Nearly 150 years after their great-great-grandfather Gideon Welles served as secretary of the Navy for President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, his heirs are locked in a fierce battle over the possession or existence of artifacts that include a rare rifle fired by Lincoln.
The battle between the Welles and Brainard branches of the family began in attics in several eastern Connecticut homes and is now raging in a Rockville courtroom and in the tiny probate court in Mansfield. There, some relatives are trying the unusual tactic of asking to reopen a 59-year-old probate case.
At stake are priceless historical documents, such as an unused ticket connected to the Gettysburg Address and personal notes from Lincoln to Welles, one of the president's closest confidants, as well as a cane carved out of wood from Fort Sumter.
The battle is tearing the family apart, with threats to report each other to the IRS for not listing income from the sale of artifacts, and accusations of family treason over an anonymous letter mailed to town officials in eastern Connecticut.
John A. Lupton, associate director/associate editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.: "Gideon Welles was one of Lincoln's closest confidants during the Civil War period, and I would presume that there would be pretty interesting new items there. The fact that they would be associated with a member of Lincoln's Cabinet makes them even more valuable, and that's probably why there is such a family fight going on."
Full Article and Source:
Gideon Welles' Heirs Battle Over Lincoln Artifacts
The battle between the Welles and Brainard branches of the family began in attics in several eastern Connecticut homes and is now raging in a Rockville courtroom and in the tiny probate court in Mansfield. There, some relatives are trying the unusual tactic of asking to reopen a 59-year-old probate case.
At stake are priceless historical documents, such as an unused ticket connected to the Gettysburg Address and personal notes from Lincoln to Welles, one of the president's closest confidants, as well as a cane carved out of wood from Fort Sumter.
The battle is tearing the family apart, with threats to report each other to the IRS for not listing income from the sale of artifacts, and accusations of family treason over an anonymous letter mailed to town officials in eastern Connecticut.
John A. Lupton, associate director/associate editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.: "Gideon Welles was one of Lincoln's closest confidants during the Civil War period, and I would presume that there would be pretty interesting new items there. The fact that they would be associated with a member of Lincoln's Cabinet makes them even more valuable, and that's probably why there is such a family fight going on."
Full Article and Source:
Gideon Welles' Heirs Battle Over Lincoln Artifacts
3 comments:
What a shame. And the lesson learned here is these fights - justified or not - tear families apart.
Is it worth that?
They could compromise and give the artifacts to the Smithsonian???
Lincoln wouldn't like this one bit.
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