LINCOLN, Abraham. Autograph endorsement signed ("A. Lincoln"), AS PRESIDENT, 23 October 1862. 1 page, oblong, envelope (5 x 2¾in.). AN EIGHTEEN WORD AUTOGRAPH ENDORSEMENT, written on the front of an envelope received from Senator Doolittle: "If Senator Doolittle could be obliged in the within matter, it might be of advantage to the country." Wisconsin Senator James Rood Doolittle (1815-1897) served two terms in the Senate and served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. The letter he enclosed to Lincoln does not survive, but from Lincoln's note it would appear to be a patronage matter of some sort. Ironically, both men lost their sons earlier that year to typhoid fever: Lincoln's Willie died in February, Doolittle's son Henry died in August. The Senator's son was on the staff of General Hamilton, in the Army of the Mississippi, and he "took the Typhoid fever some three weeks ago," Doolittle told Lincoln, "and came home, but he came home to die. Our hearts are crushed. It is a bitter, bitter cup. O how bitter! But you know it all" (Doolittle to Lincoln, 12 Aug. 1862, LOC).