Originally published in 1942 and now reprinted for the first time, They Knew Lincoln is a classic in African American history and Lincoln studies. Part memoir and part history, the book is an account of John E. Washington's childhood among African Americans in Washington, DC, and of the black people who knew or encountered Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln.Washington recounted stories told by his grandmother's elderly friends--stories of escaping from slavery, meeting Lincoln in the Capitol, learning of the president's assassination, and hearing ghosts at Ford's Theatre. He also mined the US government archives and researched little-known figures in Lincoln's life, including William Johnson, who accompanied Lincoln from Springfield to Washington, and William Slade, the steward in Lincoln's White House. Washington was fascinated from childhood by the question of how much African Americans themselves had shaped Lincoln's views on slavery and race, and he believed Lincoln's Haitian-born barber, William de Fleurville, was a crucial influence. Washington also extensively researched Elizabeth Keckly, the dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln, and advanced a new theory of who helped her write her controversial book, Behind the ScenesA new introduction by Kate Masur places Washington's book in its own context, explaining the contents of They Knew Lincoln in light of not only the era of emancipation and the Civil War, but also Washington's own times, when the nation's capital was a place of great opportunity and creativity for members of the African American elite. On publication, a reviewer noted that the "collection of Negro stories, memories, legends about Lincoln" seemed "to fill such an obvious gap in the material about Lincoln that one wonders why no one ever did it before." This edition brings it back to print for a twenty-first century readership that remains fascinated with Abraham Lincoln.

Editor's IntroductionForeword by the AuthorIntroduction by Carl SandburgAcknowledgmentsPrelude-- Recollections of the Ford Theater NeighborhoodPart One: Those Who Loved LincolnGrandmother-- Her Story of the Three C'sThe Beginning of the Artist-- "Booth's Annihilation"Cousin Annie-- Tells about the Keckley and Herndon BooksUncle Ben, the Preacher-- Cartoon of "Riding around the Circuit"His Stories of--King Solomon's WisdomThe Divine PreparationAunt ElizaAunt Eliza's DeathAunt Rosetta Wells-- Her Stories of Little Tad Lincoln and the White HouseUncle BuckAunt Mary Dines-- The Contraband SingerHer Stories of Lincoln's Visits to the Contraband Camp-- Their Exercises for Him and His Part in ThemOld Aunt Phobe Bias-- Her Story of the "Big Watch-Meeting" before the Emancipation ProclamationUncle Sandy-- His Story of the Ford's Theater GhostsInterlude- Slavery in the EastPart Two: Those Who Served LincolnWilliam Slade-- Confidential Messenger and FriendAunt Rosetta Wells-- White House SeamstressCornelia Mitchell-- White House CookPeter Brown-- Butler and Waiter at the White HouseWilliam Johnson-- Lincoln's First BodyguardSolomon Johnson-- Lincoln's Personal BarberPart Three: Those Who Remembered LincolnAunt Vina-- Her Home and Souvenirs of LincolnHer Description of Lincoln's FuneralAunt Elizabeth Thomas-- Heroine of Fort StevensJohn Henry Coghill-- Living Witness of Booth's Capture and DeathHer Personal StatementTom Gardiner-- How He Knew the Conspirators and Booth's PlansPersonal Statement by HimWilliam J. Ferguson-- The Only Witness of All the Phases of Lincoln's AssassinationPart Four: The Springfield RevelationWilliam de Fleurville-- Also Known as William Florville and "Billy the Barber"Part Five: Elizabeth KeckleyElizabeth Keckley--Companion and Confidante of Mrs. Lincoln"Behind the Scenes"-- Story of Mrs. Keckley's bookMary Todd Lincoln-- Love of the Negro for Lincoln's WifeAppendix