Born in Indiana to an anti-slavery family that moved to Illinois when he was young , Hay showed great potential , and his family sent him to Brown University . After graduation in 1858 , Hay read law in his uncle 's office in Springfield , Illinois , adjacent to that of Lincoln . Hay worked for Lincoln 's successful presidential campaign and became one of his private secretaries at the White House . Throughout the American Civil War , Hay was close to Lincoln and stood by his deathbed after the President was shot at Ford 's Theatre . In addition to his other literary works , Hay co-authored with John George Nicolay a multi-volume biography of Lincoln that helped shape the assassinated president 's historical image
was shot
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Hay