Mary Lincoln championed William S. Wood, impresario of the train journey from Springfield, for the post of commissioner of public buildings. She told a senator that he “would always find a very true friend in her” if he would support the pending nomination of Wood, who, she alleged, “was very popular and very worthy[.]” In March, Wood presented the First Lady with a gift of fine horses. She also urged Ward Hill Lamon to use his influence with the president to have Wood, whom she called “a clever man,” well qualified to “make an efficient Commissioner,” appointed despite Lincoln’s misgivings. David Davis, who found the appointment of Wood “incomprehensible,” was told by the president that “it would be ruinous to appoint him—ruinous to him.”
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃
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