Julia Taft Bayne

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Julia Taft Bayne (1845–1933) was an American author who wrote a memoir of the Lincoln White House entitled Tad Lincoln's Father.

A daughter of Horatio Nelson Taft, an attorney and examiner in the U.S. Patent Office, Julia Bayne lived in Washington D.C. as a child and young woman. In 1861, she watched over her two brothers, who were playmates of the President Abraham Lincoln's two sons, Willie Lincoln and Tad Lincoln. When the Lincoln boys had no playmates at the White House, First Lady Mary Lincoln asked Horatio Taft's wife if she had children. Mrs. Taft asked her daughter Julia to bring 14-year-old Horatio Nelson Jr., or Bud, and 11-year-old Halsey Cook Taft, called Holly, with her to the White House. During this time, Julia Taft also became a friend to President Lincoln and his wife. After Willie died in February 20, 1862, the Taft children stopped visiting the White House.

Julia Bayne's half brother Charles Sabin Taft was one of the first physicians on the scene when President Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865. He remained with the President until his death.

[edit] Publication

In 1931, just two years before her death, Julia Bayne wrote the book Tad Lincoln's Father based on her experiences in the White House. Bayne's memoirs provide a unique glimpse into the social and family life of the Lincoln White House. In the work, she speaks of her initial fear of the towering, rough-and-tumble Lincoln, who won her over with teasing. She also discusses an emerging relationship with Mary, who had no daughters and so took particular comfort in Julia's presence.

In 2001, Tad Lincoln's Father was reprinted by Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press (ISBN: 0803261918).