A Historical Coincidence: Teddy Roosevelt Witnessing Lincoln's Funeral

History often surprises us with unexpected connections, and one such instance involves a photograph from Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession in New York City. In the 1950s, while researching Lincoln, Stefan Lorant stumbled upon an image that showed the procession passing by the Roosevelt Mansion. Upon closer inspection, Lorant noticed two young boys in a second-story window, who turned out to be future President Teddy Roosevelt and his brother Elliot. This remarkable coincidence was confirmed by Teddy Roosevelt's wife, who recounted her own childhood memory of the event.

The discovery of this photograph is not the only intriguing find related to Lincoln from that era. In 1952, Josephine Cobb from the National Archives uncovered a glass plate negative taken by Mathew Brady at Gettysburg in 1863. This image, upon enlargement, revealed Abraham Lincoln on the speakers' stand, marking the first known photograph of him at Gettysburg, just hours before his iconic address.

These discoveries highlight the enduring fascination with the Civil War and its figures, offering new insights and connections that continue to captivate historians and the public alike.