The Lincoln Door In Wellsboro Pa

 
This door on the Shearer House in Wellsboro PA was a gift from Abraham Lincoln.

"This door was given by Abraham Lincoln to Dr. and Mrs. Shearer when they bought this house in 1858. They were close friends with Lincoln when they lived in Springfield, Illinois, and he gave them the door off of another building. This is a site on the self guided Walking Tour of Historic Wellsboro, and brochures are found at the Chamber of Commerce at 114 Main Street. The door is on private property but is easily seen from the sidewalk.

The Wellsboro Walking Tour can be found online in pdf form:
https://wellsboropa.com/images/WalkingTour%202020.pdf

It seems impossible, as if this must be some urban legend..  but the Shearer's friendship with the Lincoln's is quite well documented.  The story of the door..  well, I could find no proof that it came from the Lincoln's, but I  also found nothing to disprove the story nor to make me think it's not true.  

 Hannah Shearer was the "Truly Attached Friend" of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Mrs. Hannah Rathburn, a widow, married Dr Shearer on June 1 1858.  The Shearers resided in a home across from the Lincolns, in Springfield Illinois, for less than a year before moving to Pennsylvania.

"Dr. John Henry Shearer served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Mexican War, and graduated from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He practiced medicine in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, for several years, before moving to Springfield, Illinois, in November, 1856. He married Mrs. Hannah Stanton (Miner) Rathbun, on June 1, 1858. They lived across the street from and were friends with Abraham and Mary (Todd) Lincoln. Dr. Shearer accompanied the future President on one, or more, trips during the campaign against Stephen A. Douglas, in 1858. When his health was threatened by tuberculosis, Dr. Shearer and his family moved to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania." :  Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 1951, Spring, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp 7-8

There are at least ten letters saved and documented, written by Mary Todd Lincoln to Mrs. John Henry Shearer.  For more than 20 years, Mrs. Shearer remained one of Mrs. Lincoln's closest friends.

Read this letter in its entirety here:

http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/digital/collection/p16089coll38/id/3821/rec/1

Ten of  Mrs Lincoln'd Letters to Mrs Shearer  can be found in:

Your Truly Attached Friend, Mary Lincoln by Charles V. Darrin

Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984)

Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring, 1951), pp. 7-25 (19 pages)

Published By: University of Illinois Press

When the Lincoln's left Springfield for Washington in February of 1861, the Shearers joined them at Philadelphia, then traveled on to Harrisburg together, where Lincoln delivered two addresses.  

The Shearers son, William Lincoln Shearer, was named for the Lincoln's 3rd son, Willie. 

Letter from Robert Todd Lincoln, to Mr & Mrs. Shearer, December 1890:

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READ MORE

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Hannah Stanton Miner married first to Edward Rathbun, with whom she had two sons, Edward and James. She married second to Dr. James Henry Shearer. She was a dear friend of Mary Todd Lincoln, having met when living in Springfield, Illinois.

Source: Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 1951, Spring, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp 7-8

Hannah died in 1879.  In 1881, Dr Shearer remarried, to Margaret Wylie.  

Dr Shearer, Hannah, William Lincoln Shearer, and Dr. Shearers second wife, Margaret Wylie Shearer, are all buried in Wellsboro Cemetery.