Abraham Lincoln. Presidential Appointment document, February 23, 1864. Approximately 12 x 16 inches. Very Fine. Appointment of Aaron Young, Jr., of Maine, to the position of Consul of the United States to Brazil. Partially printed form, with details of the appointment filled in by hand in the usual brown ink of the period. Boldly signed by President Abraham Lincoln at lower right, and by his secretary of State, William H. Seward at lower left, beneath the embossed seal of the United States. A couple of minor seam separations, trivial stains and scattered minor foxing spots but generally very clean in appearance with bold printed and manuscript elements. A very nice document, perhaps most appealing for the prized presidential autograph it bears, but also interesting for the particular appointment. Aaron Young, Jr. was born in Wiscasset, Maine, in December 1819 and by the age of 10, was deemed largely deaf. While this must have been perceived as a considerable disadvantage at the time, Young carved out a remarkably successful life. He was interested in nature and focused his young attentions on the study thereof, becoming an expert botanist, giving public lectures and later, university lectures after his own studies at Bowdoin in 1840 and 1841. He became widely known for his expertise, and was appointed State Botanist for Maine in 1848. He was also a collector of minerals and studied local mineral deposits.He studied medicine, becoming an ear surgeon, and is believed to have treated 1,000 patients. When the Civil War broke out, he was unabashed in vocalizing certain unpopular opinions and fled the United States for a period of time, during which he lived in the Canadian maritime provinces. There, he continued in the practice of medicine. At some point he had befriended Hannibal Hamlin, also of Maine, who was Abraham Lincoln’s Vice President. Young appealed to Hamlin for aid in resettling in Bangor, and Hamlin was apparently instrumental in his Consular Appointment to Brazil, where he served for several years. While there, he worked in his government capacity, reporting back on local matters but also on other topics that interested him including the plants, minerals, animals and matters of public health. He is said to have corresponded regularly with the Smithsonian Institution while there, sending them specimens from Brazil. He resettled in the United States in 1875, in Boston, where he was elected a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
