Journalist, Editor, Author. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln. He was born and raised in Castine, Hancock County, Maine. By his own account, his childhood was a happy one. At age 17, he left Castine for Boston to further his education. At age 20, he was working for a Boston newspaper and had essays and sketches published. In 1856, he married Caroline Augusta Fellows of Salem, Massachusetts. They settled in Dixon, Illinois. That summer, he met Abraham Lincoln at a political rally in Ogle County. During the following year, he and Abraham Lincoln met at political rallies or in Dixon, where Lincoln had occasional business. After his wife and infant child died in 1862, he went to Washington as a correspondent for the Sacramento Union. Lincoln, hearing that his friend Noah Brooks was in the city, immediately invited him to the White House. He became a friend of the entire Lincoln family, and a welcome and frequent visitor at the White House. He reported on war and political events for the newspaper, eventually writing 258 dispatches under the name "Castine." He also reported in person and by letter to Lincoln, giving candid impressions and information otherwise unobtainable. In 1965, Lincoln's private secretery, John Nickolay, was planning to go abroad. Lincoln offered his post to Noah Brooks, but before the change was made, Lincoln was assassinated. President Johnson appointed Brooks as Naval Officer of San Francisco. A year and a half later, he became managing editor of a San Francisco newspaper until he moved to New York in 1874. In New York, he was one of the editors of the Tribune and an editorial writer for the Times. From 1884 until 1894, he was editor of the Newart Daily Advertiser, retiring in 1894. He returned to California in his final years, hoping that the milder climate would be good for his health. He died in Pasadena on August 16, 1903 and was buried in the Castine Town Cemetery in Castine, Maine. Noah Brooks' published books include "The Fairport Nine" (1880), "The Boy Settlers" (1881), "Life, Stories, and Poems of John Brougham" (1881), "Abraham Lincoln: The Nation's Leader" (1888), "Statesmen" (1893), "Tales of the Main Coast" (1894), "Abraham Lincoln and the Downfall of American Slavery" (1894), "Short Studies in Party Politics" (1895), "Washington in Lincoln's Time" (1895), "How the Republic is Governed" (1895), "Scribner's Popular History of the United States" (co-author, 1898), "Henry Knox, a Soldier of the Revolution" (1900), "The Story of Marco Polo" (1897), "First Across the Continent: The Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (1901), "Abraham Lincoln: His Youth and Early Manhood" (1901) and "The Mediterranean Trip" (1906). Noah Brooks' published biography of Lincoln, "Washington in Lincoln's Time," is now considered an indispensable source of information on the Lincoln White House.
Journalist, Editor, Author. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln. He was born and raised in Castine, Hancock County, Maine. By his own account, his childhood was a happy one. At age 17, he left Castine for Boston to further his education. At age 20, he was working for a Boston newspaper and had essays and sketches published. In 1856, he married Caroline Augusta Fellows of Salem, Massachusetts. They settled in Dixon, Illinois. That summer, he met Abraham Lincoln at a political rally in Ogle County. During the following year, he and Abraham Lincoln met at political rallies or in Dixon, where Lincoln had occasional business. After his wife and infant child died in 1862, he went to Washington as a correspondent for the Sacramento Union. Lincoln, hearing that his friend Noah Brooks was in the city, immediately invited him to the White House. He became a friend of the entire Lincoln family, and a welcome and frequent visitor at the White House. He reported on war and political events for the newspaper, eventually writing 258 dispatches under the name "Castine." He also reported in person and by letter to Lincoln, giving candid impressions and information otherwise unobtainable. In 1965, Lincoln's private secretery, John Nickolay, was planning to go abroad. Lincoln offered his post to Noah Brooks, but before the change was made, Lincoln was assassinated. President Johnson appointed Brooks as Naval Officer of San Francisco. A year and a half later, he became managing editor of a San Francisco newspaper until he moved to New York in 1874. In New York, he was one of the editors of the Tribune and an editorial writer for the Times. From 1884 until 1894, he was editor of the Newart Daily Advertiser, retiring in 1894. He returned to California in his final years, hoping that the milder climate would be good for his health. He died in Pasadena on August 16, 1903 and was buried in the Castine Town Cemetery in Castine, Maine. Noah Brooks' published books include "The Fairport Nine" (1880), "The Boy Settlers" (1881), "Life, Stories, and Poems of John Brougham" (1881), "Abraham Lincoln: The Nation's Leader" (1888), "Statesmen" (1893), "Tales of the Main Coast" (1894), "Abraham Lincoln and the Downfall of American Slavery" (1894), "Short Studies in Party Politics" (1895), "Washington in Lincoln's Time" (1895), "How the Republic is Governed" (1895), "Scribner's Popular History of the United States" (co-author, 1898), "Henry Knox, a Soldier of the Revolution" (1900), "The Story of Marco Polo" (1897), "First Across the Continent: The Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (1901), "Abraham Lincoln: His Youth and Early Manhood" (1901) and "The Mediterranean Trip" (1906). Noah Brooks' published biography of Lincoln, "Washington in Lincoln's Time," is now considered an indispensable source of information on the Lincoln White House.
Bio by: Cindy K. Coffin
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