will County Historical Museum and Research Center. 

Beautifully preserved in a modest display case with a glass lid, the rose was identified by a handwritten label on the back as having performed the solemn duty of adorning the slain President's coffin when it lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 1865. According to the label note, the rose was given to Lincoln's good friend General Isham Haynie of Illinois, who gifted it to Mrs. James Elwood of Joliet.

This Rose Picture is posted as a Visual Aid.

James Gavion Elwood (1839-1917) was a Civil War veteran, former Postmaster, and Mayor of Joilet and a prominent citizen. Boxes of his belongings were donated to the Will County Historical Society in the 1970s. The 13 boxes of the Elwood collection were stashed in the building, nine in closets, four in the attic, and remained there for decades before Vasko started going through them. The rose and its all-important label were in one of them.

A pressed flower bouquet from Abraham Lincoln's bier on display at Ford's Theatre National Historic Site in Washington D.C.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The discovery of this one precious dried white rose might as well be the holy grail for the Society. "For a museum director to find this kind of incredible artifact, it is so lucky," Vasko said. "When I was touching and handling it, it was like electricity. It was just so amazing."

There are very few pictures of the multiple funerals and public viewings of the coffin that were held along the long, slow, sad journey of Lincoln's body from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. This was deliberate. Edwin McMasters Stanton, secretary to Lincoln, devastated by President Lincoln's assassination, was adamantly opposed to any hint of commercializing the horrific event. Grieving widow Mary Todd Lincoln agreed with him, and he ordered General Townsend, who was delegated to accompany the cortege, to prohibit all photographs. When he failed to do so in New York, Stanton was enraged and had every negative plate confiscated and destroyed.

The flowers themselves are sporadic. As far as we know, the only other ones are in the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site in Washington D.C., and it's not clear whether they came from the funeral in the East Room of the White House, the one in the Rotunda, or from when he lay in state the next day. This find is historically significant because it's such a rare survival, involved in an iconic tragedy in American history, and is in Illinois, President Lincoln's home state.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

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[1] Bier Box: [Pronunciation] A movable frame on which a coffin is placed before burial or is carried to the grave and remains in place during the funeral.

[2] Catafalque: [Pronunciation] A raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, used to support the deceased's casket during a Christian funeral or memorial service.