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James R.B. Van Cleave Collection of Lincoln Centenary Letters

15 Items Full Collection Description

The digitized content of the James R.B. Van Cleave Lincoln Centenary Letters consists of letters written to the Lincoln Centennial Association from 1907-1911, primarily relating to the centenary of Lincoln’s birth, which occurred in 1909.

The Lincoln Centennial Association (now the Abraham Lincoln Association) was formed in Springfield, Illinois, in 1908, to facilitate the national ceremony of the centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 1909. James R.B. Van Cleave (1853-1931) was a life member of the Association. He served as Secretary of the Publicity Committee and was a member of the Committee on Souvenirs and Printing. For the centennial, Van Cleave was tasked to gather reminiscences from those who knew Lincoln personally or professionally.

The digitized content contains letters written to James R.B. Van Cleave describing the artifacts that they were donating to the Lincoln Centenary, or their personal memories of meeting Abraham Lincoln.

The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the James R.B. Van Cleave Lincoln Centenary Letters (MS 1104) The collection was completely digitized in 2023. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.