28. Concord Mourns the President, 1881

On July 2, 1881, just months into his term, President James Abram Garfield was shot by Charles Julius Guiteau, an emotionally unbalanced man disappointed in his desire for diplomatic office. Garfield might have survived had his physicians removed the bullet lodged in his body, but they were unable to locate it. He lingered for more than two months, finally dying on September 19, 1881. Concord's Selectmen published this notice to urge attendance at the local memorial service in the Town Hall.

The slain president had shared common ancestry with the Garfields of the Nine Acre Corner area of Concord.