Stoddard, William O. (William Osborn), -1965

William W. Stoddard was a master machinist, Steam Engineering Department, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York. He was born in 1840 in New York City, served in the Civil War, and retired from the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1920 after thirty-five years of service.

From the description of Papers, 1893-1924. (Naval War College). WorldCat record id: 757824725

William O. Stoddard Jr. was the son of another William O. Stoddard who served as Abraham Lincoln's private secretary during the Civil War. Born in New York City, Mr. Stoddard Jr. moved to Detroit in 1923. He was a former president of the Pere Marquette Rod and Gun Club and elder in the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church. William O. Stoddard Jr. died in Detroit in January 1965. In 1955, Mr. Stoddard Jr. wrote a book about his father's experiences, and was one of the few persons invited to Washington when Lincoln's letters and private documents were unsealed. William Stoddard Sr., as a 25-year-old editor of the Central Illinois Gazette, was credited with being the first to suggest to Lincoln, then an Illinois country lawyer, to run for president. Lincoln took him to Washington after his election and, while Stoddard was known as third secretary, ranking behind John G. Nicolay and John Hay, he had an office directly across the hall from Lincoln's and handled most of his confidential errands. Besides the book on his father's experiences, Mr. Stoddard Jr. also wrote five books for boys, but his vocation was the automobile industry. He invented a coated textile used in auto roofs during the early days of the industry, and in later years sold textiles for car interiors.

From the description of William Osborn Stoddard Jr. papers, circa 1878-1890. (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 299046682