1. Category:
  2. Three-dimensional Objects (856)

walking stick or cane

Creator:
unknown
Location:
Illinois
Origin Date:
1860-1861
Materials:
wood
Measurements:
L:35"
Item ID:
71.2009.082.0510
Holding Institution:
Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum
Available for Viewing:
No
Category:
Three-dimensional Objects

Description

This is a dark wooden walking stick. The top of the walking stick is rounded and then tapers into the pole of the cane. The pole tapers slightly the whole way down the cane. There is a thin decorative band of wood that separates the rounded top and the pole. According to Moffett family history this cane was turned from one of the rails split by Abraham Lincoln and then carried in a Lincoln torch light parade to dramatize his reputation as a rail splitter. William T. Moffet and his family lived near the home of the Abraham Lincoln family in Springfield, Illinois. William Moffett was a member of the Illinois State Legislature when Lincoln was president. The donor's wife was a descendant of the Moffett family through which the walking stick had been handed down to her. Part of the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum.