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

- 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.
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
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Related Documents and Resources:
- A Scrapbook of Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Train Trip
- The Lincoln Log for February 1861
- New York Times, “The Plot Against Mr. Lincoln’s Life,” March 4, 1861
- "The Unsuccessful Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln," Daniel Stashower
- "Saving Mr. Lincoln," a book review for The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
Lincoln's Assassination: Local and Nationial Reactions
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“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" |
Related Documents and Resources:
- Frederick Douglass' Letter to Mary Lincoln after Lincoln's Assassination
- Remembering Lincoln: A Digital Collection of Responses to His Assassination
- "The Lincoln Speeches a Mourning Nation Most Loved to Remember," Rebecca Onion
- Douglass and Lincoln: A Convergence, James Oakes