The Resume

(November 4, 1848-November 2, 1936)
Born in Albion, New York
Wrote a letter to Republican Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln suggesting he would look better with a beard (October 15, 1860)
Met Lincoln when his train journey to the inauguration included a stop in her hometown of Westfield, New York (February 16, 1861)

Why she might be annoying:

His initial response to her letter was noncommittal: ‘As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a silly affectation if I were to begin it now?’
One of her arguments for why he should grow a beard: ‘All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.’ (Heck, it wasn’t like people had more pressing issues to base their vote on.)
Most of his beard growth occurred after Election Day, so we’ll never know how well her campaign strategy would have worked.
During the stop in Westfield, he kissed her, probably inflicting some serious stubble burn.
She was so flustered at meeting Lincoln that she ran off still carrying a bouquet of flowers she had planned to give him.

Why she might not be annoying:

She was married to Civil War veteran George Billings for 63 years.
Westfield erected statues of her and Lincoln.
She was right; Lincoln did look better with a beard.
She is a reminder of a time when a Presidential candidate could make a major change in his appearance without first running it past a half dozen highly-paid image consultants.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 80]
• I Died in 1936 (Ranked: 87)
• Look at Me, I'm with Abraham Lincoln
• Profiles 51056-51250 (Ranked: 51150)
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 23.53% Annoying