John Carroll Power (September 19, 1819 – January 11, 1894) was an American historian who served as the first custodian of the
tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, the
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
, at
Oak Ridge Cemetery
Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is here, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Thus, it is the seco ...
in
Springfield, Illinois, from its opening in 1874 to his death in 1894.
Biography
Power was born near
Flemingsburg, Kentucky
Flemingsburg is a home rule-class city in Fleming County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 2,658 at the 2010 census, down from 3,010 at the 2000 census. It is the seat of Fleming County.
Geography
Flemingsburg is located no ...
, into a struggling farm family. After failed attempts at working the land in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, Power gave up farming and moved to Springfield, Lincoln's long-time hometown, where he took up writing on the history of the city and
Sangamon County
Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Sangamon County is included in the S ...
, as well as on the life of Lincoln. He married Sarah A. Harris in her native town of
Aurora, Indiana
Aurora is a city in Center Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,750 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Aurora is located at (39.058551, -84.906351).
According to the 2010 census, Aurora has a total area of , of wh ...
on May 14, 1845, and remained married to her until her death in 1891; they had no children.
On October 28, 1874, the day before it opened to the public, the Lincoln Monument Association named Power the first custodian of Lincoln's tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Power maintained a collection of Lincoln relics in the Memorial Hall (now the entrance vestibule in the modern tomb) and often gave guided tours of the tomb.
The attempted theft and the Guard of Honor
In 1876, as the nation celebrated its
centennial
{{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation)
A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years.
Notable events
Notable centennial events at ...
, a gang of counterfeiters based out of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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concocted a plan to
steal Lincoln's body from the tomb and hold it hostage in exchange for a pardon for their imprisoned engraver and a cash reward. On the morning of November 7,
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
detective
Patrick D. Tyrrell, who had learned of the plot, asked Power to assist in stopping it. That afternoon, two of the plotters visited the tomb and received the guided tour from Power, and that night Power and the detectives hid in the Memorial Hall to prevent the theft.
On February 12, 1880, the "Lincoln Guard of Honor" was formed, with Power as secretary, for public ceremonies at Lincoln's tomb and protection of the remains of the Lincoln and his family.
Later life and death
Power wrote an account of the plot to steal Lincoln's body, as well as a history of the services of the Guard of Honor, in 1890. He died on January 11, 1894, after a stroke. He was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery next to his wife, Sarah, who had died three years earlier; his gravestone notes that he "was on duty the night of Nov. 7, 1876 when ghouls attempted to steal the body of President Lincoln".
[Craughwell, p. 205]
Works
*
The Rise and Progress of Sunday Schools: A Biography of Robert Raikes and William Fox' (1863)
*
History of Springfield, Illinois: Its Attractions as a Home and Advantages for Business, Manufacturing, Etc.' (1871)
*
Abraham Lincoln: His Life, Public Services, Death and Great Funeral Cortege; With a History and Description of the National Lincoln Monument' (1875)
*
History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois' (1876)
*
History of an Attempt to Steal the Body of Abraham Lincoln (Late President of the United States of America) Including a History of the Lincoln Guard of Honor, with Eight Years Lincoln Memorial Services' (1890)
Notes
References
* Craughwell, Thomas J. ''Stealing Lincoln's Body''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, John Carroll
Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois
1819 births
1894 deaths
People from Springfield, Illinois
19th-century American writers
People from Flemingsburg, Kentucky