The Lincoln Room

Boardman-Smith Funeral Home boasts an incredibly rich history that includes significant connections to many members of the Lincoln Family, including President Abraham Lincoln.

The oldest funeral home in Springfield, Boardman-Smith was originally founded in 1848 and has a remarkable story that includes significant connections to many members of the Lincoln Family, including President Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, his children, and his grandchildren. Known services provided to the Lincoln Family include the following:

May 1865: Thomas C. Smith was called upon to assist in the preparation, movement, and burial of President Lincoln.
December 21, 1865: Smith was called upon again to assist in moving President Lincoln and son, Willie, to a temporary vault, while construction of Lincoln’s Tomb continued at Oak Ridge Cemetery.
September 19, 1871: Smith was responsible for helping to move President Lincoln and son, Willie, to the permanent Tomb and placing Lincoln’s coffin in the marble sarcophagus.
July 1882: Seventeen years after President Lincoln’s death, Boardman- Smith was called upon again to provide funeral and burial services for Abraham Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.
May 1913: The funeral home, now under the direction of Thomas C. Smith’s sons, Thomas Jr. and William, was responsible for disinterring President Lincoln’s grandson, Abraham Lincoln II, from the tomb and preparing his bronze casket for transport to Arlington National Cemetery where his father, Robert T. Lincoln, would be buried upon his death.
May 1930: Responsible for the disinterment of Mary Todd Lincoln and three of her sons (Eddie, Willie, and Tad), so that the tomb could undergo reconstruction due to water damage and rust.

Click here to learn more about the disinterment of President Lincoln’s grandson and about the rebuilding of Lincoln’s Tomb.

Day Book for Mary Todd Lincoln’s Funeral

In 2008, Virgil Davis, a Springfield, IL funeral director and historian, discovered the “Day Ledger Book” of Abraham Lincoln’s funeral home, today known as Boardman-Smith Funeral Home.

In that same archive, Chris Butler, President of Boardman-Smith, uncovered a ledger containing Mary Todd Lincoln’s funeral arrangement from July 16, 1882.

This original book shows what Mary Todd Lincoln and family requested for her funeral—which includes her clothing, a four-horse drawn hearse, 16 carriages (limousines) for family members, and personal items to be placed in her casket.

The Butler Family & Associates of Boardman-Smith Funeral Home are pleased to provide the community with a public display of these and other Lincoln Family funeral historical items.