Typed by her grandson, Arthur G. Billings, the elderly Mrs. Billings being too infirm to read or write, though she does sign in a shaky hand at the close. The letter is to a Mr. Russel F. Bush of Philadelphia, written in response to his request for her story regarding her interactions with President Abraham Lincoln though gives little detail, instead referring to printed versions. As an eleven-year-old, in 1860, Miss Bedell wrote a letter to the then presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting that he grow his now famous beard. Her story appeared widely in the nations newspapers when the President visited the young lady on his inaugural tour, his beard now grown. A second letter from her son, H.D. Billings, discussing the whereabouts of the original Lincoln letter is also included, along with a page from La Follette's magazine telling the story (now browned and quite brittle).