Noah Brooks ( October 24 , 1830 – August 16 , 1903 ) was an American journalist and editor who worked for newspapers in Sacramento , San Francisco , Newark , and New York , and authored a major biography of Abraham Lincoln based on close personal observation . Born in Castine , Maine , he moved to Dixon , Illinois in 1856 , where he became involved in the first Republican campaign for President ( John Frémont ) . During the campaign , he became friends with Lincoln . Brooks moved to Kansas in 1857 as a " free state " settler , but returned to Illinois about a year later , then moved to California in 1859 . After the death of his wife in 1862 , Brooks moved to Washington , D.C. to cover the Lincoln administration for the '' Sacramento Daily Union '' . He was accepted into the Lincoln household as an old friend . Unlike most people , Brooks was able to maintain a close friendship with both the President and Mrs. Lincoln . When Brooks was detailed to cover the 1864 Democratic Convention in Chicago , President Lincoln asked Brooks to also report back in detail by private letter
1864 Democratic Convention
1864 Democratic National Convention
Noah Brooks