Grace Bedell

Who was Grace Bedell?

Grace Greenwood Bedell Billings was an American woman, notable as the person who, as an eleven-year-old, influenced Abraham Lincoln to grow his famous beard.

On October 15, 1860, a few weeks before Lincoln was elected President of the United States, Grace Bedell sent him a letter from Westfield, New York, urging him to grow a beard to improve his appearance. Lincoln responded in a letter on October 19, 1860, making no promises. However, within a month, he grew a full beard. He later met with her.

This anecdote became a popular children's story following Lincoln's assassination. A statue depicting a meeting between Lincoln and Bedell is located in the center of the village of Westfield, at the intersection of US 20 and NY 394. Seen here on Google Street View

To mark the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the events surrounding the letter, Mark Esslinger and Eric Burdett produced a short film starring Lana Esslinger as Grace Bedell.

Bedell later married a Union veteran and moved to Delphos, Kansas, where she died in 1936.