GAR Museum Is Asked To Allow Lincoln DNA Testing
According to documentation within the frame the material is part of the pillowcase placed under President Lincoln’s head at the Peterson House where he was carried after being shot. Several weeks ago a cardiologist and Lincoln student, Dr. John Sotos, approached the museum’s officers with a request to remove the strip of the pillowcase for DNA testing. Dr. Sotos wanted to test the material to determine if Abraham Lincoln suffered from a form of cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B. Two annotations accompany the swatch. The first annotation was written by Herman Faber, a hospital steward and medical illustrator sent by Surgeon General Joseph Barnes to sketch the room where Lincoln died. Faber wrote in part: “I found Mrs. Peters [Petersen] removing the blood stained linens from the bed on which the President had died, obtained from her a pillowcase with the blood and brain matter of which this is a remnant.” The second annotation is signed by Gen. St. Clair Mulholland who wrote: “A bit of the pillowcase on which Abraham Lincoln died, stained with blood and brains – Presented to Meade Post No. 1, G.A.R., (signed) Jan. 18th, 1897.” As one of many hundreds of artifacts in this wonderful Civil War museum tucked away in Northeast Philadelphia, this little strip of history received scant notice. It was often even overshadowed by many of the more prominent relics in the museum’s collection. What Dr. Sotos viewed as a rather straightforward request quickly became a matter of intense debate both within the museum and the Philadelphia community at large. The argument became one of ethics and morality, as well as practicality. Many questions were raised for the consideration of the museum’s board of directors. Among them were: if the testing would do harm the small artifact; what effect the testing would have on presidential history; what the moral questions of testing the DNA of a deceased president were; Also, if it was not the emphatic wish of Robert Lincoln that his father’s memory not be disturbed; and, if any conclusions drawn from the results of DNA testing really matter now. Museum board members were literally inundated with comments, both positive and negative. In a May 13 interview Eric Schmincke, President of the G.A.R. Civil War Museum and Library, and Hugh Boyle, a local Lincoln scholar and museum board member, said the museum board “refused to be rushed” into making a decision about the testing. Schmincke said their first objective “is to assure the preservation of the artifact itself.” The mission of the board is “to safeguard the legacy of the collection assembled by the Civil War veterans of the G.A.R.” The board has to be absolutely certain that any testing would maintain the integrity of the artifact and that it would be preserved without damage or deterioration. The board also wishes to assure, if any testing is done, that the results will be used solely for the purposes of the historical record, and not for the benefit of any specific group or individual. In their deliberations, board members consulted with five nationally prominent historians concerning their views of the testing and the impact of the results on history. In addition, Boyle noted that it is possible that the DNA found on the Lincoln pillowcase strip could be contaminated. The pillowcase had, at the least, been handled by Mrs. Petersen, Hospital Steward Faber and General Mulholland. It is plausible that over the years others may have held the piece of pillowcase as well. “At this time,” said Schmincke, “the board has agreed to investigate possible DNA testing procedures utilizing the services of an independent, nationally recognized company.” Once an assessment of the testing process and its direct effect on the integrity of the artifact is completed, the board will consider its next steps. Until then no further consideration will be given to requests for the testing or analysis of the artifact. The strip of the Lincoln pillowcase has been placed in a secure location. The museum’s history dates back to 1892 when the surviving Civil War veterans of Post 2 of the Grand Army of the Republic dedicated a grand meeting hall located in center city Philadelphia. Post 2 was one of the most prominent GAR posts in the United States. Its members included many of the Philadelphia social and business elite, as well as members from around the country. The new meeting hall was truly magnificent having cost a then- astounding sum of $20,000 for renovations. The hall was filled with artifacts, relics and memorabilia of the war, including statuettes by the eminent sculptor John Rogers and many paintings of prominent generals including Grant and Pennsylvanians Meade, Reynolds and Hartranft. As the veterans passed from the scene, the hall became the meeting place for their descendants, the Sons of Union Veterans. However, their numbers also diminished and by the late 1950s they were unable to maintain this celebrated edifice. In 1958 they left the building, which was torn down in the early 1960s. Through the efforts of a small group of Sons and their descendants, some of the incomparable and historic items from the grand hall were saved and taken to the Ruan House, a then 160-year-old mansion that the Sons purchased in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. The artifacts remained locked away until a new group of the descendants revised the charter of the original corporation, the “Philadelphia Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.” Their goal was to maintain the collection and create a museum for the public. The members of the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library worked tirelessly to improve the building and create programs that would bring in the public. Information about visiting the museum can be obtained by calling (215) 289-6484. Herb Kaufman is a former member of the board of directors of the museum.
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