SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A 155-year-old artifact has made its way to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
A bible given to Lincoln in 1864 at a fair in Philadelphia is now on display at the museum.
Alan Lowe, the executive director of ALPLM, says after Lincoln's assassination, his wife Mary gave the Bible to Noyce Miner.
"Reverend Miner was a family friend and a Baptist minister here in Springfield," Lowe said.
Ian Hunt, the chief of acquisitions, says the Bible has been kept in the Miner family for generations.
"Sandra and her husband were making a cross-country journey and decided to stop in Springfield and poke around and see what kind of history they could find," Hunt said. "Sandra, I believe, is the great, great granddaughter of Reverend Miner, and she said we have items the Lincolns gave to us."
The museum staff says this artifact will allow the everyday visitor to connect with Lincoln.
"It tells how he dealt with the Civil War, the death of two sons and all the depression he dealt with throughout his life," Lowe said.
According to staff, there are only a few Bibles in the world that belonged to Abraham Lincoln.
"It tells us he was a good man," Hunt said. "It tells us he was a man who was guiding our country literally through its darkest hours."
The Bible will be on display in the Treasures Gallery in the museum through the end of 2019.
