The Lincoln Letter
1924
Arthur Morgan Chase was a known admirer of Abraham Lincoln and cheerfully noted that his wife, Grace Chase, shared Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th. Their children’s names were steeped in history and genealogy, and so it is perhaps unsurprising that their eldest son was named Eugene Lincoln Chase. Surely solicited by his father, or possibly his mother, young Eugene received a typewritten but hand-signed letter from Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), then eighty years old, in April 1924. The letter, headed “3014 N Street; Washington, D.C.”, read:
April 11, 1924.
Master Eugene Lincoln Chase,
Stevens Point,
Wisconsin.
Dear Master Chase:
I understand from your
father that you are a young man just
about old enough to begin your studies.
I hope that you will enjoy your school
days very much and that you will not
stop until you have obtained a degree
from some good university.
With many good wishes for
your future, believe me,
Sincerely yours,
Master Eugene Lincoln Chase,
Stevens Point,
Wisconsin.
Dear Master Chase:
I understand from your
father that you are a young man just
about old enough to begin your studies.
I hope that you will enjoy your school
days very much and that you will not
stop until you have obtained a degree
from some good university.
With many good wishes for
your future, believe me,
Sincerely yours,