William Stoddard

Who was William Stoddard?

William Osborn Stoddard was an American author, inventor, and assistant secretary to Abraham Lincoln during his first term.

Stoddard was born at Homer, Cortland Co., New York. His parents were Prentice S. and Sarah Stoddard. Stoddard attended the University of Rochester, where he graduated cum laude. On 25 Jul 1870 Stoddard married Susan Eagleson Cooper; they had five children. Stoddard died in Madison, New Jersey.

Stoddard's father was a bookseller, and Stoddard worked in his bookshop while growing up. After graduation, Stoddard was employed in an "editorial position" in 1857 at the Daily Ledger; by 1858 he had become editor and proprietor of the Central Illinois Gazette, in Champaign, Illinois.

Stoddard knew Lincoln, worked hard for his election, and received a government appointment. He first served as a clerk in the Interior Department. On July 15, 1861, he was appointed "Secretary to the President to sign land patents." After a brief period of service in the Army, Stoddard became Assistant private secretary to Lincoln and "one of three people doing all the White House clerical work during the early Lincoln administration." Preparation of a digest of newspaper articles was one of his original responsibilities; it was stopped because, according to Stoddard, "Mr. Lincoln never found time to spend an hour upon laborious condensations." He personally made the first copy of the draft Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862.