Ohio’s governor appointed Columbus resident Caroline Van Deusen to be State Liaison for the state of Ohio.
The governor’s office had contacted Caroline Van Deusen after hearing she was to give a talk before a local civic organization about her family’s friendship with the Lincolns. 
Van Deusen’s great-great grandmother was a friend of Mary Todd Lincoln and during the Civil War would visit the troops together. She also comforted the First Lady during the night of the assassination. Though her great grandmother disliked publicity can be seen in "The Death of Lincoln," an oil painting by Alonzo Chappel. She is seated directly in the center of the painting next to a weeping Mary Todd Lincoln, who kneels by her husband's side. Oddly enough, Van Deusen’s great grandfather was editor of the National Intelligencer to whom John Wilkes Booth wrote his murder confession.
Her lively presentation includes a reading of her great grandmother’s eye witness account of the night Lincoln died, family letters, journals, Lincoln memorabilia including a copy Lincoln’s famous “Greeley Letter”. Van Deusen’s family’s connection with the Lincolns will be showcased in an upcoming “Lincoln Friends” exhibit tentatively planned for late 2008.
Raised in West Simsbury, CT Caroline Van Deusen attended college in Boston, MA and New Haven, CT. Caroline Welling Van Deusen is the director of Internet services for Hatfield Auto Group, a group of 6 automotive dealerships in Columbus, OH, owned by Sonic Automotive of Charlotte, NC. She lives with her three children and husband in Grandview Heights, OH.
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/index.php
OHIO: https://www.cetconnect.org/lincolnlegacy/
“Lincoln Friends” lincolnfriends@gmail.com or visit http://www.lincolnfriends.org/ (launch April 08)
Her lively presentation includes a reading of her great grandmother’s eye witness account of the night Lincoln died, family letters, journals, Lincoln memorabilia including a copy Lincoln’s famous “Greeley Letter”. Van Deusen’s family’s connection with the Lincolns will be showcased in an upcoming “Lincoln Friends” exhibit tentatively planned for late 2008.
Raised in West Simsbury, CT Caroline Van Deusen attended college in Boston, MA and New Haven, CT. Caroline Welling Van Deusen is the director of Internet services for Hatfield Auto Group, a group of 6 automotive dealerships in Columbus, OH, owned by Sonic Automotive of Charlotte, NC. She lives with her three children and husband in Grandview Heights, OH.
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/index.php
OHIO: https://www.cetconnect.org/lincolnlegacy/
“Lincoln Friends” lincolnfriends@gmail.com or visit http://www.lincolnfriends.org/ (launch April 08)
