Harlan-Lincoln House to Host Author and Biographer C.J. King on Oct. 14

Iowa Wesleyan University and the Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House are excited to welcome professional writer and biographer, C.J. King, to campus for a special presentation entitled “The Spirited Lincoln Women.” The event will be held on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. in the Iowa Wesleyan Chapel and is open to the public. No registration is necessary. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, masks are required inside campus buildings.

King will present a talk on the Lincoln women, with a special focus on Peggy Beckwith, the great-granddaughter of Abraham and Mary Lincoln and James and Ann Harlan. Throughout her presentation, King will pose as the last female Lincoln, reflecting on the Lincoln women’s spiritual connection to Christian Science, as well as on their individual, spirited personalities, and their family and community relationships.

Her book Four Marys and a Jessie: The Story of the Lincoln Women, includes extensive research conducted in many of the places where the Lincoln women lived, including Iowa, Chicago and Springfield IL, Washington, D.C., and Manchester, VT. Copies of King's book will be available to purchase at the event. A reception and book signing opportunity will follow the presentation.

A professional writer for 40 years, King is a Vermont resident and a native of Hoosier. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Ball State University and an M.F.A. in Writing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. King has a family connection of her own to the Lincoln women; she is a distant cousin of Mary Harlan Lincoln, the President and first lady’s daughter-in-law.

Free walk-in tours of the Harlan-Lincoln House will be available from 1:00-4:00 p.m. the day of. For more information, visit https://harlanlincolnhouse.org/ or email hlhouse@iw.edu.

Comments: (319) 931-3393; hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com