A letter written by Abraham Lincoln and a Bible that belonged to his cousin will be part of a special display at the Chadwick Library at Iowa Wesleyan College during the month of February.

The letter is on loan from the Mt. Pleasant Public Library. The Lincoln exhibit is part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

Lincoln wrote the letter to thank Harriet Snedeker of Jerseyville, Illinois, for a box of peaches that she sent to him. Harriet Snedeker was married to Samuel Snedeker, a Lincoln supporter whose home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Snedeker farmed and raised fruit trees on his farm in Jersey County, Ill.

"People send the presidents food all the time, more historically than they do now," Conwell noted.

"Mrs. Snedeker's daughter, Catherine (Snedeker Hill), actually ended up marrying and living here in Mt. Pleasant," said Joy Conwell, special collections associate at the college's Chadwick Library. "In fact, Mrs. Snedeker ends up dying here in Mt. Pleasant [in 1883], although they bury her back in Illinois.

"And so the letter came through inheritance here. Catherine Snedeker married W.R. Hill. Their daughter is Hallie (Hill) Ott." Some of the history surrounding the letter after this point is poorly written, Conwell said.

"It ends up that Roberta McCoid [received the letter]," Conwell said. Roberta McCoid was the mother to Dave and Robbie McCoid. Robbie McCoid died at age 5 of pneumonia.

"Roberta's parents had established a long tradition with the Jefferson County Library of donating books and memorabilia, Very tied to the concept of free public libraries. Roberta also had a great love for the free public library system. And if you go to the free public library here in Mt. Pleasant, many of the children's books are donated in memory of Robbie McCoid. That's a memorial that has been established and has been going on for 50 years. And it has been funded for 50 years," Conwell said.

For more, see our Feb. 2 print edition.