It's hard to imagine Abraham Lincoln without his beard. It's on the penny, the five-dollar bill, and countless portraits. But for most of his life, Lincoln had no beard at all. So why did a 51-year-old presidential candidate suddenly decide to grow one?
The answer is a letter from an 11-year-old girl named Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York. In October 1860, just weeks before the election, she wrote to Lincoln suggesting that whiskers would improve his looks. He wrote back making no promises. But within about a month, he had started growing a full beard, and he became the first U.S. president to wear one.
A Picture That Needed Help
Years later, Grace explained how it happened. Her father, a staunch Republican, came home from a fair with a picture of Lincoln and his running mate, Hannibal Hamlin. Looking at Lincoln's thin, deeply lined face, she told her mother that he would look better with whiskers, and that she meant to write and tell him so.
Her letter, dated October 15, 1860, is wonderfully honest. "You would look a great deal better for your face is so thin," she wrote. "All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President." She even promised to work on her four brothers, some of whom she hoped to win over. Along the way, she admired the rail fence drawn around his picture and bragged about her nine-week-old baby sister.
Lincoln Writes Back
Remarkably, the busy candidate answered her on October 19. He told her he had no daughters, only three sons. Then he raised a polite doubt about the whiskers: since he had never worn any, he asked, wouldn't people call it "a silly affectation" if he started now?
Despite that hesitation, he soon let his beard grow. According to the story, the next time he saw his barber, William Florville, he announced, "Billy, let's give them a chance to grow."
A Meeting on the Train Platform
By the time Lincoln set out by train from Illinois to Washington for his inauguration in February 1861, he had a full beard. The route passed through Westfield, where thousands gathered to see the president-elect. Lincoln asked to meet Grace Bedell by name.
A New York newspaper described how her father led her through the crowd and Lincoln stooped down to kiss her. Grace later recalled that he sat with her on the edge of the platform and said, "Gracie, look at my whiskers. I have been growing them for you." She added, "I never saw him again."
What Happened to Grace
The story didn't end there. In 1864, at 15, Grace wrote to Lincoln again, this time asking for help getting a job with the Treasury so she could support her family, whose fortunes had fallen. That second letter wasn't rediscovered until 2007.
She later married George Billings, a Union Army veteran, and moved to Delphos, Kansas. She died in 1936, two days before her 88th birthday. After Lincoln's assassination, her story became a popular children's tale, and today a statue of the two of them stands in the center of Westfield.
It's a lovely reminder that a single sincere letter can matter. One little girl with an opinion and a pencil helped create one of the most recognizable faces in American history.
