Mistaken Identities Part 2 A version of this article was published in the fall 2019 edition of Manuscripts. Part I was published in the summer 2019 edition. Thoughts, suggestions, corrections and questions welcomed! I. Part I of this series discussed an intriguing exchange of letters between Mary Lincoln and powerful New York City Republican Abram Wakeman. In the letters, several people are referred to only by initials, and I have proposed that “W” was Henry Wikoff, not political heavyweight Thurlow Weed. In Part II, I argue that “E” has also been misidentified, but the case is far less straightforward. It has always been recognized that we do not have anything close to the whole story of what went down with “E,” given how cryptic the references in the letters are. While I do not think the argument for my proposed candidate is as convincing as with “W,” I hope to at least shed some light. An appraiser suggested in 1951 that the “secret” the letters held may have been worth $100,000
Mistaken Identities, Part II
Mistaken Identities, Part II
Mistaken Identities, Part II
Mistaken Identities Part 2 A version of this article was published in the fall 2019 edition of Manuscripts. Part I was published in the summer 2019 edition. Thoughts, suggestions, corrections and questions welcomed! I. Part I of this series discussed an intriguing exchange of letters between Mary Lincoln and powerful New York City Republican Abram Wakeman. In the letters, several people are referred to only by initials, and I have proposed that “W” was Henry Wikoff, not political heavyweight Thurlow Weed. In Part II, I argue that “E” has also been misidentified, but the case is far less straightforward. It has always been recognized that we do not have anything close to the whole story of what went down with “E,” given how cryptic the references in the letters are. While I do not think the argument for my proposed candidate is as convincing as with “W,” I hope to at least shed some light. An appraiser suggested in 1951 that the “secret” the letters held may have been worth $100,000