William Wallace Lincoln

1850 - 1862  (11 years)

• Name	William Wallace Lincoln
  Nickname	Willie
  Birth	21 Dec 1850	Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Death	20 Feb 1862	Washington, District of Columbia, USA   [1]
  Burial	Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, USA   [2]
  Person ID	I3392	Tulpehocken Genealogy
  Last Modified	7 Dec 2023

  
  

  Father	President Abraham Lincoln,   b. 12 Feb 1809, Hodgenville, LaRue County, Kentucky, USA d. 15 Apr 1865, Washington, District of Columbia, USA (Age 56 years)
  Mother	Mary Ann Todd,   b. 13 Dec 1818, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, USA d. 16 Jul 1882, Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, USA (Age 63 years)
  Marriage	4 Nov 1842	Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, USA
  Family ID	F792	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Presidential Child. He was the third child and son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Named for Mary Lincoln's brother-in-law Dr. William Wallace, he and his younger brother Thomas (Tad) were rambunctious children during the time they lived in Springfield, Illinois, as recorded by Abraham's law partner William Herndon. They turned their law office upside down, pulling the books off the shelves, while their father appeared oblivious to their behavior. After Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, the family moved into the White House the following year, and it became the children's new playground. In early 1862, he and Tad both became ill. The most likely cause of the illness was typhoid fever, which was usually contracted by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water. Tad managed to recover, but Willie's condition fluctuated from day to day. His condition worsened and he finally succumbed on February 20, 1862, at the age of 11. Both parents were deeply affected by his death. His father did not return to work for three weeks. Tad cried for nearly a month because they were very close. Mary became so distraught that Lincoln feared for her sanity. Dr. Charles Brown, who perfected of the technique of embalming, was called to the White House and prepared the remains. Willie lay in state in the Green Room, adjoining the East Room, where a private service was conducted by the pastor of The Washington New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. The Lincolns were so pleased by the preservation achieved by Dr. Brown that Willie was disinterred twice so that they could again view his remains. After Lincoln's assassination in 1865, his remains were exhumed and were placed on the Presidential funeral train with his father and interred in a temporary tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. In September 1871, when Lincoln's permanent tomb was finished at Oak Ridge Cemetery, he was placed alongside the remains of his father and his brothers Tad and Eddie. View original burial locationhere. Bio by: William Bjornstad

  
  

• Sources

  [S138] Ancestry.com, Website: Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) (Reliability: 0). [S64] Website: Find a Grave [text], https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9126/william-wallace-lincoln.