Cute Tad reference
Taken from a contemporary newspaper
On December 3, 1864, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran the above piece about the Lincolns’ youngest son, Tad. I thought it was interesting enough to share. It reads:
“Tom Lincoln, the favorite son of his Excellency the President, and well known to many of our readers by his familiar cognomen of ‘Tad,’ has been spending a few days in Philadelphia with Gustav Gumpert, Esq. He leaves for Washington this evening.”
Gumpert was a young Philadelphia merchant who somehow became very friendly with Tad. Here is a picture I found of the two of them together:
Additionally, here is one of several telegrams that survive from Tad to Gumpert:
Additionally, I recently found an auction catalogue that contains part of an unpublished letter from Mary Lincoln to Gumpert, as well as two other unpublished Mary Lincoln letters. The one to Gumpert is described as follows:
Interesting letter to W. P. Fessenden, Sect'y of the Treasury: "Sir, The President has fully endorsed the recommendation of Mr. G. Gumpert for the appointment as collector or purchasing agent for Pensacola . . . You would oblige me very much by giving this appointment . . . I would like to know what prospects he has . . . Resp. Mrs. L."