Lincoln Family Friend Edward Jonas Recalls Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Background

Certain immortal words to the contrary, a house divided against itself can stand - if, that is, the house be that of Lincoln's dear Jewish friend, Abraham Jonas, who saw four of his five sons fight for the Confederacy and yet whose family not only held together, but were united in their affection for their father's foremost friend.

In 1917, Edward, the youngest Jonas son - and the only one to take up arms for the Union - recalled Lincoln to the avid Lincoln collector John E. Boos. He described in some detail Lincoln's lawyerly dress, the ease with which he conversed, and the care with which he listened, and too, what he recalled of the Lincoln-Douglas debate that took place in Jonas' hometown of Quincy...

Mr. Lincoln dressed just as all gentlemen & particularly lawyers did at that time. He wore a dark breasted frock coat & high silk hat & his clothes ...were as well cut... as clothes could be outside of a New York or London...

He was perfectly plain & easy to talk to... and as a listener my old General G.M. Dodge on whose staff I served used to say when we had anything to tell Mr. Lincoln & finished it seemed a shame that it was not more important, Mr. Lincoln was such a close listener. Yes Mr. Lincoln used to tell stories, when I happened to be present, not always funny stories but with appreciation.

The debates I attended between Mr. Lincoln and Douglas were very largely attended. The one in Quincy Illinois numbered over 25,000. In Carl Schurz' reminisces... you will find a description of the Quincy meeting with a view of the crowd & also of my father's office... Mr. Lincoln's Hd: Qtrs. Quincy was Democratic but Mr. Lincoln had quite as many friends there as Mr. Douglas &... the audiences were fairly divided.

In a postscript, Jonas speaks to the present, in the specific form of Boos himself, whose quest it was to record and collect, in the early 20th century, the eyewitness accounts of those who actually knew Lincoln. Jonas says to the then 38 year-old Boos, "I had supposed you to be a veteran of the civil war am glad to hear that life is before you." For himself he remarks, "I am 73 years young."

Boos' documentary evidence made its way into print, finally, in 2005, in Rare Personal Accounts of Abraham Lincoln. Jonas is included, albeit this particular letter, is not.

[Abraham Lincoln] Edward Jonas (the son of Lincoln friend Abraham Jonas), Autograph Letter Signed, 2 pages, quarto, New Orleans, December 3, 1917. To John E. Boos.