1866: Lincoln Author and others present on the year after the War

Jason Emerson, independent historian, professional journalist, and an author on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and his family, will present Such a Baptism of Sorry: The Lincoln Family in 1866 at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jun 11 at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road in Peterboro, NY 13134. Emerson will address the status of the Lincoln family after 1865, the year of the assassination of the President and the termination of the Civil War. Emerson's book Giant in the Shadows is the definitive biography of Lincoln's oldest son, and was named Book of the Year by the Illinois State Historical Society in 2013. Emerson's book Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary History is a compilation of primary sources on the subject including letters, newspapers, and the Bellevue Place Sanitarium reports, as well as personal interviews and diaries which were involved in her insanity trial. Other previous books include The Madness of Mary Lincoln and The Dark Days of Abraham Lincoln's Widow, As Revealed by Her Own Letters. Emerson is currently writing two books: Mary Lincoln for the Ages (to be published in 2017-18) and Lincoln's Lover: Mary Lincoln in Poetry. The Lincoln author has appeared on Book TV, American History TV, and The History Channel.

Jason Emerson has worked as a National Park Service Park Ranger at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Gettysburg National Military Park, and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, and as a costumed interpreter at the Genesee County Museum in Mumford, NY. He lives in Cazenovia, NY and is currently the editor of the Cazenovia Republican newspaper. The public is encouraged to attend Emerson's program on the Lincoln's family following the first day of the 24th Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend. Admission for re-enactors, volunteers, and Saturday visitors with a hand stamp for the day is free to the program. Otherwise, adults are five dollars and students are free.