CANTON: Two days before his assassination in 1865, Abraham Lincoln wrote an $800 check, payable to “self.”
Was he, perhaps, paying off some of his wife’s steep financial debts? One can only speculate.
The William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton showed off the Lincoln check Thursday morning, along with about 70 others signed by American presidents, in unveiling an exhibit it will host through Feb. 28.
The exhibit is presented by Huntington Bank, which had the checks framed after an employee discovered them in a vault in 2011.
A director of Union Trust Bank originally owned the collection. Union Trust became Commerce Bank, which Huntington Bank acquired in 1983.
“We are delighted to partner with the museum to exhibit these checks for public view during Presidents Week,” said William Shivers, president of the Akron/Canton area Huntington Banks.
The collection includes a check from founding father George Washington written only six months before his death in 1799. Thomas Jefferson signed a 1793 check as U.S. secretary of state. William McKinley signed a check to the American Security and Trust Co. in 1898 as president of the United States.
Other presidents represented are John Quincy Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Benjamin Harrison, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
“Each check is a snapshot of the president’s life,” said Bill Eiler of Huntington Bank, “and some of these checks were probably delivered on horseback.”
The collection recently was featured in the Wall Street Journal and has attracted public attention in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and other cities.
“We hope schoolchildren will visit to see this unique piece of presidential history,” said Joyce Yut, executive director of the McKinley museum. “We’ll have lots of special activities for the youngsters on Monday, Presidents Day.”
The museum is at 800 McKinley Monument Drive NW. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (over 60) and $6 for students.
Also on exhibit in the Keller Gallery at the museum, That’s Entertainment! takes a look back at Stark County amusements from the past, including Meyers Lake, Mother Gooseland, theaters, opera houses and parades. This exhibit will remain on view through May 27.
