William Osborn Stoddard

William Osborn Stoddard (1835–1925) was an American journalist, inventor, and author of memoirs, novels, poetry, and children's books. He served in the White House as a private secretary to Abraham Lincoln.

Biography Stoddard was born in Homer, New York, on September 24, 1835. His parents were Prentice S. and Sarah (Osborn) Stoddard. Stoddard's father was a bookseller, and Stoddard worked in his bookshop while growing up. and graduated in 1857. After graduation, he was employed in an "editorial position" in 1857 at the Daily Ledger (Chicago); by 1858 he had become editor and proprietor of the Central Illinois Gazette, in Champaign, Illinois.

After two bouts with typhoid, Stoddard left his White House post in July 1864. On September 24, 1864, he was appointed United States Marshal for Arkansas; however, in 1865 he resigned for health reasons. He moved to New York City and worked briefly on Wall Street. He entered government service again from 1871 to 1873, this time for the government of New York City. The Red Mustang (1890) Little Smoke: A Tale of the Sioux (1891) The White Cave (1893) The Table Talk of Abraham Lincoln (1894) On the Old Frontier (1895) Winter Fun (1895) The Windfall (1896) The Lost Gold of the Montezumas (1897) With the Black Prince (1898) The Despatch Boat of the Whistle A Story of Santiago (1899) Ulric the Jarl (1899) Lincoln at Work: Sketches from Life (1900) Ned, the Son of Webb (1900) The Noank's Log (1900) Ahead of the Army (1903) The Village Champion (1903) The Boy Lincoln (1905) Lincoln's White House Secretary: The Adventurous Life of William O. Stoddard (2007)