Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1930, Page 85

RS AN e THE ' SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, 1930. ‘D. C, FEBRUARY O, Lincoln’s Most Ardent Hero W orshiper Capt. Osborn -H. Oldroyd’s Collection of Most Notable Lincolniana Inspired by Devotion to Great Man W, hom He Loved but Never Met. BY KATHLEEN READ. VERY boy is a hero-worshiper, but it is doubtful if many men could be found who have devoted their entire lives to a single hero and one they had never laid eyes upon. Such is the case of 89-year-old Capt. Osborn H. Oldroyd, who recently turned over to the Government the fruits of his hero worship—his famous Lin- coln collection. : How did his young feet set out upon a path that led almost to the grave? What beacon led him on and on through the long years, causing him to tramp weary miles, make count- less sacrifices, lay aside thoughts of a career and fortune? What is the story bchind his superb collection? 4 With these questions in mind, the writer's steps turned to the house on Tenth street, in Washington, where Lincoln breathed his last and which now houses the collection. The gentle old collector extended a cordial welcome to the visitor and seemed happy to talk upon the subject which has occupied his thoughts for more than 70 years. ‘As one Iiistens to a recital covering those years the $50,000, that the Government paid for the collection appears a paltry sum, indeed. Yet one is impressed that Osborn Oldroyd's lifetime labor was fired by love alone, upon which no price can be set. Glancing at the walls and floor space, liter- ally covered with Lincolniana, the question bursts forth: “And you never knew Abra- ham Lincoin?”- Slowly the collector shook his white head, while in his eyes flamed the light of worship. “Yes, I knew him well; better, perhaps, than many, but I never saw him. Strange thing how I was cheated out of that desire of my heart. When I was serving in the Union Army, near the close of the war, my regiment was in Washington and, as we stood on Pennsylvania avenue some one called out as a carriage ap- proached us: ‘There he is! That’s Abe Lincolm!’ My heart beat fast. A haze came over my eyes. Now I was to see the man who had occupied my thoughts for four years. As the carriage neared and I raised my head to gaze upon my idol, a great truck passed between us and hid him from view. We were ordered away the next day, and it was while we were in Mem- phis celebrating the close of the war that the mews reached me that he was killed.” “Did you start this collection then?’ he was asked. THE old collector gazed out of the window '™ and across the street at the dingy front of the old Ford Theater, where Lincoln was killed. He did not answer immediately, and when he did it was as one who speaks from the other end of a long vista of time. “No; my collection was started before Lincoln was President; even before people generally thought him a great man. It was started when I first began to love him, back in 1856, when I was a lad. \ “At that time my father had a little jewelry shop in Mount Vernon, Ohio, our home, and in one corner of the roomw he allowed me to run a little newsstand. It was my custom to receive packages of newspapers, circulars and books from Pittsburgh. One day, in one of the packages, there came a little paper-backed pamphlet containing some speeches of Abra- ham Lincoln. I had heard a bit of him and opened the book out of curiosity.” Capt. Oldroyd’s eyes sought a frame above his desk, where. enshrined within, is a dingy paper-covered pamphlet. “That was the trail- blazer for all of this,” he said, with a sweeping gesture of the hand. “I could not put the book down once I had started to read it. There was something in those simple sen- tences, ringing with honesty and high pur- pose, that fired my young imagination. It spread to my heart. When at length, after re- peated calls to supper, I laid down the book, Abraham Lincoln was my friend. In my collec- tion I am leaving to young Americans the proof of that enduring love.. “From that time I began to save everything I could get my hands on that pertained to Lincoln. I wrote to the Pittsburgh dealer for other speeches and notices, and later, when he came more before the public eye, I was able to accumulate quite a number of newspaper clip- pings. Many jeered at him, some praised him —I saved them all “When I marched away to war I went up to my iittle room and carefully laid away my box of Lincolniana in the bureau drawer, All through the exciting days that followed in camp and on the battlefield the thought of my humg ble collection was with me and the determina- tion to add to it when I returned. I was able to pick up a few items during those hectic days of war. His assassination, of course, only added fuel to the flame of my worship.” Here the old collector paused to tell of his marriage and to pay a tribute of appreciation to the woman whose sympathéetic understand- ing made it possible for him to accumulate the collection. “I felt that I wanted to live close to Lin- coln’s home,” he continued, “where I might gain a sense of intimacy with the man as well as find many valuable relics, so I got a job in Springfield, I, and we moved there. Here, in the midst of Lincoin's old stamping ground, I came across relics pertaining to him on every side. But it took money to buy them; mighty little, 'tis true, for they weren’t very valuable then, but more than I could spare from my small salary and the growing demands of a family. However, many a ribbon was done When Abraham Lincoln came to Washington for his inauguration he carried the old gray shawl which Capt. Oldroyd now prizes as one of the*choicest objects in his collection. : without and many a chew of tobacco foregone that some new item might be added to the col- lection. Then there was always the precaution that must be taken to insure that nothing but genuine articles were gathered. Every time something was . offered me I would go to many different sources to verify its history. All collectors have to guard against fakes, for as soon as people know you are a collector an army of fakers appear. For instance, I have had hundreds of canes offered we which were purported to have been used by Lincoln, and only the fact that I long ago ascertained that Lincoln never carried a cane disclosed the hoax.” “What article involved the most sacrifice to obtain?” the gentle old man was asked. “Do you remember?” “It isn't likely that one would forget what one had to walk 15 miles in freezing weather Capt. Osborn H. Oldroyd before part of his famous Lincoln collection, which he recently sold to the United States Government. to procure and when it took about the last cent in the house to buy it. You see that chair over there—the one by the window? It was ‘s chair that Lincoln used in his office. It couldn’t be bought now, and I had trouble enough getting it away from its owner 50 years ago.” 'HAT Capt. Oldroyd sought upon every oc= casion not only to add to his collection, but also to add to his knowledge of Lincoln, the man, is evident from his conversation. There is perhaps no person living so well qualified to tell of the intimate, homey side of the great American as is this__hero-worshiper. ' He rented and lved in the’.lncoln homestead in Springfield, where he placed his collection upon exhibit. He tramped hundreds of miles and talked with many persons who had known Lincoln. He not only collected Lincoln relics, but Lincoln lore as well. Lincoln, so the story runs, used to walk from New Salem to Spring- fleld, a distance of 50 miles, to borrow law books, which he would read as he walked home. While residing at Springfield, Capt. Oldroyd, to determine the accuracy of the legend, walked the route accredited to Lincoln and inguired from farmer folk along the way for histcrical evidence of his hero having passed their domiciles. Around their firesides he gathesed many interesting tales of the man win .o loved humanity. ‘It was during this period that the collector came into possession of much of the Lincoln furniture—the stove upon which Mrs. Lincoln used to keep hot the meals that the absent-minded lawyer forgot and the cradle in which the Lincoln children were lulled to sleep. On those worn rockers Lincoln's great boot often rested as he assumed the role of nurse. All of these things and many, many others are parts of the great collection, now safe for all time in the hands of a grateful Government. But there were many lean years for Capt. Old- ryd before the collection was finally purchased. Even a life dream must be backed up by some= thing substantial, and back in 1893 Capt. G- royd began to realize that if his treasures were to be brought to the attention of the Govern- ment they must come to the National Capital, He had received many offers for the collectiom— from the State of Illinois, from Henry Ford and others. But to the collector there was one, and only one, suitable owner for the treasures after they passed from his hands—the United States Government. He rented the Peterson house in Washington and opened a museum, where many interesting items were added to the collection. Booth's spur, the old Lincoln Bible (Lincoln's father’s) in which the 9-year-old Abe had scrawled his name, the great woolen shawl worn by the President upon many occasions and his last bit of handwriting. Each one has a story poignant with interest, and te listen to the recital of the collector's acquisition of them is to relive history. He touched a bit of writing which reads: “No pass is necessary now te Continged on Twenty-recsnd Page