By Michael Ellison | November 27, 2025 | Reedy, WV
Ten years ago, I paid a local reporter $150 to write about a weird old desk I thought might be Tad Lincoln’s. The world yawned. In 2025, that same desk is screaming. Here’s what it’s been saying.
All I had back then was an 1850s Empire mahogany bureau with “TAD” scratched in the drawers and a faint “Charm A.?” stamp pointing to Wheeling cabinetry. The trail whispered Springfield roots, but hit a wall after the Isham and Harlan families. I drove thousands of miles and got laughed at plenty. It felt like chasing shadows.
The Faceless Void: Assassination night etched in shadow – invisible to the naked eye until forensics hit.
This year the shadows lifted. The never-before-public 2010 Hildene appraisal surfaced, confirming White House exile modifications. Then the real bombshells appeared:
"DIED ON THE 15TH APRIL 1865" – the brass rail confession.
The provenance is rock-solid through the Isham line: Mamie Lincoln Isham (Robert Todd Lincoln’s daughter) → her son Lincoln Isham (last direct descendant, d. 1971) → Vermont estate dispersal in the 1990s–2000s. Around 2010, an Isham heir quietly hands the bureau to Greg Hoover in North Canton (Hoover High community, known collector). No auction record, no deed — just local whispers. It sits with Greg until his 2013 estate sale, where I finally catch it.
That 2010 Isham-to-Hoover transfer? Total dead zone. If you’re from Stark County and remember Greg Hoover’s collection or an Isham relative moving Lincoln pieces around 2010, this is your moment. DM @TadLincoln_WV or email brianellison6986@gmail.com. Let’s close the last link.
Shallow Water Lifeline: Mary Todd & Elizabeth Keckley – same dark wood, same hidden grief.
WGA-registered documentary in the works. Smithsonian, ALPLM, and Hildene are circling. Ten years of obsession just paid off. The bureau isn’t furniture anymore. It’s Tad’s diary.
Follow the quest: @TadLincoln_WV | Back to the vault: thomastadlincoln.com