Sarah Davis (1814-1879)

“I have felt rather worn for a day or two – and the dreadful news from Washington has not steadied my nerves.  We can hardly realize that it is true, so suddenly it has fallen on our ears.  Robert Lincoln telegraphed your father yesterday to come on at once and look after the affairs of his father, and to night he expects to start for Washington – and may be gone some days.  I feel reluctant to have him go, and yet cannot refuse the family of Mr. Lincoln in this hour of trial and anguish. […] I am constantly reminded of the bloody scenes of the French Revolution – and feel that we are again plunged in a sea of darkness just as we thought the day was breaking.  May God in Mercy remove the clouds that surround us.” - Sarah Davis on Lincoln's assassination
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  • Following their marriage, Sarah and David returned to Bloomington in early 1839 where Davis had been working
  • Gave birth to seven children, only two survived to adulthood (George Perrin Davis and Sallie Davis)
  • Although Sarah disliked politics, she supported and nurtured her husband’s ambitions and fulfilled her role as a wife and a woman in polite society.
  • The couple wrote numerous letters to each other during their long separations (Davis was gone on the Circuit and as a Supreme Court Justice) reflecting a deep, mutual affection.
  • In the fall of 1850 following the death of the Davis’s fourth child, Lucy, Sarah and their son George accompanied Davis on his Circuit tour.  
                  - Sarah rode with David, while George traveled with Lincoln.

Lincoln's Whistle-Stop Trip to Washington (1861)

“I cannot tell you how anxious I have been for your safety – So many plots to injure Mr Lincoln – I earnestly hope he will be preserved from all his enemies – and that you wil [sic] be soon at home [in] safety – I get quite nervous when I read of the troubles and dangers of the present time – and shall not cease to be anxious for you safety till I see you return.” - Letter from Sarah Davis to David Davis, March 1, 1861
  • David Davis rode on the Inaugural train with the Lincolns from Indianapolis, Indiana to Washington, D.C.
  • There were many people on the train with the Lincolns according to a scrapbook from John Hay. They included Norman Judd, Orville Browning, J.K. DuBois, E. Peck, J. Grimshaw, Robert Irwin, George Latham
  • It is on this trip that Lincoln meets Grace Bedell in Westfield, NY, who advised him to grow his beard. Lincoln commented, "acting partly upon her suggestion, I have done so; and now, if she is here, I would like to see her."
  • The trip is probably most well-known for the rumor of assassination plots and the involvement of Detective Allen Pinkerton.
                - Baltimore Assassination Plot of 1861
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Lincoln's Assassination: Local and Nationial Reactions
“I have felt rather worn for a day or two – and the dreadful news from Washington has not steadied my nerves.  We can hardly realize that it is true, so suddenly it has fallen on our ears.  Robert Lincoln telegraphed your father yesterday to come on at once and look after the affairs of his father, and to night he expects to start for Washington – and may be gone some days.  I feel reluctant to have him go, and yet cannot refuse the family of Mr. Lincoln in this hour of trial and anguish. […] I am constantly reminded of the bloody scenes of the French Revolution – and feel that we are again plunged in a sea of darkness just as we thought the day was breaking.  May God in Mercy remove the clouds that surround us.” - Sarah Davis on Lincoln's assassination
"Lines Suggested By the Assassination of our Honored President"

Great men will speak and write thy praise,
Through untold ages yet to come
The good in every land will raise
The voice of mourning o'er thy doom.

For thee a nation mourns; to day
The sounds of mirth and joy are still.
A traitor's blow had delt dismay,
And caused a nation's blood to chill.

Thine with Washington's great name
On history's storied page will shine.
Of martyrs with undying fame
In ages past the brightest thine.

Of thine no glaring fault or deed
Has tinged the country's cheek with shame:
God sent thee in her time of need
To rule with high and holy aim.

We tremble for our country's fate,
With thy controlling wisdom gone
No guides man of our "sh state"
Than thee, has richer union won.

Great men will speak and with thy praise
Through untold ages yet to come
The good in every land will raise
The voice of mourning o'er the doom.
Bloomington, ILL., Easter Sunday, 1865
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From the Pantagraph, April 19, 1865, Page 4, Column 2

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