John W. Forney (1817-1881) John W. Forney was the Editor of the Philadelphia Press (started in 1857), and the Washington Chronicle (started in 1861). Originally a War Democrat, Forney was appointed as Secretary of the Senate in 1861 with the support of President Lincoln. Forney was a political chameleon and rumor-monger who liked… Abraham Lincoln’s […]

Adolphe, Marquis de Chambrun (1831-1891) Adolphe Pineton, Marquis de Chambrun, was a French attorney who had married into the Lafayette family. Chambrun was out of sympathy with the government of Napoleon III. Nevertheless, he was given an informal diplomatic role by the French minister of foreign affairs to investigate the progress of the American Civil […]

Charles A. Dana (1819-1897) Managing editor and foreign correspondent for the New York Tribune from 1847-1862, Charles A. Dana resigned in a dispute with Editor Horace Greeley. Dana served as eyes and ears of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and Lincoln in observing Grant’s command of army, starting in 1862. About his job, Dana […]

Andrew G. Curtin (1817-1894) Pennsylvania Governor (Republican, 1861-65), Andrew G. Curtin, was a determined political enemy of fellow Pennsylvanian Simon Cameron and an equally determined supporter of President Lincoln’s war efforts. Curtin was an attorney and advocate of education as secretary of the Commonwealth. He lost the 1854 Senate… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Francis Carpenter (1830-1900) Francis Carpenter was the New York State portrait painter who worked on “Emancipation Proclamation” while living at the White House for six months, beginning in February 1864, having first met Mr. Lincoln on February 6. He also painted a family portrait of the Lincolns and their three sons around a table – […]

Noah Brooks (1830-1903) Noah Brooks was a journalist and frequent visitor to the White House. He became a friend of President Lincoln in Illinois in 1856 before moving to California in 1859. He came to Washington as a correspondent for the Sacramento Union in 1862 after his wife died in childbirth. There, his friendship with […]

Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) “The Wizard of the Lobby.” “The Dictator.” “My Lord Thurlow.” New York State Whig and Republican leader allied personally and politically with William Seward against the “Albany Regency” of Martin Van Buren and William Marcy. Editor of Albany Evening Journal which he founded in 1830 and a prototype… Abraham Lincoln’s White House […]

Elmer Ellsworth (1837-1861) Colonel of Zouaves, Elmer Ellsworth was killed while taking down a Confederate flag in Alexandria, Virginia. Ellsworth was a Chicagoan who was a close friend of President Lincoln’s family and accompanied him on his pre-inaugural trip to Washington. He moved into the White House and played regularly with the Lincoln… Abraham Lincoln’s […]

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) Black abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was an early critic of President Lincoln. Douglass became an admirer of President Lincoln after the Emancipation Proclamation and helped the Union Army recruit black troops. In August of 1863, Douglass went to President Lincoln to urge… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Family Library The family sitting room and library in the center of the South side of the second floor was the center of Mrs. Lincoln’s life at the White House. But President Lincoln did not get there as much as Mrs. Lincoln would have liked. Shortly after the 1864 elections, Mrs. Lincoln wrote a friend: […]