Lincoln Collection. Monuments and Memorials, 1850-1927

© The contents of this finding aid are the copyright of the University of Chicago Library

Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas and the Civil War

This collection is open for research.

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Lincoln Collection. Monuments and Memorials, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Rev. William Eleazar Barton (1861-1930) The Rev. William Eleazar Barton (1861-1930) was one of the early twentieth century's most prominent writers and lecturers on the life of Abraham Lincoln. Born in Sublette, Illinois, in the same year Lincoln assumed the presidency, Barton grew up in an environment heavily influenced by reverence for Lincoln. After pursuing undergraduate studies at Berea College in Kentucky, Barton earned his divinity degree from the Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1890. He served parishes in Tennessee, Ohio, and Massachusetts before becoming the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Oak Park, Illinois, a position he held until his retirement in 1924. Four years later, Barton accepted an appointment as lecturer at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, where he also organized and served as pastor of the Collegeside Congregational Church.

Barton's work as a writer produced a number of denominational manuals for church organization and a series of books presenting the wisdom and parables of a character he named Safed the Sage. For the last ten years of his life, however, Barton was best known to the public as a prolific author and lecturer on Abraham Lincoln. His publications about Lincoln included The Soul of Abraham Lincoln (1920), The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln (1920), The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1925), The Great and Good Man (1927), The Women Lincoln Loved (1927), and The Lincoln of the Biographers (1930).

In the course of compiling material for his writings and talks, Barton visited Lincoln sites in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois; interviewed surviving Lincoln relatives and acquaintances; and traveled as far as California and England to collect information and conduct genealogical research on the ancestry of the Lincoln family. While acquiring a large collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, manuscripts, and ephemera related to Lincoln and the Civil War era, Barton also purchased privately or at auction historical materials amassed by other Lincoln collectors such as John E. Burton and Osborn H. Oldroyd.

The Lincoln Collection Monuments and Memorials makes up the portion of the Barton Collection of Lincolniana which maintains photographs and newspaper articles detailing monuments and memorial sites relating to Lincoln. The collection also contains reproductions of places and events relating to the Civil War. The Lincoln Collection Monuments and Memorials is arranged into three series: Series I, Lincoln Monuments and Memorials, Series II, Civil War Places and Events, Series III, Oversize. The images and articles in these series form part of William E. Barton’s extensive collection of Lincolniana.

Series I, Lincoln Monuments and Memorials, consists of photographs, articles, and a map detailing various sites that relate to the life and death of Lincoln. It is divided into three subseries according to location. This series is mainly comprised of sites located in Illinois, but also includes those in Washington D.C., and Kentucky. Sites include Lincoln’s childhood home, the gravesite of his father, Thomas Lincoln, and Ford Theater, where Lincoln was fatally injured. The map is of New Salem, IL where Lincoln resided from 1831-1837. See Series III, Oversize, for additional material.

Series II, Civil War Places and Events, consists of photographs, drawings, and articles on sites and occurrences relating to the Civil War. A large portion of this series contains scrapbook photographs and captions of monuments and memorials located in Gettysburg, PA as well as sites in Virginia and Maryland. These photographs are possible remnants of a trip taken by Barton through select Civil War states during 1900. They have been kept in the order in which they were received. The newspaper clippings as well as the daily illustrated newspapers detail the dedication of various Civil War monuments, including the Soldiers’ National Monument erected in Gettysburg, PA in 1869. The postcards contain photographs of Civil War monuments, a large portion of which are of those in Gettysburg, PA. The illustrations detail various events that occurred throughout the war, including the capture of rebel congressmen, naval conquests, and the execution of prisoners. There are standard and oversize reproductions of various events and places associated with the Civil War, including Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. There is an oversize map of the United States which was featured in the Illustrated London News in 1861. See Series III, Oversize, for additional material.

Series III, Oversize, contains oversize material and is arranged by size. Included are newspaper clippings, daily illustrated newspapers, maps, and reproductions of various places and events associated with the Civil War.

Browse finding aids by topic.

• Names
  • Barton, William Eleazar
  • Lincoln, Abraham
• SubjectCollectors and collecting