Eagle staff report
Cazenovia historian Jason Emerson used to be a staple on the Abraham Lincoln lecture circuit, having published five books within five years about Abraham, his wife and his oldest son, and speaking at venues across the U.S. But for the past four years Emerson has slowed down his historical output, having only authored some articles and book chapters and been an expert on a handful of national television shows. Within the past two months, however, Emerson has signed two new book contracts with university presses, been approached to appear on a Smithsonian Channel documentary and, perhaps most exciting of all, the movie option rights for his biography of Robert Todd Lincoln have been purchased by a Hollywood producer.
“This is a lot to all happen at once, definitely, but I am pleased about it all,” Emerson said. “The movie option is especially exciting. Many books get movie options, and only a few really get made, but you never know, maybe mine will be one of the few.”
Emerson, who is also the editor of the Cazenovia Republican and Eagle Bulletin newspapers, has been studying and writing about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and his family for more than 20 years. His fascination with the Lincolns began when he worked as a National Park Service park ranger at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Illinois, and the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania in the 1990s.
Emerson’s first book, The Madness of Mary Lincoln, was published in 2007 by Southern Illinois University Press. It was named Book of the Year by the Illinois State Historical Society, was picked up by both the Book of the Month and History Book of the Month clubs and is currently in its fifth printing. Since then, Emerson has published two additional books about Mary Lincoln, one about Abraham Lincoln and a biography of Robert T. Lincoln, the oldest Lincoln son.
Emerson has spoken to audiences across the country, including at the Library of Congress, the National Archives and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; he has also appeared as a historical expert on multiple television programs on channels such as The History Channel, H2, CNBC and Book TV.
Emerson’s two upcoming books are both about Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife. The first, “Mary Lincoln for the Ages: An Analytical Bibliography,” to be published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2017, will explore the historiography of Mary, her place as a historical figure on her own and within her husband’s legacy, and offer a bibliography of more than 400 writings about Mary in all genres over the past 150 years.
Emerson’s second book, “Lincoln’s Lover: Mary Lincoln in Poetry,” to be published by Kent State University Press in 2017, is a compilation of poetry written by, for and about Mary Lincoln from 1840 to 2011. Each poem will be introduced with historical and poetic contexts, as well as brief information about the poets themselves, who, in many cases, are even more interesting as their poems.
For example, George Moses Horton, whose poem “Mrs. Lincoln’s Lamentation,” is included in Emerson’s book, was the first black man to publish a book in the south while he was still a slave. Unable to write, Horton composed poems in his head and recited them aloud before receiving the help of a white woman who wrote his poetry down and helped him publish his first book. He spent 68 years as a slave, before gaining his freedom in 1866.
Emerson has also been approached about being an expert on an upcoming Smithsonian Channel documentary on Abraham Lincoln and the technology of the Civil War. Emerson, author of the book, “Lincoln the Inventor,” was specifically asked to discuss Abraham Lincoln’s fostering of the use of hot air balloons by the Army and Lincoln’s general interest in technology which culminated into his very own invention and patent. To this day, Lincoln remains the only U.S. president in history to hold a patent.
Most recently, Emerson heard from his publisher, Southern Illinois University Press, that a Hollywood writer/producer has asked to contract for the movie option to Emerson’s 2012 book, “Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln.”
Robert Lincoln, the oldest of the Lincolns’ four sons and the only one to live to adulthood, was a great man in his own right, despite living in his father’s shadow, according to Emerson. Robert Lincoln was a Chicago attorney, secretary of war under President Garfield, minister to Great Britain under President Harrison, president of the Pullman Car Company, the keeper of his father’s papers and legacy and a self-made multi-millionaire. He died in 1926 at the age of 82.
“Robert’s life was certainly long enough and important enough to be the subject of its own biopic film,” Emerson said. “I would love to see it actually come to fruition.”
Emerson will present a talk titled, “Such a baptism of sorrows: The Lincoln Family in 1866,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 11, at the Smithfield Community Center as part of the Peterboro Civil War Weekend. 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.
The public is encouraged to attend Emerson’s program on 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.
For more information about Civil War Weekend, visit PeterboroNY.org. More information about Emerson’s history writings can be found on his website at jasonemerson.com.
