On this 150th anniversary month of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Al Hunter is off chasing Lincoln for future stories. Here is an encore of an article from February, 2011.
Amidst all the excitement about the move to Washington, DC, at the beginning of Lincoln’s presidency, one sad task remained for the family; find a new home for their dog Fido, who had been a member of the family since 1855. Fido, a mustard colored, floppy-eared, rough-coated, dog of uncertain ancestry, often followed Lincoln around Springfield as he made his rounds. When the Lincoln’s went to market, Fido would follow closely, carrying a basket in his mouth. Often, the dog could be seen waiting patiently outside Billy the barber’s shop with the other customers’ pets while Lincoln sat for a haircut. Fido was an inside dog, and considered a horse hair sofa in the parlor as his own personal pet bed. That sofa is still in the Lincoln home today.
Lincoln hated to leave Fido behind, but the dog was terrified of fireworks, cannon fire and trains, and he decided that Fido would have a hard time dealing with the sights and sounds of big city Washington, not to mention the cross country train ride to get there. Fido was placed in the care of John Eddy Roll (1814-1901) his wife Harriet Vandyke Roll (1815-1880) and their two young sons Frank Palmer Roll (1852-1939) and John Linden Roll (1854-1943). Roll, Lincoln’s oldest friend in Springfield and a carpenter by trade, had helped remodel the Lincoln home. Roll’s boys were roughly the same age as the Lincoln boys so the transition would be easier for Fido.
The Lincolns only had a few rules for the Rolls; never scold Fido for coming into the house with muddy paws, never tie Fido up in the yard alone, always let him into the house when he scratched on the door, and allow the dog into the Rolls’ dining room at mealtimes. It seems that Fido was accustomed to being given scraps of food by everyone sitting around the table. The Lincoln boys informed the new owners, “Fido loves attention and he loves chasing his own tail.” The Lincolns gave the Rolls their horse hair sofa to make Fido feel more at home. It is because this sofa was saved for loyal Fido that we can now gaze upon it in the Lincoln parlor today. The Roll boys promised to take good care of Fido during Mr. Lincoln’s term in the White House.
By all accounts young Tad protested the dog’s transfer and begged for the dog to be transported with the family to Washington, D.C. There were some close to the President who expected to see the dog in tow with Mary and the boys when they arrived by separate trains to reunite with Mr. Lincoln in Indianapolis on his birthday, Feb. 12, 1861. Nevertheless, Mr. Lincoln wouldn’t be swayed. Lincoln witnessed how skittish the dog had been at victory celebrations after his election and knew it was the best thing for the dog.
The Lincoln boys probably never saw Fido again. However, Lincoln did have a photograph of the beloved family dog made by photographer F.W. Ingmire on the Square before leaving for the capital. Ingmire gave the Presidential Pooch the royal treatment by draping a piece of fancy material over a washstand with Fido perched nervously on top. Willie and Tad watched the proceedings but did not get into the pictures, although by looking at the photo of the fidgety canine, one gets the sense that serious little Willie was standing just out of camera shot calming the dog. Undoubtedly, Lincoln had the photo made so his boys, Willie and Tad, wouldn’t miss the mutt.
On December 27, 1863, Lincoln’s barber William Florville (Billy the barber) sent a Fido update letter to the White House; “Tell Taddy that his Dog is alive and kicking doing well. He stays mostly at John E. Rolls with his boys who are about the size now that Tad & Willy were when they left for Washington.” This note was sent after young Willie died of Typhoid in the White House in December of 1862, undoubtedly to comfort the distressed family.
Fido was still living in Springfield at the time of Lincoln’s death in April of 1865. After the tragic assassination, hundreds of out-of-town visitors, in Springfield for the funeral, naturally crowded around the only home that Lincoln ever owned in hopes of catching his shadow one last time. The Capitol remained open to mourners from as far away as St. Louis, Chicago, and points further west, all day and through the night of May 3. The doors didn’t close until noon on the day of the final funeral. Mourners looked for things to do after viewing the remains. So pilgrimages were made to landmarks associated with Lincoln throughout Springfield. His law offices were visited, as were the homes of his personal doctor, close friends, neighbors and associates.
It seemed that every visitor made their way to the Lincoln home. In an attempt to help the mourners cheer up, the Roll family brought the pet dog Fido to greet guests at the Lincoln family home, now quickly becoming known as the “Lincoln Shrine.” People flocked to touch, feed and generaly cajole the Lincoln pet, now seen as a living link to the martyred President. Fido was in good spirits that day, no doubt happy to be back in his former home, but quite probably seeking out his former master. Once again, the Lincoln family dog was taken later that same day to the photographer, who took yet another photo of the now famous dog. It must be noted that these original photos of Fido often sell for higher prices than do some photos of Lincoln himself! An original CDV of Fido can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. They were sold as souvenirs in the months after Lincoln’s death and are now much prized by collectors.
Fido wasn’t the only living animal link to Lincoln in Springfield though. Old Bob (or Old Robin as he was sometimes called) was Mr. Lincoln’s horse which had also stayed behind in Springfield. The faithful reddish-brown horse that Lincoln often rode on the circuit as a country lawyer was also brought back to the martyred president’s residence. “Old Bob” was a valued member of the family as neighbor Fred T. Dubois recalled: “Old Bob was the family horse of the Lincolns, which used to draw the family carriage, which had two seats, an open one in front and the rest of the carriage closed. Some of the family always did the driving, as Mr. Lincoln never had a coachman. He had only one man around his house, who took care of the horse, etc. Salaries were very meager at that time, and this man of all jobs wore plain clothes all the time and, as was quite customary in those days, was treated as an equal by every one.”
In the funeral procession on May 4, Old Bob played an honored role. He was led by the Rev. Harry Brown, an African-American minister who had been an occasional handyman for the Lincolns. The horse walked immediately behind the hearse wearing a mourning blanket with silver fringe under Lincoln’s personal saddle with the Great Emancipator’s boots carefully positioned backwards in the stirrups as a show of respect.
Fido outlived President Lincoln but came to a similarly tragic end when he himself was assassinated less than a year after his master’s death. Sadly, faithful Fido was killed by a drunken man in the streets of Springfield. A few weeks before he died in 1943, John Linden Roll wrote about his beloved Fido for the pages of Life Magazine, “We possessed the dog for a number of years when one day the dog, in a playful manner, put his dirty paws upon a drunken man sitting on the street curbing [who] in his drunken rage, thrust a knife into the body of poor old Fido. He was buried by loving hands. So Fido, just a poor yellow dog met the fate of his illustrious master – Assassination.”
Perhaps you find this story dated, a bit archaic and hard to relate to in today’s fast-paced society? Well, Abraham Lincoln’s choice of neighbor John Eddy Roll as guardian of the family dog was indeed a good one. You might be surprised to learn that you’ve been a residual witness to the Lincoln/Roll story in recent months without ever knowing it. On January 2, 2011 United States Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll died after being shot along with 18 others while attending an event held by U.S. Representative Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords near Tucson, Arizona. Judge Roll was a direct descendent of the same family the Lincoln’s knew and trusted so well 150 years ago.
And Old Bob, Lincoln’s horse? Well, I’ve read and researched Lincoln for as long as I can remember but have never found out what happened to the Lincoln family horse. I have gone so far as to travel to Springfield, Illinois to ask several famed authors and Lincoln scholars about the final disposition of both Fido and Old Bob, with no success. I prefer to think that after the sad spectacle of Lincoln’s funeral subsided, Old Bob was taken out to pasture to roam in the wild strawberry fields that once surrounded Springfield for the remainder of his days, and, as Lincoln himself often remarked, “Stain his legs with Strawberries in the spirit of the season.” I think Abe would prefer that ending too.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
