U.S. 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. 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, Willie's 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.
This is the original burial location. View final resting place and family links here.
This is the original burial location. View final resting place and family links here.
U.S. 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. 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, Willie's 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.
This is the original burial location. View final resting place and family links here.
This is the original burial location. View final resting place and family links here.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
Inscription
William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln
(1850-62)
Third son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln rested here from 2/24/1862 until his remains accompanied his father's to their final resting place in Springfield, Illinois, on 4/21/1865. William Thomas Carroll, Supreme Court Clerk and family friend offered Lincoln a temporary place of repose for Willie in the Carroll Family Mausoleum. The President, sad to leave him cold and alone, visited several times and had the crypt and casket opened. He was eulogized by his father, "My poor boy was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know he is much better off in Heaven, but then we loved him so…It is hard, hard to have him die."
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