 
# ABRAHAM LINCOLN

## The Formative Years

### 1809-1841

#### By Mary Beth Smith
Copyright (C) 2015 by Mary Beth Smith.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

First Ebook Edition: August 2015

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To Greg, with love
_By their fruits ye shall know them._

Matthew 7:20

_The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control._

Galatians 5:22-23

# About _Abraham Lincoln,  
The Formative Years, 1809-1841_

Lincoln was one of those rare children who are able to hang onto their true identity in spite of abuse by their parents. Even a controlling, but not physically abusive parent, slows down their children's maturation. Those children lose their identity and sense of self worth for a time. Later, if they are lucky, they will be able to remove themselves from their parents' influence and strike out on their own.

Abraham Lincoln held onto his uniqueness, as best he could, as a child. In spite of his father's bullying, and some say bullying by his birth mother, he worked on his talents--for reading, writing, story telling, lecturing, and teaching, all while still a child.

_The Formative Years_ describes his childhood and his successful attempts to be himself. His years as a young adult in New Salem were very happy because he was freer than ever before to read, study, entertain and get to know the people of the county.

His clinical depression is described for the lucky majority of people who have never experienced it. It includes a fine piece of writing by Hugh Gregory Gallagher who says the pain of acute polio is nothing in comparison to the pain of clinical depression. (The pain of acute polio is one of the worst kinds of physical pain there is.)

The book shows how the study of law under John T. Stuart and Stephen T. Logan helped hone his speaking and logic skills. The Formative Years ends with his meeting Mary Todd.

Observations by friends and neighbors, corrected for grammar and spelling mistakes, are frequent to give the reader a picture of how Lincoln looked and acted during these years.

The next book in this 4 part series will cover the years 1840 to 1860. It will include the Lincoln marriage, Lincoln's lawsuits, his time in Congress, his retirement from politics and his reentry into politics.

# Table of Contents

Cast of Characters

Introduction

1. Childhood and Youth

2. New Salem

3. The Illinois Legislature

4. Ann Rutledge

5. Springfield

About the Author

Other Books by Mary Beth Smith

[Praise by customers for _The Joy of Life_ ,  
 _A Biography of Theodore Roosevelt_](abraham_lincoln_0160.xhtml)

End Notes

Bibliography

# Cast of Characters

**AL** --Abraham Lincoln

**Elizabeth Abell** --Wife of Dr. Bennett Abell. Sister of Mary Owens.

**William A. Archibald** --Member of the Illinois assembly.

**Hannah Armstrong** --Her husband Jack and AL became close friends after their famous wrestling match.

**Jack Armstrong** --Took on AL in a famous wrestling match. Then became good friends with him.

**Esther Summers Bale** --Wife of Hardin Bale.

**Hardin Bale** --Built a carding mill in New Salem.

**George J. Barrett** --A Methodist minister and missionary.

**William F. Berry** --Partnered with AL in a dry goods store.

**Albert J. Beveridge** --Author of _Abraham Lincoln 1809-1858._

**Nathaniel William Branson** --A Petersburg, Illinois lawyer.

**Caleb Carmen** --Took Lincoln in as a boarder. A carder and shoemaker.

**Augustus H. Chapman** --Married Dennis Hank's daughter Harriet.

**Harriet A. Chapman** --Daughter of Dennis Hanks.

**Henry Clay** --Kentuckian who ran for president 3 times unsuccessfully. Was secretary of state under John Quincy Adams. Formulated the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850.

**Isaac Cogdal** --Farmer and stone mason.

**Josiah and Elizabeth Crawford** --AL's neighbors.

**David Davis** --Illinois lawyer and judge. AL's close friend.

**Henry E. Dummer** --John T. Stuart's law partner 1833-1837.

**Elizabeth Todd Edwards** --Sister of Mary Todd. Married Ninian Edwards. Invited her younger sister Mary to live with her.

**Ninian Edwards** --Son of the Illinois territorial governor. Briefly an Illinois attorney general. He served in the Illinois general assembly then became a Springfield merchant.

**Abner Y. Ellis** --Involved in the mercantile business in New Salem and Springfield. His father was in business with William Herndon's father.

**Anna Caroline Gentry** --Daughter of Absalom Roby; married Allen, son of James Gentry.

**James Gentry** --Owner of Gentry's store.

**Joseph Gillespie** --Legal and political friend of AL.

**William Mentor Graham** --School teacher who claimed to have helped AL in his studies.

**Bowling Green** --Justice of the peace.

**Lynn McNulty Greene** --Married Nancy Owens Abell, niece of Mary Owens Vineyard.

**William G. Greene** --Worked with AL in Offut's store.

**Aaron Grigsby** --Brother of Abe's friend Nathaniel. Married Abe's sister Sarah.

**Nathaniel Grigsby** --AL's boyhood friend.

**Dennis Hanks** --AL's mother's first cousin.

**John Hanks** --AL's mother's first cousin.

**Caleb Hazel** --AL's second teacher.

**Elliot B. Herndon** --Democrat and William H. Herndon's brother. Practiced law in Springfield and Sangamon County. Was a U.S. district attorney.

**John Rowan Herndon** --Cousin of William H. Herndon.

**William H. Herndon** --AL's law partner. Collected letters, interviews and statements about Lincoln. His own recollections are documented elsewhere.

**John Hill** --Son of Sam Hill. Editor who supported Stephen Douglas.

**Sam Hill** --Leading New Salem merchant. Friend of AL.

**Benjamin F. Irwin** --Republican and minor public official. Helped find eye witness accounts about AL for William Herndon.

**Matilda Johnson** --AL's youngest step sister.

**John Johnston** --AL's step brother.

**John A. Jones** --Brother of Hannah Armstrong. Served with AL in the Black Hawk War.

**Nancy Hanks Lincoln** --AL's mother.

**Sarah Bush Lincoln** --AL's step mother.

**Sarah Lincoln** --AL's sister.

**Thomas Lincoln** --AL's father.

**Thomas Lincoln, Jr.** --AL's stillborn brother.

**Stephen T. Logan** --AL's law partner 1841-1844.

**James H. Matheny** --Groomsman at AL's wedding. Whig and admirer of Henry Clay.

**Henry McHenry** --Married Jack Armstrong's sister.

**John McNamar** --alias McNeil. Partnered with Sam Hill. Engaged to Ann Rutledge but returned to New York to get his parents.

**Thompson Ware McNeely** --Interviewed Menard County residents for William Herndon.

**Denton Offut** --Speculator and store owner who hired AL when he first came to New Salem.

**Samuel C. Parks** --AL's associate in many Logan county cases on the Eighth Judicial Court.

**Zachariah Riney** --AL's first teacher.

**Absalom Roby** --AL's neighbor.

**Ann Rutledge** --woman AL is thought to have been engaged to. Daughter of a store and tavern keeper.

**James Rutledge** --Tavern owner and father of 10 including Ann and Robert Rutledge.

**Robert B. Rutledge** --Younger brother of Ann and John Rutledge.

**Joshua Short** --Became one of AL's best friends. When AL's surveying instruments were being auctioned off, he bid on them and returned them to AL. When he was president AL appointed him agent for the Round Valley Reservation in California.

**Coleman Smoot** --Farmer and justice of the peace.

**Elizabeth Sparrow** --AL's mother's aunt.

**Thomas Sparrow** --AL's mother's uncle.

**Joshua F. Speed** --AL's closest friend.

**John T. Stuart** --Relative of Mary Todd and Stephen T. Logan. Encouraged AL to study law. Was AL's law partner from 1837-1841.

**Colonel E.D. Taylor** --Accused Lincoln of being a member of the aristocracy.

**Mary Todd** --Lincoln's wife 1842-1865.

**David Turnham** --AL's boyhood friend.

**Mary Owens Vineyard** --Well educated woman from a wealthy Kentucky family. AL proposed marriage but she turned him down.

**John B. Weber** --Originally a cabinet maker but after he became disabled was appointed copyist of the land records of Illinois.

**John H. Wickizer** --Legal colleague of AL on the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

**Robert L. Wilson** --One of the _Long Nine_ in the Illinois House of Representatives.

# Introduction

Today Lincoln, as a boy, would have been considered an abused child. His father, Thomas, whipped him almost every time he spoke. His mother's cousin, Dennis Hanks said, "I have seen his father knock him down." Dennis also pointed out that Thomas didn't seem to think much of his son. After Lincoln's death, a friend complained that he had been too introverted--too unsociable--only worth listening to when he told a joke or a story. His law partner William Herndon said, "He was the most...shut mouth man that ever existed." Judge Davis, who became a Supreme Court Justice in 1862, said Lincoln "never was a man of gushing feelings." Most children become introverts when treated like Lincoln was treated. Sometimes they become silent most of the time. Lincoln resented his father for this corporal punishment so much so that he did not visit his father's deathbed.

He did learn some things from Thomas. His father was as good as Lincoln ever became at telling funny stories and Lincoln would memorize his stories and tell them for the rest of his life. Thomas was scrupulously honest and Lincoln was also. He also learned the value of hard work from his father.

Lincoln would tell Thomas's stories to his playmates and make them laugh. He was a natural comedian. He told funny stories well, making absurd faces at the same time. He was probably homely as a child but only when he had no expression on his face. When animated or smiling he was interesting looking. When he was president-elect a man said after meeting him, "I thought you said he was ugly. He is not ugly. He is a good looking man." But Walt Whitman said Lincoln's face was "so awful ugly it becomes beautiful."

One of his friends complained that in his photographs he looks like a man who will be going to the gallows the next morning. "If only they would have caught him with that animated look on his face," he said. _Everyone_ looked like they were going to the gallows the next day. They had to sit for photographs for minutes while the film was being exposed.

After Lincoln's mother died, Thomas approached a widow, Sarah Bush, who he had known since childhood and said, "I know you and you know me. You need a husband and I need a wife. Will you marry me?" She explained that she would have to pay some debts first. He paid them off and brought her, her children, their clothes and some furniture, and household goods back home.

Lincoln and his sister Sarah had been waiting for their father, neglected for months. Their clothing was tattered and they weren't living in a proper cabin. They were filthy. Sarah Bush Lincoln immediately washed them, gave them some of her children's clothing and had Thomas renovate the cabin. She furnished it with her household goods and furniture.

When Lincoln reached the age of majority he moved to New Salem, Illinois. Lincoln arrived in New Salem the spring after the _big snow._ Everyone remembered the _big snow_ --Therefore everyone remembered when Lincoln came to New Salem. As a minor he had had to turn over all cash he made to his father--by law. Now he could keep his earnings. At New Salem he got jobs clerking and surveying. He seriously pursued his studies--beginning with grammar. He'd carry a book with him everywhere and pull it out whenever he got a break. He'd stay up late studying. He'd get up early and study some more. He studied everything--Science, History, Math, Literature and Law. He had one law book--Blackstone.

He fell in love with pretty, blue-eyed Ann Rutledge and they became engaged. But Ann Rutledge sickened and died.

For the first time in his life--and it wouldn't be the last--Lincoln became severely depressed. He was almost suicidal. His friends had to keep all sharp objects away from him.

He got over his depression and met Mary Owens. She was a handsome, but not pretty, woman. She was overweight, for that era, which bothered him. She was well educated and would have made a good wife. They got informally engaged but Lincoln gave her a chance to back out of it which she took. Later he said to her sister, "Tell her that she made a big mistake by not marrying me." Mary Owens said upon hearing this, "Characteristic of the man."

He served 4 terms in the Illinois legislature. By 1837 the town of New Salem was dying. Lincoln had been studying law under John Todd Stuart in Springfield. He had also been instrumental in getting the capital of Illinois moved to Springfield. So he moved to that town and roomed with the man who was to become his closest friend, Joshua Speed.

John Stuart took him on as is law partner and he became an excellent lawyer. He became known for his logic and good summations. By now he knew how to speak well in society and how to dress. He dressed as well as any of the rich men who lived on _aristocrat hill._

When John Stuart quit law to serve in Congress, Lincoln was invited to become Stephen T. Logan's partner. He was Logan's law partner from 1841 to 1844.

This book (part 1 of 4) ends in 1841 with Lincoln riding the circuit to defend clients. He has already met Mary Todd. They would have 4 children and move into their own house. Soon he would serve a term in Congress.

NOTE: William Herndon collected interviews, letters and statements from people who knew Lincoln. They can be found in _Herndon 's Informants. Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln_. I used Herndon's information and took the liberty of correcting spelling, grammar and punctuation to make the story flow more easily.

For example in Part 2 of this series I will change a Harriet A. Chapman quote from:

_Abraham wife high strung --lying in hall one day with pillow on floor ladies called Mr L. in shirt sleeves invited visitors in and stated that he would "trot women folks out"--this made Mrs L. mad-- to:_

_Mary Lincoln was high strung. One day Lincoln was lying in the hallway with his head on a pillow, reading, when some ladies knocked at the door. Mr. Lincoln answered the door in his shirt sleeves and invited them in. When they asked to see Mary he said he would go and "trot the women folk out." This made Mary very angry._

# 1. Childhood and Youth

_I sought for rest but never found it, save in a little corner with a little book._

--Thomas a Kempis

## New England

Because of the hostility shown towards them in England many Puritans decided to leave the country. (They were called Puritans because they wanted to _purify_ the Church of England from all Roman Catholic influences.) From 1630 to 1640 20,000 colonists came to New England. Most settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Other settlers went to Ireland, the West Indies and the Netherlands. Those who came to America tried to form a righteous community, a nation of saints, an example for all of Europe to follow. However some religions were not tolerated in the Bay Colony. Quakers were encouraged to leave and settle in Rhode Island. Four Quakers who wouldn't leave were publicly hanged. They became known as the _Boston Martyrs._

The Puritans referred to their hilly capital city, Boston, as a _city upon a hill,_ watched by the world. This phase was used by John Winthrop in 1630 on board the Arbella. Boston was supposed to be an example of charity, affection and unity to the world. It was called the _shining city._ This expression led to the belief, still held today, that the United States is God's country because it is a good example of how nations should act.

## Lincoln Family Origin

15 year old Samuel Lincoln was part of the _Great Migration_ of Puritans that occurred between the years 1620 and 1640. He sailed from Norfolk, England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and arrived there on June 20, 1637. He lived in the village of Hinghorn and died there in 1690 at the ripe old age of 67.

Mordecai Lincoln, Samuel's son, remained in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His son, Mordecai, Jr., Samuel's grandson, travelled 300 miles south to Freehold which later would become part of New Jersey. Mordecai, Jr. became a successful businessman. He later moved to southeastern Pennsylvania and prospered in the iron industry. In 1733 he built a large brick house east of Reading, Pennsylvania. The house still stands. He was the great-great-grandfather of President Lincoln. He died in 1735 when he was 49. He left 1000 acres of land and his iron business to his son John.

John inherited some land in New Jersey but did not move there. He married Rebecca Flower, a Quaker, and travelled with her to the Shenandoah Valley. They settled on a tributary of the Shenandoah River. Virginians called the Pennsylvanian settlers _northern men._ Rebecca was a Quaker and strongly against slavery.

John's son Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of President Lincoln, was born in Pennsylvania in 1744. In 1770 he married Bathsheba Herring from a well-known family. He joined the Virginia Militia and became a captain in 1776.

The western part of Virginia called Ken-tah-the by the Indians and Kentucky by Daniel Boone, was said to contain rich farm land. So Abraham and his family left the Shenandoah Valley and travelled the 200 miles west to Kentucky. They took with them household goods, farm tools, a Bible and a rifle. Some colonists went beyond the Ohio river in their quest for more land.

Indians had been promised the land beyond the Ohio, but settlers sometimes attacked the Indians to get their land. The Indians retaliated causing Kentucky settlers to build their homes near fortified stockades.

In May of 1786, Abraham and his sons were planting corn when an Indian shot Abraham. Two of his sons, Mordecai, age 14, and John, age 12, ran to the stockade. Thomas, age 6, remained, sobbing, by his dying father. An Indian ran towards Thomas to either kidnap or kill him. Mordecai aimed his rifle at a pendant hanging from the Indian's neck and killed him. Abraham was 42 when he died. Thomas never recovered emotionally from the shock.

Relatives of Abraham's wife, Bathsheba, helped the Lincolns. A cousin invited the family to live with him. He lived 40 miles to the south, near Springfield, Kentucky. Thomas, still quite young, was sent out to work. He did farm work and learned cabinetry and carpentry.

## Lincoln's Birth

Thomas married Nancy Hanks. She was born in Virginia but later moved to Kentucky. The identity of her father is unknown. Thomas Lincoln age 28 and Nancy Hanks Lincoln age 22 moved to the frontier town of Elizabethtown. The town contained mostly log cabins but there were a few frame houses.

Their first child, Sarah, was born on February 10, 1807. She had dark hair and eyes like her father.

In 1808 Thomas sold his first farm and built a second one 12 miles southeast of Elizabethtown. Abe was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County Kentucky on Knob Creek which runs into Rolling Fork which empties into the Beach Fork and then into the Ohio River. Young Dennis Hanks, Nancy's cousin, ran over to the newborn hoping to be the first to touch the baby. He wasn't the first--he was the second. Still he considered second to be good luck.

Lincoln later thought he inherited his intelligence and clear way of thinking from his maternal grandfather. No one knew who his maternal grandfather was but Lincoln stated in his 1860 campaign biography that his grandfather was "a nobleman so-called of Virginia." He said later, "All I am or hope ever to be I get from my Mother, God bless her."

## Abe's father

Augustus Chapman, who married Dennis Hanks' daughter Harriet, described Thomas Lincoln this way:

_The father of Lincoln was a stout athletic man, 5 feet 10 inches in height. In his prime of life he weighed 196 pounds. He had the reputation of being one of the stoutest men in Kentucky. He was dark complected, had dark hair and dark gray eyes. He was careless in his personal appearance, very industrious, remarkably good natured, very fond of a joke or story and fond of telling them. He was fond of hunting and good at it. He always kept a fine rifle. But he never neglected his farm work to hunt. He never cared for fishing. He was never intoxicated in his life....He was an unlucky man in business...He was a very hearty eater but not particular about food...He never used profane language._

_He joined the Free Will Baptist Church in Hardin county, Kentucky in 1816....He was strictly honest in all of his dealings with his fellow men. He died January 9, 1851. His features were coarse and he had a remarkably large roman nose. His first wife...was a medium sized woman, rather thin with a fair complexion, light hair, blue eyes. She was neat in person and habits. She was industrious and had a kind disposition..._

Abe's mother according to Dennis Hanks was "5'8", thin, affectionate, never angry, smart, intelligent, and spiritual. She recited Bible verses from memory to Abe. She had sharp features, was brilliant and had great good sense." She couldn't read or write. Dennis claimed he taught Abe to write. He killed a buzzard and pulled a quill from it to make a pen for Abe.

When Abe was 2 years old the family moved 6 miles north near the Cumberland Trail. Watered by Knob Creek, it was a land rich for farming. The Lincolns planted corn and beans. Abe remembered watching pioneers, Indians and soldiers from the War of 1812 walking on the trail near his home.

His baby brother Thomas Lincoln was born there in 1812 but died before several days had passed.

Rocky cliffs rose above the cabin where Abe was raised. The trees were two or more feet in diameter. Some were as tall as 100 feet. The streams were cold and clear. There was no noise, no distraction. It was, according to Albert J. Beveridge, Lincoln's biographer, "a place of peace, calm, and was silent and serene."

## School

Two miles north of the cabin was a school which stayed open for only short periods of time and then for only how long the settlers could afford to subsidize the teacher. Abe probably went to school for only 3 to 4 months in the entire time he lived in Kentucky. There he learned to read and write.

His first teacher, Zachariah Riney was a Catholic from Maryland. He ran a _Blab school. Blab schools_ used two senses--hearing and seeing. The theory was that hearing the sound of the passage being read would help the child to remember it.

Abe read aloud for the rest of his life. This sometimes annoyed people especially his law partner William Herndon, who said, "Lincoln never read any other way but aloud. This habit used to annoy me almost beyond the point of endurance."

His second teacher was Caleb Hazel. He was a farmer and surveyor known for his "large size and bodily strength to thrash any boy or youth that came to school."

Abe was always at school early and always at the top of the class.

## Indiana

While in Kentucky Thomas had purchased a farm with uneven boundaries. His land had not been properly surveyed because it had once been part of Virginia and Virginia would not survey public lands. Property overlapped other properties. Nearly half of Kentucky settlers lost their land due to these peculiarities. Thomas was caught up in the land struggle and decided to move north of the Ohio to the free state of Indiana.

Thomas went by himself to the Ohio River and crossed it in a flat boat that he had made. Then he cut his way through the dense Indiana foliage. David Turnham, Abe's neighbor and friend said, "The country was very rough especially in the low lands. It was so thick with brush that a man could scarcely get through on foot. These places were called _roughs. "_ The country abounded in game--bear, deer, turkey and smaller game."

According to one farmer Indiana was "a vast forest, larger than England." Thomas selected 40 acres and marked the land. The land had been surveyed by the government so his title would not be disputed. He stayed there for weeks before returning to Knob Creek to get his family. They left their furniture behind and packed their wagons with a feather bed, spinning wheel, cooking utensils and tools. In the fall of 1816 they began their journey to Indiana. Thomas had to cut a road through the heavy forests of timber. Abe was just 7 years old.

The family crossed the 981 mile winding Ohio River and stepped onto Indiana soil. They built a 3 sided shelter. The 4th side was open and faced a blazing fire.

After a few days they began to build a cabin. Abe helped clear the land and made a split rail fence. He later called the axe which was put into his little hands a "most useful instrument." The exercise would eventually build up his muscles tremendously.

## Clothing

"The clothing for the family while they resided in Indiana was all manufactured at home by themselves from cotton and flax that they raised themselves," said Augustus Chapman.

## Songs

The Indiana settlers enjoyed singing old English songs such as _Barbara Allen_ and _The Silk Merchant 's daughter._ They sang hymns like _Am I a Soldier of the Cross,_ and _Come Thou Fount._

## His Mother's Death

In the summer of 1818 Thomas and Elizabeth Sparrow, Nancy's aunt and uncle, died from drinking milk from a cow who had ingested a poisonous root. Nancy, who had been taking care of the Sparrows died 7 days after first experiencing symptoms of the disease. According to Dennis Hanks she called her children to her death bed and "told them to be good and kind to their father. She expressed the hope that they would live the way she had taught them--love all men and love, reverence and worship God." Thomas built her coffin. The entire neighborhood of about 20 people turned out for her funeral. David Elkins of Hardin County, Kentucky preached the sermon.

After their mother's death, Abe and Sarah tried to help out. Sarah, age 14, took over the cooking. Both children ran errands and did light chores.

## Sarah Bush Johnson 1818

After 13 months, Thomas left his two children to woo Sarah Bush Johnson, a widow. She had 3 children: Elizabeth, John and Matilda. She was 31, Thomas 41. She was described by Harriet Chapman as "a very tall woman, straight as an Indian, fair complected and was when younger very handsome. She was sprightly and talkative and proud. Until her hair turned gray she wore it curled. She was and still is kind-hearted, charitable and industrious. There is a photograph of her [taken around 1864]."

In December of 1818 Thomas told Sarah Bush that since they had known each other from childhood and since he had no wife and she no husband and since he came all this way to marry her that if she was willing he wanted it done "right off." She told him she owed money and could not marry him until she paid her debts off. He paid the debts off. They were issued a marriage license and they were married and left for his home "right off."

Augustus Chapman described what faced Sarah when she arrived in Indiana:

She was _astonished to find there was no floor or door to the house, no furniture of any kind, no beds or bedding or hardly any. They used rough stools for chairs, a rude table, rude beds and they had no dishes except a few pewter and tin ones, no cooking utensils except a dutch oven and lid and one skillet and lid._

_The children had little clothing. They each had one very poor suit. The boy was dressed in buck skins. Mrs. Lincoln had brought much with her: a fine bureau, one table, one set of chairs, one large chest, cooking utensils, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, a spinning wheel, clothing, 2 beds, bedding , and other articles. Mrs. Lincoln came just in time._

_She immediately had a floor laid in the house, doors and windows put in and dressed the children in the clothes she had brought. Within a few weeks all was snug and comfortable._

Chapman also remarked that when Sarah Bush Lincoln got to Indiana Abe and his sister were "wild, ragged and dirty." Mrs. Lincoln washed them. Then she mended their clothes and the children "once more looked human."

At this stage in his life, Abe was reported to be very funny. If he read or heard a good story he never forgot it. He wrote poetry-- loved poetry. According to Augustus Chapman he didn't have that "cadaver-like appearance" you see in photographs until, perhaps, his mid teens.

Sarah loved Abe and he returned her love. He felt better once he was dressed in decent clothes. She encouraged him in his reading and studying. The children got along well together. Lincoln's little farm was well stocked with hogs, horses and cattle. That year he raised a fine crop of wheat, corn and vegetables. A little town named Gentryville had sprung up near them. From there they were able to buy many necessities of life that they had previously done without.

## Reading

Dennis Hanks said, Abe read "everything he could get his hands on." Abe read _Aesop 's Fables, Robinson Crusoe, The Arabian Nights, Lessons in Elocution and the American Spelling Book._ He read the King James version of the Bible. The Bible was his favorite book. He memorized parts of it. Of _Aesop 's Fables_ he particularly liked the fable called _The Crow and the Pitcher._ The American version of the fable said this story should teach you to employ your wit and ingenuity "to solve problems and don't hesitate to do something that does not fit the norm." In the story a crow drops rocks into a pitcher of water until the water level is high enough for him to drink from it. In 2015 wild crows, who scientists knew could make tools and conduct funerals, found that crows were able to drop objects into a tube of water until the water level was at the top. The scientists concluded that crows were as intelligent as a 5 to 7 year old child.

Abe read Weems's _Life of Washington_ several times. He also said he read all about the battles of the Revolutionary War. In 1861 he said:

_None fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great hardships endured at that time, all fixed themselves on my memory more than any single Revolutionary event and you all know, for you have all been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that these men struggled for._

Abe liked books best that showed the triumph of good over evil. HIs step mother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, said that if he liked a passage in a book "he would write it down, then he would rewrite it, look at it and repeat it. He copied these things into a sort of notebook." She also said that "He would write it on boards if he had no paper. He would look at it and then speak." She said he was always "neat and clean." He couldn't "endure jabber."

When Anna Caroline Gentry, later daughter-in-law of wealthy James Gentry, and Abe were about 15 they went to Crawford's school. One day Crawford asked the pupils to spell a word. If they missed it, they would have to remain at school all night. None of them could spell it. They tried but were always wrong. Abraham was at the window. The word was defied. Lincoln put his finger on his EYE and smiled. Anna changed her _y to i_ and spelled the word correctly and the class was let out.

Absalom Roby, a neighbor said that at age 16, "Abe was an industrious lad. Always working at something or reading. At 16 he was an intelligent boy...He understood things thoroughly and could explain them so clearly that I knew he had a good mind."

No other child seemed so motivated to learn as Abe. Other boys abhorred studying. Abraham "studied hard." He would read late into the night and get up early to read some more.

## Church

By 1821 Thomas Lincoln was a devout Baptist. He oversaw the building of the new church for the Little Pigeon Baptist Church. He built the pulpit himself and did the cabinet work. Abraham, age 12, helped.

Thomas and Sarah became members of the church on June 7, 1823.

According to his step mother Abe only went to church "sometimes," only to listen to the sermon, come home, get the children and stand on a stump or a log and "repeat it word for word." Thomas Lincoln would often come out to make him stop, then he'd send him to work.

He would also repeat long passages from books he had read. He enjoyed telling funny stories and jokes to the other children. He would go to church and memorize the sermon along with the preacher's mannerisms and body movements. When he got back home, he would stand on a stump or a log and repeat the sermon, mannerisms and accent included. The children would pretend to cry during the more emotional parts.

Matilda Johnson, Abe's step sister told this story:

_One day John Johnston [Abe 's step brother] caught a land terrapin, brought it to where Abe was preaching and threw it against a tree, and crushed the shell. It suffered much--quivered all over. Abraham then gave a sermon against cruelty to animals, contending that an ant's life is as sweet to it as our's is to us._

Sometimes the boys would catch turtles and set their backs on fire and Abraham would scold them saying it was wrong and write compositions about it.

## Girls

David Turnham, Abe's friend, reported that "while Abe was in Indiana, he seemed to be cheerful and happy. He was apt to talk about what he had read and sometimes would read nice pieces of prose and poetry. He was awkward in mixed company and did not seem anxious to meet girls."

From age 11 to 23 girls called him homely. They laughed at how tall and awkward he was. He'd just laugh with them. At age 25 he was still embarrassed around women.

_"_ Abe did not go much with the girls," Anna Gentry said. "He didn't like them very much. He thought they were too frivolous...He was diffident then and only 17 years old."

"Abe was a long, thin, leggy, gawky boy--dried up and shriveled," she added.

But in the company of boys he was cheerful and talkative.

## Childhood Abuse

As a youth Abe was nothing like his father. He did not enjoy farm work and showed no interest at all in carpentry or cabinet making. His father, who was probably a narcissist, wanted a duplicate of himself. If he could not get a duplicate he at least wanted a boy who acted like all the other boys. He'd often hit Abe. Sometimes he would wait until guests or other witnesses had left. Other times he could not contain his rage and would hit Abe in front of people.

Dennis Hanks, who lived with the Lincolns said, "I have seen his father knock him down." He also said, "I doubt Abe loved his father." Dennis also said, "Thomas Lincoln never showed by his actions that he thought much of his son Abe as a boy."

If Abe neglected his work he was "slashed," according to Dennis Hanks.

If he spoke to a stranger before his father had a chance to, he was "rod-whipped."

He was hit for reading instead of doing other chores. If his father delivered an anecdote that was embellished in any way, Abe would sometimes say, "Paw, that was not jest the way it was." He would get the rod for saying that. Sometimes his father would hide his books so he couldn't read.

## Coping With Abuse

Abe's way of dealing with the abuse was escaping into books, reading and memorizing them; telling funny stories and joking; memorizing sermons and regurgitating them to his friends while standing on a stump or a log. Because he preferred reading to farm work some people thought he was lazy. His youngest step sister, Matilda Johnson said, "Abraham was not energetic except in one thing--he was active and persistent in learning." At age 10 Abraham attended school with his sister, Sarah. School was usually held from December to early March so that children could return to farm work.

Abe loved to make people laugh. In spite of the treatment by his father which should have lowered his self-esteem greatly, he was able to stand up and give talks to his friends. He was also able to make them laugh with jokes and stories. These stories were punctuated by hilarious facial expressions which changed his homely face into a more interesting one. He drew children to him like a magnet. Augustus Chapman said, "He was from childhood very lively and full of fun, fond of a joke and of telling one. As a boy he had a great love at playing pranks on his companions."

Like many abused children Abe raised his own children the opposite way to what he was raised. This greatly annoyed his law partner William H. Herndon who said:

_He was in the habit...of bringing his two boys, Willie and Thomas...down to the office to remain while his wife attended church....If they pulled all the books from the shelves, bent the points of all the pens, overturned inkstands, scattered law papers over the floor, or threw the pencils in the spittoon, it never disturbed the serenity of their father's good nature._

## Compassion

His father's cruelty towards him may have contributed to the compassion he felt from an early age towards every living creature from the tiniest ants to human beings. Most people learn compassion later in life after suffering a great loss or having a chronic or acute illness. It is only then that they feel motivated to help others in trouble. Abe suffered early on, in childhood, with the death of his mother and the beatings from his father.

As a youth, he was with some boys when they came upon a man who was "dead drunk" and unconscious. The night was cold and he was "nearly frozen." Some of the boys "rolled him over and over." Abe carried him to Dennis Hank's house and "built a fire and got him warm...Abe stayed all night." From reading the Bible Abe knew it was important to be a Good Samaritan.

Years later Abe was riding with several men when they came upon a family whose wagon was stuck in the mud. Abe was about to stop when the other men said, "Don't be a fool. Let's keep going." Lincoln dismounted. Using his horse and a friend's horse he pulled the wagon out with ropes and straps. He and his friend got completely covered with mud.

One day Abe tried his hand at hunting. He shot a turkey through a crack in the cabin wall. When he examined the beautiful wild bird he felt sad. He resolved never to shoot a large bird or any other large game again.

In his early 40s he was still bitter towards his father and, although his dying father asked for him, he wouldn't visit his deathbed. He did not have a gravestone placed to mark the grave. He did not attend the funeral.

• • •

Abe attended the house raisings, log rolling, corn shucking, and places of amusement. As a youth in Indiana he began to work for other farmers in the area. What he made in wages was turned over to his father as was the custom in those days. At 16, he was a rail splitter. He sometimes built the fence as well. Fences were needed to mark people's property and protect them from Indian attacks.

Abe did do hard physical work for his neighbors but always carried a book with him. He turned his wages over to his father as was the custom in those days.

When hired to do work for his neighbors, the Crawfords, Abe would come to their front door, raise his hat and bow. When he was invited in he sat down and didn't seem in a hurry to get to work. He refused to do the work of killing snakes but he pleasantly did other work well, to please his boss. His reading consisted of books that he thought would help him in "after life." When he came in to get a meal he would start talking or reading. Mr. Crawford would say, "This will never get the child a coat." Sometimes when Lincoln walked out, Mr. Crawford would trip him "and they would have a scuffle." Sometimes Lincoln would throw Mr. Crawford and sometimes Crawford would get the best of him. "They were always joking or playing some prank on each other when they were out together," Elizabeth Crawford said.

As he grew, he began to realize he was different from the other boys. His curiosity was greater than theirs and he enjoyed listening to adult conversations. Nathanial Grigsby, his boyhood friend, said, "His mind soared above us. He naturally assumed leadership of the boys."  "He was the learned boy among us unlearned folks. He took great pains to explain things to us simply," Anna Gentry said.

• • •

Abe built a scow and was asked by 2 men to row them across the Ohio to a passenger steamer. They each gave him a half dollar. This meant a lot to him . He knew now that his labor was worth money. Years later President Lincoln recalled this episode and said, "Gentlemen, you may think it was a very little thing....but it was a most important incident in my life. I could scarcely credit that I, a poor boy, had earned a dollar in less than a day....The world seemed wider and fairer before me."

## Death of Sarah

David Turnham a boyhood friend, said of Abe's sister, "Sarah was of ordinary size. She had a good mind. She favored Abe. She was dark skinned with a heavy build. She favored Abe very much. They looked alike."

Elizabeth Crawford said, "Sarah Lincoln worked for me. She was a good, kind, amiable girl resembling Abe." John Hanks, Abe's mother's first cousin, said, "She was a short built woman. Her eyes were dark gray. Her hair was dark brown. She was a good woman--kind, tender, and good natured and is said to have been a smart woman."

Sarah married Aaron Grigsby on August 2, 1826. They moved 2 miles south of Thomas and Sarah. A year and a half later she struggled to give birth. She asked her father to find a doctor but it was too late. The child was stillborn. Then Sarah, too, died. It was January 20, 1828.

## Trip to New Orleans

James Gentry, owner of Gentry's store, needed a responsible young man to accompany his son, Allen, on a trip to New Orleans to exchange goods. Abe fit the bill. It would be a 1,222 mile trip on a flat boat. Abe was 19 at the time. As they got further south they exchanged their cargo for sugar, tobacco, and cotton. One night they were attacked by 7 Negroes intent on killing them. Abe and Gentry were able to fend them off but not before becoming badly bruised and bleeding.

In New Orleans there were so many brigs, schooners, sloops, flat boats and steamboats that they had to tie up their boat and walk on top of other boats to get to the town. Abe made $8 a month for the trip. They returned home on a steamboat.

## Illinois

In 1830, when Abe was 21, John Hanks sent word to Thomas that Illinois had good soil. He urged Thomas to go there.

Thomas and his family left Pigeon Creek. Abe drove one of his father's ox-drawn wagons the 225 miles to Illinois. They left the tangled underbrush of Indiana and found themselves in vast praries of tall grass and flowers.

They camped in Decatur, Illinois which was a town with about a dozen log cabins. Then they went 7 miles west and 2 miles south and built a log cabin, a smoke house and a barn. Abe split rails to fence the land. That summer and fall he worked for his father and hired out as a farm hand and rail splitter.

Abe gave his first political speech in Decatur wearing tow-linen pants, a hickory shirt and a straw hat. The people were mostly impressed by his sense of humor.

Thomas and Sarah moved to Macon County, Illinois and later to Coles County, Illinois.

At age 22, Abe was now free to leave his parents and move to New Salem, Illinois. From now on, he could keep all the wages he earned. Also he was now free now to read, study and tell funny stories without fear of ridicule from his father.

# 2. New Salem

_I 'll study and get ready, and then the chance will come._

-- Abraham Lincoln

Once he had done everything he could possibly do to help his father move to Illinois, Lincoln felt free to move to a different town. He was 22 now.

Denton Offut, a speculator, hired Lincoln, John Hanks, and John Johnston to go up the Sangamon River in a flatboat and then down the Illinois to the Mississppi to New Orleans. When they got to New Salem they got stuck on the dam. The boat filled slowly with water. The tallest of the boatman, Lincoln, looked "very rough." He was dressed in blue jeans and a cotton shirt with blue and white stripes. He ordered the crew to unload part of the cargo and shove the rest forward to balance the boat. He drilled a hole in the bow to let the water out, plugged the hole, put the rest of the cargo back on and eased the boat over the dam. This was Lincoln's 2nd trip to New Orleans and was fairly uneventful.

His first few years in New Salem would be some of the happiest in his life. New Salem sat on the banks of the Sangamon River, 20 miles northwest of Springfield. Most Illinois villages had access to water and timber. It was rich land but the prairies, the _sea of grass_ as they were called, were connected by a heavy root system. Settlers had to cut several feet down to get to the rich soil. Illinois roads were too muddy to be passable. Settlers preferred to travel by river boat. In the 1830s the Sangamon River was wider and deeper than it became later. It seemed like a good river on which to establish a village.

Lynn McNulty Green, who married Mary Owens niece, Nancy Abell, said that Lincoln came to Sangamo Town in the early spring of 1831, the spring after the _deep snow._ The _deep snow_ had been a time of driving rain and snow that had lasted 9 weeks. Cows, horses and deer, frozen to the ground, had been eaten by wolves. Temperatures had gone down to 12 degrees below zero.

Lincoln said people would always remember when he arrived in New Salem. He often said he came after the snow had melted, down the high waters, as a kind of driftwood.  He came, he said, "aimlessly, borne along by the swelling waters. Floating about he had accidentally lodged at New Salem."

New Salem never had a population of more than 100 people. It had 2 saloons, a tavern owned by James Rutledge, a justice of the peace, and 2 physicians. The physicians prescribed harsh remedies such as purging, bleeding and pills "as big as cherries." James Rutledge was the father of 10 children, one of whom was Ann. Instead of church, people attended camp meetings. On holidays they had hoe downs, foot races and wrestling matches.

He entered the town wearing light colored blue jeans and a short coat like the young men wore at the time. But his coat was way too short both at the waist and in the sleeves. His trousers, too, were very short. He wore a broad brim wool hat. People remembered him as funny, "full of yarns." They remembered him frequently quoting poetry and prose. They knew that, despite his appearance, he was very intelligent.

Abner Y. Ellis, who at one time was a business associate of Joshua Speed, Lincoln's friend, said:

_He wore flax and tow linen pantaloons [a coarse heavy linen]. I thought they were about 5 " too short in the legs. He wore a calico shirt...He wore coarse tan brogans and blue socks made of yarn. He wore an old style straw hat without a band._

Coleman Smoot, farmer and justice of the peace, said, "His pantaloons were very short. This caused him to look very awkward."

Caleb Carman, who later took Lincoln in as a boarder, said:

_After about a half hours conversation with him I found him no green horn. His appearance was very odd. He wore a short, close fitting jacket made of the durable twilled cotton cloth called jeans --light blue, and pants of the same cloth. The pants were very short which gave him a very curious appearance with a coarse pair of brogan shoes...He had on a low crowned broad brimmed hat. I soon found him to be a very intelligent young man._

He was obviously in good shape. "He was at that time well built," said William G. Greene. "His thighs were as perfect as a human being's could be. He weighed 214 and his height was 6 foot 4 inches."

## Offut's Store

He was employed by Denton Offut described as "a wild, harum-scarum kind of man" and "not much of a businessman."

Hardin Bale, who had a carding mill at New Salem, said Offut was a "gassy, windy, brain rattling man." (A carding mill disentangles fibers, usually cotton, getting it ready to be made into yarn.)

Offut owned a dry goods store which sold tools, seeds, saddles, guns, sugar, salt, coffee, eggs, vegetables and barrels of liquor. The store was in a large log cabin. Offut had taken a liking to Lincoln, and hired him as a clerk. William Greene was Lincoln's assistant. Greene said Offut "was a wild, reckless, careless man--A kind of wandering horse. He was somewhat...prophetic. He said, 'By god, Lincoln will yet be the president of these U.S."'

Offut had just bought some goods and Lincoln unboxed them and put them on shelves.

Lincoln and William Greene, slept in the back room. They slept on a single cot. "When one turned over the other had to do likewise," said Greene.

Henry McHenry, who married Jack Armstrong's sister, said Lincoln was so "open and obliging" that "everybody loved him." Mentor Graham, who taught school near New Salem, described Lincoln as "attentive to his business, kind and considerate to his customers and friends and always treated them with great tenderness." Dennis Hanks said, "He was so odd, original and humorous and witty that all the people in town would gather around him...He would keep them there until midnight or longer telling stories and cracking jokes."

## Reading and Studying

He was an adult now and many miles from his abusive father. He would no longer have to endure his father's whippings and sarcasm.

He read almost everything--newspapers, history, poetry, prose, philosophy, Shakespeare and grammar. He was interested in the early history of his nation. He wondered at the luck of having so many lawyers, just when they were needed, to craft a new republic. He studied English and American law and history. He just about memorized all of Shakespeare. He walked 6 miles to borrow a text on grammar. Lovers of books will frequently find themselves enjoying the study of grammar. They may intuitively know they are going to write one day or they just might be curious about the building blocks of sentences and paragraphs.

During warm weather he could be seen studying, barefoot, under a large white oak tree. There, he'd read the law books which were so fascinating to him.

Caleb Carman said, "He read lying down and walking down the streets. He was always reading if he had time. Some time was spent surveying. Some tending the post office."

William Greene said, "He was fond of...reading especially in warm weather--laying down and putting his feet against a wall, or if in the woods, up a tree."

Robert Rutledge, Ann Rutledge's brother, said:

_I never intruded when he was reading in the woods. I simply know that he read in the woods. He told me so. I also saw him walking on the street and reading. Very absorbed in his book. He would stop for a few moments and then walk on. He would go from one house to another or from one group of people to another with his book under his arm seeking amusement. When the people became irksome he would open his book and commune with it for a time. Then he would put it back under his arm and entertain a group of people. He was not what is usually termed a quick minded man although he usually would arrive at his conclusions very readily. He seemed to reflect and deliberate. He never acted from impulse --never arrived at a wrong conclusion._

If he was indoors he preferred to lie on the floor and read. "He would turn a chair down on the floor and put a pillow on it and lie there for hours and read," Harriet Chapman, Dennis Hanks daughter, said.

Rowan Herndon, whose cousin, William, would become Lincoln's law partner, said:

_He read all the history that he could get a hold of....He also studied English Grammar and read some law such as Blackstone. He spent most nights reading history and daytime reading newspapers. He was a great admirer of Henry Clay. He stayed up late and rose early...He scarcely ever went to bed before 12 and was up by day light....He frequently read the Bible...[he didn't have an enormous appetite] but was fond of fruit and nuts and always took his share of these when they were brought to him by his friends._

_He often walked to the country to refresh himself. He generally took a book with him. I think his object was to study and be by himself. If his clothes were clean he was satisfied but he was rather slouchy about his dress. He only dressed in common cloths...He was very fond of children and always willing to help widows and orphans. He was attentive to the sick, in fact, he was a friend to all and all a friend to him._

N. W. Branson, a Petersburg, Illinois lawyer, said Lincoln read the _St. Louis Republican,_ the _Sangamo Journal,_ history and poetry. He read to the customers in Offut's store. Branson said, "He usually assumed a lounging position when reading."

His biographer Lord Charnwood said he would read laying on the counter with his head on a bundle of calico.

He would find funny or interesting stories in the newspapers and read them to his customers.

His close friend, Joshua F. Speed said, "He read everything...and retained what he read as well as the ordinary man retains his one area of study."

## Intelligence

Lincoln was not a genius. He did not absorb information easily. He probably had a high-average IQ, around 120 to 130. This meant that learning was hard work for him. He had to read a page, recite what was on the page, write portions of it or, sometimes, write out the entire page. The writing made the information stick. He also read and re-read books. It helps to read many different books on the same subject to get different points of view. If a person only has one book on a subject they should read the same book a couple times. He always had a book near him when he was working. When he'd get a 5 minute break he'd open the book. He would study it, close it, and recite what he had just read.

Later he advised law students to, since there were no law schools in Illinois, "Get the books and read and study them until you understand them...Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing." He wrote another student, "Get the books and read and study them carefully. Begin with Blackstone's Commentaries and after reading it through, say twice, take up Chitty's PLEADINGS, Greenleaf's EVIDENCE and Story's EQUITY, etc., in succession. Work, work, work, is the main thing."

He said to Joshua Speed, "I am slow to learn and slow to forget what I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel--very hard to scratch anything on it and almost impossible after you get there to rub it out."

Lincoln borrowed what few law books Bowling Green had. Bowling Green was a justice of the peace. He was a large man with pale skin that grew pink when he blushed or was overheated. He was an easy going man. He was like a father to Lincoln. When he died Lincoln tried to give a eulogy at the funeral but broke down in tears and couldn't speak.

## Law and Surveying

By 1833 he was totally engrossed in studying the law and surveying.

He would attend the trials being held in the area. He borrowed law books from John Stuart, one of the people who urged him to study the law.

Two cousins of Lincoln's future law partner, William Herndon, started a store. They soon grew tired of it and sold their shares to Lincoln and William Berry on credit. Berry drank most of the liquor in the store and Lincoln did nothing but read, study and entertain people with his stories. Berry died of drink and Lincoln was stuck with his debts along with his own. It took him years to pay off his debt.

Lincoln never wanted to become a wealthy man which is why, in the White House, he would throw his paychecks into a drawer and forget about them and why he was never good at accounting. Wealth was, he said, "a superfluity of the things one does not want."

After his and Berry's store _winked out_ he did odd jobs for farmers and became an assistant surveyor. He also became postmaster.

School teacher Mentor Graham helped him with grammar and surveying. He helped Lincoln get a horse, a compass and a chain. Lincoln was now able to go to work surveying. This would enable him to meet people all over the county, not just in New Salem. They would get to know and like him. This would get him elected to the Illinois legislature which friends, seeing his potential, urged him to try for.

"While surveying he wore jeans pantaloons partly covered with buckskin. The buckskin helped keep him warm and protected against rain," said Robert Rutledge.

## Postmaster

During 1831 Lincoln was the deputy postmaster of New Salem. Letters were not put in envelopes. Rather they were folded and sealed with wax. The postage depended how far the letter had yet to travel. Lincoln marked the postage in the right hand corner. The person receiving the letter paid the postage. The job was not full time so he helped in Abner Ellis' store. (Offut's store had closed after Lincoln had been in New Salem for a year.) When Lincoln delivered letters a long distance he would put them in his hat.

As postmaster he could read all the newspapers, both Whig and Democrat, that came to the post office. He followed politics and wanted to learn all viewpoints.

• • •

After studying some law he began to write deeds, wills and letters when asked by his neighbors.

In 1834 Isaac Green Burner wanted a deed written. His son Daniel "knew how handy Lincoln was that way and suggested that they get him." "Alright," said Lincoln. "If you will bring me a pen and ink and a piece of paper I will write it here." Daniel brought him the pen, paper and ink and Lincoln picked up a shingle "and putting it on his knee for a desk, he wrote out the deed." He also drafted a will for his good friend Joshua Short.

He continued to help Abner Ellis in the store on busy days. Ellis remarked that Lincoln didn't like waiting on young women. "Three stylish girls from Virginia stopped there for 2 or 3 weeks. I don't think he ever ate at the table when they did. I thought this might be because of his awkward appearance and worn clothing," he said.

## Speech Making

He felt he needed to improve his speech making skills. First he joined the debating society and asked to speak to gain practice. His gestures were usually awkward and he had trouble finding the right words at first. He discovered he needed to be fully prepared to give a speech. He would always have to plan what he wanted to say. He could not _wing it._ His later speeches would need little or no corrections but he would have to figure them out in his head and write parts of them on little scraps of paper first. John Weber, copyist of land records in Illinois, heard Lincoln speak one day and said he felt that "Lincoln was the best speaker that day." He felt that "Lincoln was a young man of superior intellect. He was polite and courteous."

Lincoln's first attempt at public speaking went better than expected. Robert B. Rutledge said:

_As he rose to speak his tall form towered above the little assembly. Both hands were thrust deep down in the pockets of his pantaloons....he opened up the discussion in splendid style to the infinite astonishment of his friends. As he warmed to his subject his hands would forsake his pockets and would enforce his ideas by awkward gestures but very soon seek their easy resting place. He pursued the question with reason and argument so pithy and forcible that all were amazed. [People present said] that he was already a fine speaker--that all he lacked was culture to enable him to reach the high destiny which they knew was in store for him._

## Abstinence

Lincoln was often described as "virtuous." One reason is because he never gambled, smoked, chewed tobacco, lied or drank. He may have been one of those people who become woozy after only 1 or 2 drinks. At any rate, he probably didn't like the feeling alcohol gave him. It is to his credit that he never felt superior to the people who _did_ drink and he was compassionate towards alcoholics. "I never saw him drink a drop of liquor," Hannah Armstrong, whose husband, Jack, became a close friend of Lincoln's, said.

People who don't enjoy drinking are often susceptible to sweets. They often soothe themselves by eating candy and cake. Nathaniel W. Branson, a lawyer from Petersburg, said, "Mr. L. was very fond of honey. Whenever he went to S's house he invariably asked his wife for some bread and honey. And he liked a great deal of bee bead in it. He never touched liquor of any kind." Abner Ellis said, "I have often wondered how he could be so extremely popular but not drink and carouse with the boys. He did not even smoke or chew tobacco. He used to run footraces with the boys, jump and play ball. He was great at telling stories and I think that was one reason he was so popular." Hardin Bale said "During the day he told stories and cracked jokes. For fun he ran and jumped. He never played cards for money and he never drank."

Lincoln often told this (true) story. In 1849 when he was on his way to Washington, D.C. he sat next to a "grizzled Kentuckian." The Kentuckian offered him a drink, a smoke and a chew all of which Lincoln turned down. The Kentuckian then said, "See here stranger, you're a clever but strange companion. I may never see you again, and I don't want to offend you, but I want to say this: my experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has damned few virtues."

## Everybody Liked Him

Young single men back then usually boarded at different people's houses. People took turns taking them in. J. Rowan Herndon, cousin of William Herndon, said, "He was the favorite of all at home--men, women and children. He was very fond of children. He boarded at my house soon after his return [from the Black Hawk War]. During his stay at my house he almost always was with one of my children."

Hannah Armstrong said Lincoln would come to her house and drink milk and mush cornbread with butter. He always brought candy for the children and would rock the baby's cradle. Russell Godbey, a farmer, sold Lincoln two buckskins and Hannah sewed them on the front of his pants to protect him from briars and keep him warm. (This was called foxing his pants.) He went to parties with the family and entertained everyone with his stories and jokes. "He would do anything for anyone even take care of the babies," she said.

Nathaniel Branson said, "He was very agreeable in company and everybody liked him...knew every man, woman and child for miles around. He was very fond of children. He was fond of cats. He would take one and turn it on its back and talk to it for a half hour at a time....He was fond of wrestling at which he excelled."

## Love of Cats and Other Animals

Cats were his favorite pets. His future wife would say, "Cats are his hobby." And no wonder. With their huge eyes and ears and little noses and mouths they have a sweet doll like expression. They also have a beautiful coat. If you only have one cat he will follow you around like a dog, waking you up in the morning by gently pawing your face and waiting patiently at a window for you to return home at night. Cats are graceful, muscular and, pound for pound, much stronger than a human being.

Caleb Carman took Lincoln in as a boarder. They had 2 kittens. Lincoln would put them on his lap and play with them. Then he would compare their faces and say that Jane had a better countenance than Susan. "The winter he went to Vandalia to the legislature he left very strict orders for the cats to be well taken care of," Carman said.

This incident happened after Lincoln became a lawyer:

_After we had gone to bed, late at night a cat began mewing and scratching and generally making a fuss. Lincoln got up and said, "Kitty, kitty, pussy, pussy." The cat, sensing that Lincoln's voice and manner were kind went to him. Lincoln petted it, picked it up and carried it to the door, gently put it down and closed the door. After this he told stories and we talked over old times._

He loved all animals. Mary Owens Vineyard who refused to marry Lincoln because he was insensitive to a woman's needs said:

_In many ways he was sensitive almost to a fault. He told me of an incident --that he was crossing a prairie one day and saw before him a hog mired down to use his own language--he was rather fixed up and he resolved that he would pass on without looking towards the hog. After he had gone by, he said, the feeling was irresistible and he had to look back. The poor thing seemed to say so wistfully, "There now! My last hope is gone," that he got down and relieved it from its difficulty."_

## Strength

Lincoln and the other young men liked to run, jump, hop, swim and shoot, according to William Greene.

Robert Rutledge said of Lincoln's strength, "Lifting...heavy timbers piled one upon another was a favorite pastime, and no workman in the neighborhood could at all compete with Mr. Lincoln in this direction. I have seen him frequently take a barrel of whiskey by the chimes and lift it up to his face as if to drink out of the bung hole. This feat he could accomplish with the greatest ease. I never saw him taste or drink a drop of any kind of spiritous liquors."  John Hay's and John Nickolay's biography of Lincoln said that he once lifted a box of stones weighing over half a ton.

Once when giving a speech Lincoln saw someone attacking his friend J. Rowan Herndon. He jumped off the stand, seized the man by the neck of his shirt and the seat of his pants and "threw him some ten feet." He then calmly ascended the stand and continued the speech.

## Wrestling

Lincoln was famous for being a great wrestler. Daniel Needham heard about his wrestling fame and challenged Lincoln to a match. Lincoln accepted the challenge and threw Needham twice. Needham said, "Lincoln, you have thrown me twice, but you can't whip me." Lincoln replied, "Needham, are you satisfied that I can throw you? If you are not and must be convinced through a thrashing I will do that too for your sake." He told this story as president elect.

Jack Armstrong was the area's champion wrestler. Offut, knowing Lincoln was strong and athletic, set up a wrestling match between the 2 men. Lincoln being 10 inches taller than Armstrong had more leverage. They pushed and pulled at each other until Armstrong, giving up, let Lincoln go. Lincoln could have been declared the winner at this point but instead, according to Henry McHenry, said, "Jack, let's quit. I can't throw you and you can't throw me." They quit and became good friends.

## The Black Hawk War 1832

After Lincoln had been in New Salem for a year he was encouraged to run for the Illinois State legislature, which he did. But before he could campaign the Black Hawk War broke out. Everyone between the ages of 18 and 45 had to enlist or they would be punished for desertion.

In 1831 The Indians had moved west of the Mississippi and had agreed to stay there. In April of 1832, 65 year old Chief Black Hawk recrossed the Mississippi with 500 men intent on taking back his land in northern Illinois. White settlers all along the Illinois frontier were terrified. An overt act by one of the white militiamen started the hostilities and the governor of Illinois called for volunteers to stop the _invasion._

Lincoln went to war in 1832 and, as he wrote in his 1860 campaign biography, "without his knowledge" was elected captain. Henry McHenry said, "All the men loved him well--almost worshipped him." Jack Armstrong became first sergeant. Rowan Herndon said, "He became very popular while in the army. He could throw down any man who took hold of him. He could out jump the best of them. He could beat all of them in telling anecdotes. He was the favorite of all of them.... They loved him and he loved them."

"He never complained," said one of his men. "Nor did he fear danger. When fighting was expected...Lincoln was the first to say, 'Let's go'...Men strictly obeyed his orders at a word,"

An old, harmless Indian, named Jack, came into the soldiers' camp. Some of the men wanted to kill him. One said, "We have come out to fight the Indians and by God we intend to do so." Lincoln, who couldn't kill an ant, got between his men and the Indian saving his life.

On May 15, 1832 Lincoln and his men came upon 11 dead soldiers, scalped and mutilated.

Lincoln remembered this time in his life as a time of "much satisfaction." He received $125 without having seen much in the way of warfare. He walked all the way back to New Salem.

# 3. The Illinois Legislature

_Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one, that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem_. _How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition, is yet to be developed._

--Abraham Lincoln

Bowling Green, the justice of the peace, and James Rutledge, founder of the debating society, encouraged Lincoln to run for the state legislature. He announced his candidacy on March 15, 1832. After his stint in the army he campaigned for that spot.

Lincoln gave a short speech:

_Fellow Citizens, I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman 's dance. I am in favor of a national bank. I am in favor of the internal improvement system and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall be thankful; if not, it will be all the same._

Doc Barrett laughed at Lincoln's appearance and said, "Can't the party raise no better materials than that?" Rowan Herndon replied, "Before you pronounce judgement, go and listen to him." When he came back Herndon said, "Doc, what do you say now?" He said, "Why sir, he is perfect in that he knows more than all of them put together."

He gave another speech which defended his homeliness. "During the summer campaign for the legislature," he said, "I have been told that some of my opponents have said that it was a disgrace to the county of Sangamon to have such an ugly looking man as I am running for the legislature. Now, I thought this was a free country, and that is why I address you today. Had I thought the contrary, I should not have consented to run."

He lost the election. He had gotten most of his votes from the town of New Salem. No one in the rest of the county knew him. By spring of 1834 he had made many friends while surveying the entire county. "Everyone knew him," a Whig politician said, "and he knew everyone."

He was elected to the legislature August 4, 1834. The people in Sangamon county knew he was an honest, logical and clear thinking man. He would be a member of the Illinois Ninth General Assembly.

One of the first men he had met upon coming to New Salem was a farmer named Coleman Smoot. Lincoln upon meeting him said, "I thought you would be an old Propst of a fellow." Smoot said he was equally disappointed. He said, "I thought you would be a good looking man." (The description _Propst of a fellow_ was given to people who were like Nick Propst. Propst was a man of "very singular looks, shape and actions.")

Before he left New Salem for Vandalia, the state capital of Illinois, he asked Smoot if he had voted for him. "I did," Smoot replied. "Then," Lincoln said, "you must loan me money to buy suitable clothing for I want to make a decent appearance." Smoot lent him $200 which Lincoln paid back. He immediately bought a $60 tailor-made suit.

On November 28, 1834 Lincoln took a stagecoach 95 miles to Vandalia, a 34 hour trip that detoured to many villages in between. When he left the stagecoach in the capital city he followed John Todd Stuart to an inn where they shared a room and a bed. (In those days it was common for men to share a bed.)

Vandalia was a muddy village of log cabins and only 800 souls. The state house was constructed of brick, but was deteriorating. There were giant mosquitoes and flies during the rainy season. Sidewalks were made of plank.

The first session began on December 1, 1834. There were 55 representatives. Lincoln was the youngest. One quarter of the men were lawyers. Most of the rest of them were farmers. The room was lit by candles. There was one pail of water for drinking and sandboxes to use as spittoons.

Lincoln was described as having a high tenor voice and a Kentucky accent.

## John T. Stuart

John Todd Stuart encouraged Lincoln to study law. Lincoln thought he would need more education to practice law but Stuart offered to teach him what he needed to know. Also, he would have Stuart's law library to study from.

Stuart, 2 years older than he, was a graduate from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He was handsome and charming. He had established a law practice in Springfield in 1828 and was elected to the legislature in 1832 at age 25. Illinois had no law schools so the only way to learn law was to work with an experienced lawyer studying and clerking.

Stuart's partner was Henry Dummer. Their office was in Springfield which was 20 miles from New Salem. Henry Dummer said that at first he thought Lincoln "was the most uncouth looking young man I ever saw." Gradually he came to like him. Lincoln looked sad and was quiet but Dummer soon discovered he had a quick mind. "He surprised us more and more at every visit," he said. Lincoln bought a copy of Blackstone's _Commentaries on the Laws of England_ at an auction. He enjoyed reading it. It was orderly and comprehensive.

William Dean Howell in an 1860 campaign biography wrote, "He threw himself under a wide-spreading oak....Here he would pore over Blackstone day after day shifting his position as the sun rose and sank, so as to keep in the shade, and utterly unconscious of everything but the principles of common law."

One man asked him what he was reading. "I'm not reading," said Lincoln. "I am studying law." "Law!" the man exclaimed. "Good God Almighty."

## 1st Term

Lincoln was mostly an observer during his first term in the legislature.

Before beginning his first term he knew little of the issues of the day: slavery, abolitionism, state banks, temperance, public lands, building railroads and canals, and the economy. But he made many powerful friends who would help him in the future and got a good education in politics. He was very observant, made friends with everyone and acquired refinement and polish. But he remained in the background.

Abner Ellis said, "I always thought that Mr. Lincoln improved rapidly in mind and manners after his return from Vandalia from his first session in the legislature." At heart Lincoln was a comedian. Stand up comedians have to dress at least as well as their audience so as not to detract from their routine. Lincoln had now learned to dress well. Politicians, too, have to look as good or better than the voters. By the time he was 25 he was 6'4" in his stocking feet and a little stooped. His face was described as "long and angular." His legs were long, his feet very large--size 14. "When his arms hung down the tips of his fingers touched his legs 3 inches lower than most human beings." His eyes were bluish brown. Lincoln had reined in his tendency to flap his arms about. He held them behind him, or, if not behind him in front of himself, hands clasped together. From that time on he would stand with his feet close together and they would stay that way during a 1 or 2 hour speech. He would speak so clearly, so logically, so concisely, so poetically that his audience would become deaf to his annoying high tenor voice and blind to his odd appearance.

He became a candidate for a 2nd term on March 19, 1836. He would actively participate in this session.

He also put his name on the record of Sangamon Circuit Court as a person of good moral character. This was the first step in becoming a lawyer. He campaigned on horseback and made speeches from morning to late afternoon. During debates he was skillful and tactful. He "presented his arguments," according to his biographer Ronald C. White, Jr. "with force and ability." He was elected to a 2nd term in the assembly August 1, 1836.

## 2nd Term  
The Long Nine

All of the 9 newly elected assemblymen from Sangamon County were over 6 feet tall. They were called the _Long Nine._ They were named after a long-barreled cannon that fired 9 pound balls which gave them greater range.

During his 2nd term Lincoln was elected floor leader. This session of the legislature, the 10th session, contained 6 future senators, 8 future congressmen and 1 future president.

This was the most important term that Lincoln would serve. He would try to improve his county by getting railroads, roads and canals built. He would also take a stand on slavery by rewording a resolution about slavery in the District of Columbia. He also found himself anxious to leave New Salem and move to Springfield to practice law. And he would be instrumental in moving the capital of Illinois from Vandalia to Springfield.

Lincoln sat next to Archibald Williams, one of the the _Long Nine._ They became close friends. They were both so tall and angular, their appearance so striking, that a stranger once asked, "Who in the hell are those two ugly men?"

In this session Lincoln was more vocal. He asked for improvements: a system of canals, railroads and roads which he hoped would trigger new development. The House Internal Improvements Committee proposed $10 million for internal improvements. The largest amount of money proposed was for a railroad that would extend from Cairo in the south to Galena in the north. With Lincoln's help the House passed the bill. The Senate passed it a few weeks later. Property values rose as a result of this bill and people celebrated. Many people bought land, expecting it to rise in value later.

## Panic of 1837

Millions of acres of land were sold by the government to speculators who hoped the canals and railroads would bring in settlers. In the early 1830s the U.S. government was able to pay off the national debt and the treasury had a surplus. People began to hoard gold and silver and used paper money to pay for land. President Andrew Jackson closed the Second Bank of the United States and moved funds to state banks. Worried about inflation, he issued the Specie Circular which said that land offices could no longer accept paper money for land sales. Land sales dropped and speculators defaulted on their loans because not enough gold or silver was available.

Cotton prices collapsed first. Cotton mills shut down in New England. Southern planters who had speculated in land, cotton, and slaves had taken out loans assuming that prices would rise. When prices dropped they could not pay back their loans.

Banks restricted credit and called in loans. People rushed to their banks to withdraw money. Banks would no longer redeem paper money at full face value. Failure of railroad and canal projects followed.

Banks failed, businesses went under, unemployment was as high as 25% in some areas. Mobs raided New York warehouses to get food. Stores refused to accept money because it was not backed by either gold or silver. Whole towns disappeared. Martin Van Buren inherited Andrew Jackson's financial policies in 1836 and was blamed for the Panic. He was not reelected for a 2nd term.

## The New Capital

Lincoln, the floor leader, and the rest of the _Long Nine_ pushed for Springfield to be the new capital of Illinois. Vandalia's new capital building was already too small. Vandalia was in the south and population growth was the largest in the central and northern parts of the state. There was a lot of in-fighting about where the capital should be. One member suggested _Purgatory_ even though there was no such town in Illinois. It was a contentious battle. Finally, after 4 votes, Springfield was selected. The assemblymen celebrated at a local tavern with 81 bottles of champagne, cigars, oysters, almonds and raisons.

## Slavery Resolution

Years later Lincoln talked about a resolution he suggested in the legislature when he said:

_Away back in 1839, when I was a member of the legislature of Illinois, I presented a resolution asking for the emancipation of slaves in the District of Columbia, when, with but few exceptions, the popular mind of my State was opposed to it._

On January 12, 1837, a resolution was passed stating that the government had no power to abolish slavery. The southerners had the right to keep their property. The resolution referred to the "sacred right" of people in slaveholding states to own slaves. It also stated that the federal government could not abolish slavery in the District of Columbia without the consent of its citizens. The resolution passed 77 to 6 with Lincoln being one of the 6 who voted no. Lincoln didn't like the phrase "the federal government could not abolish slavery" and said it should read "We believe that the Congress of the United States has the power under the constitution to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia; but that the power ought not to be exercised unless at the request of the people of said District." This was a tentative step in abolishing slavery. This would have allowed Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, had it passed.

The 10th legislative session ended March 6, 1837 and Lincoln returned to New Salem, a dying town whose river was now unnavigable. New Salem no longer had a post office. Lincoln was now a good politician and lawyer. He was fashionably dressed. He was adept at speaking in public. He was now ready to move to Springfield.

## Philosophy of Life

At this point in his life Lincoln believed in God but did not know what to make of heaven, hell and Jesus Christ. Like his mother, he believed that everyone had a destiny to fulfill. He also believed in the Doctrine of Necessity, "that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control."

What was his purpose? Was God the one who pushed him to read and study? What was the purpose of life when everyone was destined to die?

In 1835, during his first term in the legislature, Lincoln had been struck by a tragedy so awful that he went into a profound depression. It was the death of his fiance, Ann Rutledge.

Robert Wilson, one of the _Long Nine_ , said that all during Lincoln's time in the legislature, even though he seemed to enjoy life:

_He was the victim of terrible melancholy....When he was by himself he was so overcome with mental depression that he never dared carry a knife in his pocket for fear he would use it on himself. As long as I was intimately acquainted with him previous to his commencement of the practice of law, he never carried a pocket knife._

# 4. Ann Rutledge

_At the time of his deep depression he said to me that he had done nothing to make any human being remember that he had lived._

--Joshua F. Speed

Isaac Cogdal, a stone mason who Lincoln had encouraged to become a lawyer, asked President Lincoln, "Is it true that you fell in love with and courted Ann Rutledge?"

Lincoln replied, "It is true. True indeed. I did. I have loved the name of Rutledge to this day. I have kept my mind on their movements ever since and love them dearly."

Cogdal asked, "Is it true that you ran a little wild about the matter?"

"I did really. I ran off the track. It was my first love. I loved the woman dearly and sacredly. She was a handsome girl. She would have made a good loving wife. She was natural and quite intelligent though not highly educated. I did honestly and truly love the girl. I think of her often."

Anne Rutledge was born in Kentucky on January 7, 1813. Her first fiance, John McNamar, who called himself John McNeil because of the debt his father owed, said Ann was "winsome and comely with golden hair, cherry red lips and a bonny blue eye." School teacher Mentor Graham said, "She dressed plainly, but exceedingly neat. She was poor and could not afford rich clothing." He added, "She had large blue eyes, a fair complexion, sandy or light auburn hair. She was 5'4" tall, her face was roundish, her mouth beautiful and she weighed 120 pounds. Everybody loved her." According to John Hill, son of Sam Hill the leading New Salem merchant, she was "an angelic, lovely lady." Lincoln could think of nothing else but her.

According to Ann's brother Robert, William Berry courted her first and was rejected. Sam Hill courted her next and was also rejected. Then she became engaged to John McNamer who called himself McNeil. He had to leave to take care of his father's affairs in New York. He was gone 2 or 3 years. Ann then became engaged to Lincoln.

Once he got to New York, McNamar found his father either dead or ill, and that's why he couldn't come back for 2 or 3 years.

In the meantime, Lincoln had become engaged to Ann. According to her brother she didn't want to marry Lincoln until McNamar had released her from their engagement.

The summer of 1835 was hot and rainy. Ann got what people called _brain fever,_ probably typhoid caused by the flooding of the Rutledge's well. She died on August 25, 1835. At the time of her death Lincoln was boarding with Elizabeth Bennett who said, "I never have seen a man mourn for a companion more than he did for her." He was, she added, "plunged in despair."

Most people believed at the time that Lincoln would have married Ann had she lived. John Jones, brother of Hannah Armstrong, said, "He had every reason to believe" that Lincoln's relationship with Ann Rutledge "was of the tenderest character." When Ann became ill, Lincoln would visit her and then stop by Jones' house. "It was very very evident that he was much distressed," Jones said. He was not surprised to hear that Lincoln's "reason was in danger" after her death. "Everyone believed they were engaged." Benjamin Irwin, who helped William Herndon locate the _Lincoln Informants_ as the eyewitnesses to Lincoln's life were called, said Lincoln took Ann's death so hard that "some of his friends really thought he would go crazy." Thompson Ware McNeely, who questioned older Menard County residents, said of Lincoln's mental health, "He was so near [total insanity] that everybody who saw and knew him at once set him down as insane."

William Greene and other friends knew that gloomy, cloudy weather could make depression worse so they watched him more carefully "during storms, fogs and damp gloomy weather for fear of an accident." Lincoln handled the loss of Ann Rutledge fairly well until it rained some days later. John Hill said that some days after she died "a heavy rain fell which unnerved him." "I can never be reconciled to having rain and snow beat on her grave," he said.

Henry McHenry said Lincoln changed at this time. He sought solitude and seemed to be lost in thought. He was indifferent to everything going on around him. "He would take his gun and wander off in the woods....This gloom seemed to deepen for some time." His friends worried about him. He told one friend he felt like committing suicide. Bowling Green went to New Salem to get Lincoln and bring him to his house. Lincoln stayed there a few weeks and was comforted by his friend.

## Depression

Depression is an awful thing. It is nothing like the grieving process. Nor is it the sad way one feels when one's feelings are hurt or after some disappointment. A depression can last months or years. The victim of depression is frightened all the time. They either cannot sleep or wake up suddenly at an obscenely early hour. If they work, they either haven't the energy to walk to their desk in the morning or, if they find the energy, they have to think hard about how to put one foot in front of the other. They want to die but do not have the energy to plan a suicide. Lincoln had the most dangerous type of depression which is called _actively suicidal._

Lincoln's friends had to watch him, comfort him and take his knives away so he wouldn't hurt himself. In the 19th century people understood the condition. In The 20th century so-called friends would say, "But you _look_ good." Or "Jane has _cancer._ How come _you 're_ so sad? _You_ don't have any problems." Co-workers often would ridicule a depressed person for working too slowly. In the 20th century the person was usually fired when they should have been put on disability. Hopefully this attitude has changed.

Hugh Gregory Gallagher, a Pulizer Prize nominee and disability activist wrote, "I can only say from personal experience that the pain of acute paralytic polio in no degree equaled the agony and despair, the abject helplessness of depression."

Gallagher described his illness this way:

_My depression began that spring. I did not know what it was. I had never experienced such a thing, and I did not record its advance. I was terribly tired, and sleep did not refresh. In fact, I could not sleep --whole nights would pass without sleep. Once or twice, I went nights at a time with no sleep. I was frightened all the day, terrified at night, fearful of being alone, unable to answer the phone, incapable of not answering it. My muscles ached with tension, my hands shook; my neck was so stiff I could look neither left nor right. I could not read for the words danced in front of my eyes; could not write for my right hand, even when guided by the left, would only function erratically. Food had no taste, painting no color, music no charm. I did not seem able to tell anyone what was wrong, nor was there anyone who seemed able to offer me solace. _

Lincoln told Mentor Graham that he often felt like committing suicide but he wouldn't because he felt God had a higher purpose for him. Mentor Graham felt that Lincoln's talks with his friends had done him good.

## Mary Owens

Within a year Lincoln had recovered from his depression. One helpful thing he had done was to take on strenuous work so that "his mind and body might recuperate."

Lincoln was introduced to Mary Owens by her sister Elizabeth Abell. She was tall with dark curly hair. Her cousin, Esther Bale, described her as noble looking but heavier than most women at the time. She came from a wealthy family in Kentucky. She soon went back to Kentucky but after 3 years had passed her sister told Lincoln that if he agreed to marry Mary, she would send for her. He said he "saw no objection to plodding life through hand in hand with her." It is not known if this was said in jest or not. He was dismayed at how much Mary had aged in only 3 years. She had lost several teeth and was fatter. She was a year older than he was. His sweetheart, Ann, had been 4 years younger than he and had died a slender, beautiful 22 year old blond. Lincoln had been in love with Ann Rutledge. He had never been in love with Mary. Now he was disappointed in her looks.

Mary was "sharp, shrewd and intellectual." Ann Rutledge was not as smart but had been "pretty, kind and good." Lincoln would never forget her.

He went with Mary Owens for several months. After she went back to Kentucky he wrote a letter giving her the option of rejecting his marriage proposal.

He wrote that he was "afraid you would not be satisfied living in Springfield." There were too many rich couples riding in fine carriages. She would be married to a poor man. Since he had given her the impression that he would marry her, he would have to live up to that commitment. "I want in all cases to do right, and most particularly with women." He said he was unsure about how she felt about him. He left the decision whether or not to marry up to her. If she did not answer his letter "farewell--a long life and a merry one attend you."

She never wrote back.

How could this woman who was so unattractive and so old looking turn his marriage proposal down? 8 months later it was still bothering him. He was "mortified" by her rejection. She "had actually rejected me with all my fancied greatness," he wrote. Years later Mary Owens would say Lincoln was "deficient in those little links which made up the chain of a woman's happiness, at least it was so in my case."

About a year after they parted, Elizabeth Able told him she was going to visit her sister in Kentucky. He said to her, "Tell your sister that I think she was a great fool because she did not stay here and marry me." "Characteristic of the man," Mary Owens remarked upon hearing this.

# 5. Springfield

_If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we must live through all time or die by suicide._

--Abraham Lincoln

The town of New Salem, which had never contained much more than 100 people, was dying. Most of the inhabitants had moved to Petersburg. Lincoln moved to Springfield in the spring of 1837. He came on horseback, his legs so long that they almost touched the ground. It was spring, flowers were in bloom and Lincoln was probably in a good mood. All of his possessions fit into 2 saddlebags. He entered Abner Ellis' general store and spoke to the clerk, Joshua F. Speed, who would become his greatest friend. He asked about the cost of bedding. $17 Speed said. "It is probably cheap enough; but I want to say that cheap as it is I have not the money to pay," said Lincoln. "But if you will credit me until Christmas, and my experiment here as a lawyer is a success, I will pay you then." Speed was struck by Lincoln's sad expression. "I never saw so gloomy and melancholy a face in my life," he said later. After a moment, he said, "I have a very large room with a very large double bed which you are perfectly welcome to share with me if you choose." "Where is your room?" said Lincoln. "Up stairs," said Speed. Lincoln picked up his bags and went upstairs. In a few minutes he came back and said, "Well Speed, I'm moved."

In the spring of 1837 Springfield was not 20 years old. It had no more than 1200 to 1300 inhabitants. Its dirt streets became muddy in the winter and dusty in the summer. It stunk of stables and privies. The streets oozed mud during rainstorms. Hogs roamed the streets. It had schools, a lecture circuit and a debating society. There were dry goods stores, grocery stores, shoe stores, hotels, tailors, hatters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, a carpenter and a barber. There were doctors and lawyers who served many counties.

It mostly consisted of small frame houses but also had expensive 2 story brick homes. Many of the prominent residents were from old Virginia and Kentucky families and snobbish about their heritage. They wore fine, expensive clothing. In 1821 Springfield had become the county seat.

## Humorist

In Springfield, Lincoln's reputation as a humorist grew.

Joseph Gillespie, Lincoln's friend, said that, "It was as a humorist that Lincoln towered above all other men that it was ever my lot to meet....I never knew a man who would pretend to vie with him in entertaining a crowd." When he told a story "there was no acting in his manner for he was not in the least histrionic. How he could gather up such a boundless supply of stories and have them ready at command was a wonder of all his acquaintances."

Abner Ellis said, "Mr. Lincoln took great delight in amusing others. The way he laughed was really funny. His awkward gestures attracted universal attention from the sedate old man down to the school boy. But after a few minutes he could become as calm and thoughtful as a judge on the bench and ready to give advice on the most serious and important matters. Fun and gravity both grew on him alike."

Ellis also said, "The more I got to know Lincoln, the funnier he seemed to be. I think he tried harder to be funny after he got to Springfield. When he went to Congress in 1848, he came home with a great many new stories, some very dirty. He gave credit to William T. Haskell a representative from Tennessee for these dirty stories. He was not very jovial until he had been in Springfield a few years."

William Herndon collected some of Lincoln's stories after his death. His cousin Rowan repeated some stories to him and said, "There are many other stories that I could mention. But they are on the vulgar order." Lincoln had recently died when Herndon was collecting biographical information about him and few people wanted to repeat the "vulgar" stories he had told. After all, he was seen as the _Martyr for Freedom_ and a _saint._

In 1859 a farmer "suggested to him that he write down his stories and put them in a book. Lincoln drew himself up and fixed his face as if a thousand dead carcasses and millions of privies were shooting all their stench into his nostrils and said, 'Such a book would stink like a thousand privies."'

At least one such story survives. Nathaniel Branson repeated it:

_Once, when Mr. Lincoln was surveying, he was put to bed in the same room with two girls, the head of the bed being next to the foot of the girls bed. In the night he commenced tickling the feet of one of the girls with his fingers. As she seemed to enjoy it as much as he did, he then tickled a little higher up; as he would tickle higher the girl would shove down lower and the higher he tickled the lower she moved. Mr. Lincoln would tell the story with evident enjoyment. He never told how the thing ended._

One story Lincoln would have considered disgusting is this one:

_When I was a little boy, I lived in the state of Kentucky where drunkeness was very common on election day. One election day the weather was inclement and the roads exceedingly muddy. A man named Bill got brutally drunk and staggered down a narrow alley where he lay himself down in the mud, and remained there until the dusk of the evening, at which time he recovered from his stupor. Finding himself very muddy he immediately started for a water pump to wash himself. On his way to the pump another drunken man was leaning over a horse post. This Bill mistook for the pump. He took hold of the arm of the man for the handle. This caused the man to throw up. Bill put both hands under the vomit and gave himself a thorough washing. He then walked to the grocery store for something to drink. On entering the store one of his friends said, "Why Bill, what is the matter?" Bill said in reply, "By God, you should have seen me before I was washed."_

This one is not at all disgusting and is pretty well known:

_Shortly after the Revolutionary War ended Ethan Allen visited England. While there the British took great pleasure in teasing him. One day they hung a picture of George Washington in the outhouse where Ethan Allen would see it. He didn 't say anything about it so finally they asked if he had seen it. He said yes and he thought it was a very appropriate place to hang that picture. When they asked why he said, "There is nothing that will make an Englishman shit so fast as the sight of General Washington." After that, they left Mr. Allen alone._

This is one of his _Indiana stories_ of which he told many:

_The Baptist meeting house was way off in the woods. It was only used once a month. The old Baptist preacher was dressed in coarse linen material. The pants had old fashioned big baggy legs and there was only one button to the waist bone and 2 flap buttons. There were no suspenders. There was only 1 button on the collar. The preacher started to say, "I am the Christ whom I shall represent today." At about this time a blue lizard ran up his legs. The old man slapped at his legs but didn't get the lizard who kept going higher. He unbuttoned his pants and kicked them off but the thing went up his back. He grabbed the collar button of his shirt and off it went. An old lady looked at him and said, "Well if you represent Christ I am done reading the Bible."_

He would tell this story whenever his Democratic opponent acted too uppity.

Lincoln liked to capitalize on his homely appearance. He told the story of a man who accosted him on a train. The man said, "Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my possession which rightly belongs to you." "How so?" asked Lincoln. The man produced a jack knife which was given to him to keep until he found a man uglier than himself. "Allow me now to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to it."

One time he was at a banquet held by Anti-Nebraska editors. Since he was not an editor he felt out of place. He compared his feelings to a woman who saw an ugly man passing her on a narrow road. She stared at him and said, "You are the ugliest man I have ever seen." "Perhaps so," the man said, "but I can't help how I look." "No I suppose not," said the woman, "but you might stay at home."

Henry C. Whitney said Lincoln "provoked as much humor by the grotesque expression of his homely face as by the abstract fun of his stories."

When Lincoln told or listened to a funny story "the expression would lighten up, not immediately but rapidly. The muscles of his face would diverge from the inner corners of his eyes, and extend down and diagonally across his nose, his eyes would sparkle, all terminating in an unrestrained laugh in which every one present, willing or unwilling, were compelled to take part."

He had a talent for mimicry according to T.G. Onstot, the son of the New Salem cooper. "I never knew his equal. His power for mimicry was very great. He could perfectly mimic a Dutchman, Irishman or Negro."

## Why Humor?

His humor endeared him to people all over the county. It gained him acceptance in social situations where he might otherwise have felt out of place. In the White House he used it to put visitors at ease. Reading passages from his favorite humorists lifted his spirits.

Judge David Davis said, "If the day was long and he was oppressed, the feeling was relieved by the narration of a story. The tavern loungers enjoyed it, and his melancholy, taking to itself wings, seemed to fly away." Sometimes Judge Davis would stop court to listen to his stories. "O lord," he said later, "wasn't he funny."

In 1842 ex-president Van Buren visited Springfield and told some funny stories. Then Lincoln told some himself. After a time Van Buren asked him to stop. "My sides are sore with laughing," he said.

## Partnership With John T. Stuart

In the spring of 1837 Lincoln got his license as a lawyer. There were many lawyers in the central part of the state and Lincoln may have worried that he wouldn't find a law office to take him. He needn't have worried. John Todd Stuart, Lincoln's future wife's cousin, needed a new law partner. He had a bare bones office that had a couch, table, chair and a rickety bookcase which contained some law books. Stuart mostly took on libel, trespass, and assault cases.

After about a year they defended a man accused of murder. Jacob Early was relaxing in his hotel room when Henry B. Truett barged in and accused Early of writing some resolutions that criticized him and called for his removal from office. Early said the charge was untrue and Truett became enraged. Feeling threatened, Early picked up a chair to defend himself. Truett pulled a gun from his coat and shot him. He then ran from the hotel. Early died 3 days later.

Popular opinion was that Truett was guilty. He had been armed and had fled the scene. Lincoln managed to get the trial postponed 3 months to allow tempers to cool. During a short summation Lincoln argued that Truett had the right to know if it was Early who had ruined his reputation. Lincoln said that the chair was a lethal weapon. Early had intended to strike Truett with it. The day after Lincoln had given his summation, Truett was found not guilty. Juries, then as now, do not like to convict someone of murder if it is done in the heat of passion.

Part of Lincoln's job was to keep records of the firm's finances. He should have made entries in the books as soon as money came in or went out, but he didn't. He would never be good at keeping track of money.

As a junior partner, Lincoln had to write legal pleadings and briefs. His writing was clear and legible and contained few mistakes and corrections. He always thought carefully about what he was going to write before putting pen to paper.

Stuart was elected to Congress for 2 terms. Stephen A. Douglas had been his Democratic opponent. Douglas was a short, good-looking man with thick brown hair. He was well educated but had left school to study law. In 1834 he was granted a certificate to practice law. After Stuart left for Congress, Lincoln wrote in their fee book "commencement of Lincoln's administration 1839 Nov. 2."

## Riding the Circuit

Lincoln enjoyed riding the circuit. People were happy to have lawyers, witnesses and jurors stay in their homes. Some slept on the floor. Others slept 3 to a bed. People celebrated the coming of the circuit court with races, circuses and plays. People said that Lincoln "seemed to have an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes."

According to John Stuart he always took books when he travelled--Shakespeare, Euclid, Burns, and Poe among others. He would repeat _The Raven_ over and over. In the evening he would take off his coat, lie on the bed and read and study. After supper he would strip, go to bed, draw up a chair and read by candlelight until late at night. "He read difficult works: philosophy, mathematics," Stuart said. "He only knew geography in spots. He didn't believe what biographies had to say."

## Friends

Joshua Speed who worked in the Springfield store for several years noticed that Lincoln, although well-liked, had few friends. He tried to help his shy, awkward friend feel comfortable in social situations. When Lincoln was at the store men would gather to hear his stories. After they left, Lincoln and Speed would talk for hours.

## Young Men's Lyceum

Always working to improve himself, Lincoln joined the Young Men's Lyceum. At age 28 his speeches were more pointed and concise than before. He was almost disappointed that the Founders had done such a good job of putting the government together. He thought his generation would only be tasked with watching over it.

## Mob Violence

Abolitionists were pacifists but Southerners thought they wanted to incite a slave rebellion. Northerners thought abolitionists wanted to encourage miscegenation. Illinois, a free state, tried to stop blacks from entering the state. Blacks were not allowed any rights as citizens in Northern states. They were discouraged from holding the most menial of jobs. Many Negroes worked for free just to have a place to sleep.

In the North, mobs killed Elijah Lovejoy, a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist editor. Whites set fire to black neighborhoods. A few Negroes were burned alive. Abolitionists had a price put on their heads. On January 27, 1838 Lincoln spoke at the Young Men's Lyceum. He said he was distressed at the "spiraling savagery" in this land famed for law and order.

The Constitution did not allow the government to take _property, i_.e. slaves, away from their owners. Lincoln believed that slavery would die on its own because that is what had happened in the North as it had become industrialized. The Founding Fathers, he believed, wanted it to die a natural death as proven by the fact that they had outlawed the slave trade. Later he would fight against allowing the spread of slavery to the territories.

It's unlikely that he wanted to give Negroes voting rights at this time. As president he would suggest giving that right to Negroes who were educated or had fought for the Union in the Civil War. He didn't like the abolitionists who were too strident. He could not become an abolitionist himself without destroying his career.

Disturbed by the violence, Lincoln gave a speech which said the United States would not be attacked by foreign nations. Instead the danger was from foes within. "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we must live through all time or die by suicide," he said.

He also gave speeches to various groups. One was a temperance society. He believed that its leaders didn't understand their members because the leaders were not alcoholics. Also they had no faith in the ability of their members to stop drinking. Lincoln advised them to first convince their people that they, the leaders, were their friends. Once they did that, maybe they would be able to help them.

He spoke in 1842 about the attitude of respectable people towards alcoholics:

_If they believe as they profess that Omnipotence condescended to take upon Himself the form of sinful man, and as such die an ignominious death, surely they will not refuse submission to the infinitely lesser condescension, for the temporal and perhaps eternal salvation of a large, erring, and unfortunate class of their fellow creatures! Nor is the condescension very great. In my judgement such of us as have never fallen victims have been spared more from the absence of appetite than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. Indeed, I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, that their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class._

## William Henry Harrison

On December 2, 1839 the Whigs nominated for president war hero, William Henry Harrison. A Baltimore newspaper made fun of Harrison's simple tastes and said he would be happy in a log cabin drinking plenty of hard cider. Thus Harrison became known as the poor man's friend, the log cabin and hard cider candidate. Van Buren, the Democratic candidate, became known as an aristocrat who ate from gold plates and drank from crystal goblets. Lincoln went on a speaking tour for Harrison and other Whigs. He debated Stephen Douglas and other Democrats. The _Quincy Whig_ reported that there was no man who "can hold a candle to him in political debate."

Lincoln spoke all over the state, often traveling with Stephen Douglas. During a debate, Lincoln contended that the Democratic presidents, Jackson and Van Buren were responsible for the 1837 panic. Jackson should not have dissolved the United States Bank. The country was bankrupt and the "evil spirit" in Washington was at fault. In prose that was unusually purple for Lincoln, he said:

_I know that the great volcano at Washington, aroused and directed by the evil spirit that resides there is belching forth the lava of political corruption, in a current broad and deep, which is sweeping with frightful velocity over the whole length and breadth of the land._

This speech was published in a Washington, D.C. paper and brought him national attention.

The entire country was poisoned by racism and, during the debates, both Douglas and Lincoln were accused of having African blood.

Harrison won the election but lost Illinois.

Harrison would die a month after he took office, probably of pneumonia. Forty-eight years later his grandson would become president. Vice President Tyler succeeded Harrison as president and was seen as being narrow-minded and unyielding. A democratic president would succeed him.

## Sarcasm  
The Skinning of Thomas

One miserably hot afternoon in 1840 a Democrat, Judge Jesse Thomas, criticized Lincoln. A friend went to get him and Lincoln got permission to take the platform. Lincoln proceeded to mimic everything about Thomas--the way he walked, the way he talked, his gestures and his accent. Apparently the man couldn't do anything right. Thomas, a sensitive man, began to cry and ran from the platform. One man said he "blubbered like a baby." This became known as _the skinning of Thomas._ People were still talking about it 20 years later. They would say, according to Illinois lawyer Samuel Parks, that it was "awfully severe." Lincoln felt bad for the man and was embarrassed at how he had let his temper get the best of him. Later he would be able to stop himself from saying anything hurtful. Up until the end of his life, though, his rare episodes of anger and shouting would frighten people. In 1859 someone said "he looked like Lucifer in an uncontrollable rage" when he disagreed with a judge's decision. Stephen T. Logan said that as a lawyer Lincoln, when roused, had "a very high temper." As he became older he didn't mind people insulting him but injustice towards others "enraged him." In his 30s he used sarcasm and insults as a weapon to, as Herndon would say, "kill off an enemy."

Each newspaper favored a particular political party. Lincoln wrote mud-slinging articles in the Whig newspapers and the Democratic newspapers slung mud right back. He liked to get revenge by making fun of someone's large nose for example. If a Democrat criticized him he would, in writing, threaten to wring the man's nose. In 1840 he wrote that Stephen A. Douglas was "stupid" and all Democratic editors were "liars." Stephen Douglas at 5'4" was called a _small matter_ by the Whigs but he was actually a very powerful Democrat. His powerful baritone voice and eloquent way of speaking made up for his lack of stature.

Democrats found much to criticize about Lincoln's appearance. Even after he died a Democrat wrote:

_Physiologically the man was some sort of monstrosity. His frame was large, long, bony and muscular. His head was disproportionately small. He had a large square jaw, a large heavy nose, a small lascivious mouth and soft tender bluish eyes. I would say he was a cross between Venus and Hercules._

As a lawyer Lincoln would get bitterly angry at a defendant who had slandered a friendless school mistress. Once he ridiculed the name of a hostile witness. "Why J. Parker Green? Well, why didn't the witness call himself John P. Green? That was his name, wasn't it? Did J. Parker Green have anything to conceal; and if not, why did J. Parker Green part his name in that way?"

In 1838, he playfully responded to Colonel E. D. Taylor's accusation that the Whigs were too aristocratic. Colonel Taylor was well dressed. He wore a ruffled shirt, gold chains and a gold watch. Lincoln sidled up to him and gave his vest "a quick jerk. It unbuttoned and out fell Dick Taylor's ruffled shirt like a pile of entrails....The large gold chains and large watch hung down. This was too much for the people--Democrat and Whig alike....The man left and never again did he say the word aristocracy--even to himself."

In 1840 the Colonel again accused him of belonging to the aristocracy. To which Lincoln replied, "When Colonel Taylor had stores all over the county and was riding in a fine carriage wearing kid gloves and had a gold headed cane, I was a poor boy working on a flat boat for $8 a month. I had only one pair of breeches and they were buckskin. Now if you know buckskin when they get wet and then are dried by the sun they shrink. Mine kept shrinking until they left several inches of my legs bare between the top of my socks and the lower part of my breeches. While I was growing they were becoming shorter and so much tighter that they left a blue streak around my leg which you can see to this day. If you call this aristocracy, I plead guilty to the charge."

## Stephen T. Logan

In 1841, after a close election against Douglas, John Stuart was elected to a 2nd term of Congress and gave up his law practice. During one debate, Stuart had dragged Douglas around by his head and bit him on his thumb, leaving a scar.  Stephen T. Logan offered a partnership to Lincoln. Logan usually wore an unbleached, unstarched cotton shirt and almost never wore a cravat. He was a small, serious looking Scots-Irish man with a wrinkled face, big head and frowsy red hair. He had a shrill, unpleasant voice. But when he talked everyone listened. He was a brilliant man. He had built a thriving legal business and taught Lincoln the value of being careful, meticulous and methodical. He taught him to study his opponent's case thoroughly so that there would be no surprises in the courtroom.

## Mary Todd

By 1840 Lincoln was considered a gifted politician and lawyer. John Stuart had praised his virtues to his cousin Mary Todd. But Lincoln was still awkward and shy in social situations. Speed would go with him to cotillions and parties to make him feel more comfortable.

Lincoln met Mary Todd in December of 1839 at a party. She had auburn hair, a roundish face, turned up nose, and was fashionably plump for her height of 5'2". She was pretty and vivacious and Lincoln couldn't take his eyes off her. Noticing his stare, she stared back.

She knew who he was. He was Abraham Lincoln, the up-and-coming lawyer. She knew he had a future. One of her beaux was Stephen Douglas who seemed to be headed for the presidency of the United States. But he was scarcely taller than she was. He was much better looking than Lincoln but she actually preferred plainer men such as her father and his friend Henry Clay. She needed a more fatherly man than Douglas. It was easy to imagine Lincoln as one of her beaux, of whom she had many. His height and intelligence gave her the impression that he would be able to take care of her. Her mother had died when she was 6 and her father had left his children for an entire year before bringing back a 2nd wife. He never was very attentive to his first litter of children afterwards and was away much of the time. Her step mother was cold towards the children who were not hers. Toward her own children she was much more loving.

Mary was better educated than any other woman in the town and even better educated than many men. She spoke fluent French. Like Lincoln she loved to recite poetry. As they got to know each other they would read poetry and prose to each other. But each of them had had a dismal childhood which didn't bode well for a good marriage. They probably wouldn't be able to meet each other's needs. Lincoln would have chronic depression for the rest of his life and Mary had been depressed during her teenage years and was now showing signs of a mood disorder.

Lincoln, encouraged by the fact she was looking at him, walked over to her and said, "I want to dance with you in the worst way." "And," she told a friend later, "he certainly did."

# About the Author

**MARY BETH SMITH** graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland University in 1971. She worked as a programmer/analyst in the Baltimore area and in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center. She writes nonfiction, paints watercolors, and is a hospice volunteer. She is married to Greg Smith and has several "furry children."

# Other Books by Mary Beth Smith

_The Joy of Life, A Biography of Theodore Roosevelt_

_Healing Manic Depression and Depression:  
What Works, based on What Helped Me_

_The War Against Polio_

# Praise by customers for  
 _The Joy of Life,  
A Biography of Theodore Roosevelt_

This book chronicles Theodore Roosevelt's journey in a clear, detailed and "friendly" manner...so compellingly that I found myself reading into the wee hours-just 1 more chapter-several nights in a row!!! This book gives total, factual, page-turning validation to an incredible life and legacy.-Coral Sue

Told so well and so compellingly that one must consider becoming more, standing taller, working harder, caring more, sharing more, living the life of integrity, as TR did.-LakerMrB

Well written. Flows well. Information I was not previously aware of from the other biographies on Theodore Roosevelt. I thoroughly enjoyed it.-R. W. LAZARD

I always wondered why Teddy Roosevelt was carved into Mt Rushmore. After reading this biography it is no surprise at all. What a tremendous person and how blessed we were to have such as he for a leader.-Carol A. Gerber

Easy reading, gave a glimpse of a man I have always admired. Particularly enjoyed reading about when he was Police Commissioner of New York.-Elizabeth

This is a perfect introduction to Theodore Roosevelt. It captures his funny, hyperactive, enthusiastic, exciting personality and covers his life completely from birth to death. Any one who wants to learn about his spiritual side will discover some interesting information also. It is very well researched.-JWS

# End Notes

### 1. Childhood

1. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wike/ Massachusetts-Bay-Colony>

2. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_upon_a_Hill>

3. Ronald C. White, Jr., _A. Lincoln -A Biography,_ Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York: 2010, 9-10, hereafter White

4. White, 16

5. Dennis Hanks, _Herndon 's Informants. Letters, Interview, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln with the assistance of Terry Wilson_, University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago: 1998, 38-40, hereafter Informants

6. Michael Burlingame, _The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln,_ Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994, 42, hereafter Burlingame

7. A.H. Chapman, Informants, 96

8. Dennis F. Hanks, Informants, 37

9. White, 16-17

10. White, 16-17

11. Albert J. Beveridge, _The Lincoln Reader,_ edited, with an introduction by Paul M. Angle, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1947, 11, hereafter Lincoln Reader

12. White, 18-21

13. Nathanial Grigsby, Informants, 93-94

14. White, 18-21

15. David Turnham, 216-217, Informants

16. White, 23-24

17. Nathaniel Grigsby, 93, Informants

18. A.H. Chapman, Informants, 102

19. Nathaniel Grigsby 168-169

20. Dennis Hanks, Informants, 40

21. Harriet Chapman, Informants, 145

22. A.H. Chapman, Informants, 99

23. A.H. Chapman, Informants, 99

24. Dennis Hanks, Informants, 41

25. White, 31-33

26. http:www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2590046/Crows-intelligent-CHILDREN-Study-reveals-birds-intelligence-seven-year-old.html

27. Sarah Bush, Informants, 106-108

28. Anna Caroline Gentry, 131, Informants

29. White, 19-31

30. White 35-36

31. Matilda Johnson, Informants, 109

32. David Turnham, Informants, 518

33. Burlingame, 123

34. Anna Gentry, 131-132

35. David Turnham, Informants, 518

36. Dennis Hanks, p. 41, Informants

37. Burlingame, 37-38

38. A.H. Chapman, Informants, 102

39. White, 35

40. Rev. George J. Barrett, Informants, 436

41. White, 26

42. Burlingame, 41

43. A.H. Chapman, 103-105 Informants

44. A.C. Chapman, 103-105, Informants

45. Elizabeth Crawford Informants, 335

46. White, 34

47. Anna Gentry, 131-132

48. White, 36-38

49. David Turnham, Informants, 120-122

50. John Hanks, Informants, 456

51. Sarah Bush Lincoln, Informants, 38-39

52. White 39-40

53. White 40-41

54. White, 40

### 2. New Salem

1. Stephen B. Oates, _With Malice Towards None, A Life of Abraham Lincoln,_ HarperPerennial, a Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, 1977, 17, hereafter Oates.

2. White, 44-45

3. Lynn McNulty, Informants, 80-81

4. Lincoln Reader, 39

5. Oates, 17-18

6. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, 170

7. Coleman Smoot, Informants, 254

8. Caleb Carman, Informants, 429

9. William G. Greene, Informants, 17-18

10. James Short, 72, Informants

11. Hardin Bale, Informants,12-13

12. William G. Greene, Informants, 18

13. William G. Greene, Informants, 17-18

14. Henry McHenry, Informants, 14

15. Mentor Graham, Informants, 9

16. Lincoln Reader, 31

17. Caleb Carman, Informants, 429

18. William G. Greene, Informants, 141-142

19. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, p. 385

20. Harriet A. Chapman, Informants, 512

21. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 91-92

22. N.W. Branson, Informants, p. 90

23. Charnwood, 52

24. Joshua F. Speed, Informants, 498-499

25. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, 426-427

26. Lincoln Reader, 93

27. Joshua F. Speed, Informants, 498-499

28. Hardin Bale, Informants, 528

29. Charnwood, 54-55

30. White, 56-58

31. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, 105

32. White, 56-58

33. Lincoln Reader, 89-91

34. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, 170

35. Oates, 20

36. John B. Weber, Informants, 388

37. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, 384-385

38. Hannah Armstrong, Informants, 525

39. N.W. Branson, Informants, 90

40. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, 170

41. Hardin Bale, Informants, 13

42. _Lincoln 's Humor: An Analysis,_ Benjamin P. Thomas, Volume 3, Issue 1, 1981, p. 28-47 Permalink: <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo:2629860.0003.105>, hereafter humor analysis, 1

43. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 7

44. N.W. Branson, Informants, 91

45. Caleb Carman, Informants, 504

46. Nathaniel Grigsby, _Informants, 127-128_

47. Mary Owens Vineyard, Informants, 262-263

48. Robert B. Rutledge, 386-387

49. Lincoln Reader, 66

50. Lincoln Reader, 50

51. White, 57

52. Henry McHenry, Informants, 369

53. Henry McHenry, Informants, 15

54. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 7

55. William Miller, Informants, 363

56. White 50-52

### 3. Legislature

1. Charnwood, 53

2. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 8

3. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 7

4. Ronald C. White, Jr., _A. Lincoln -A Biography,_ Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York: 2010, 59-60

5. Coleman Smoot, Informants, 253-254

6. Oates, 27

7. White, 61-62

8. White, 65-66

9. White, 67

10. Oates, 28

11. White, 67-70

12. Lincoln Reader, 80

13. www.landandfreedom.org/ushistory/u58.htm

14. historybusiness.org/2642-panic-of-1837.html/newsid=2642-panic-of-1837.1

15. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/panic_of_1837>

16. www.u-s-history.com/pages/h967.html

17. hiohistorycentral.org/w/Panic_of_1837/rec=536

18. White, 74

19. Burlingame, 25-29

20. White, 75

21. Oates, 29

22. Robert L. Wilson, Informants, _205_

### 4. Ann Rutledge

1. Isaac Cogdal, Informants, 440

2. John McNamar, Informants, 253

3. Mentor Graham, Informants, 242-243

4. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, 409

5. Robert B. Rutledge, Informants, 381

6. White, 99-100

7. John Jones, Informants, 387

8. Benjamin F. Irwin, Informants, 325

9. Thompson Ware McNeely, Informants, 424

10. John Hill, Informants, 23

11. William Greene, Informants, 21

12. Henry McHenry, Informants, 155-156

13. George U. Miles, Informants, 236-237

14. Hugh Gregory Gallagher, _Black Bird Fly Away -Disabled in an Able-bodied World, Arlington, VA: Vandamere Press, 1998, 167_

15. Gallagher, 166-167

16. Mentor Graham, Informants, 242-243

17. clipping from Menard Axis, Informants, 25

18. Esther Summers Bale, Informants, 527

19. White, 103

20. White, 104

21. Mary Owens Vineyard, Informants, 263

### 5. Springfield

1. White 79-81

2. Oates, 43

3. White 80-81

4. Charnwood, 56

5. Joseph Gillespie, Informants, 503

6. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, 161

7. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, 500

8. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 69

9. H. E. Dummer, Informants, 442

10. John B. Weber, Informants, 396

11. Abner Y. Ellis, Informants, _174_

12. J. Rowan Herndon, Informants, 69

13. humor analysis, 7

14. humor analysis, 7

15. humor analysis, 1

16. Robert L. Wilson, Informants, 201-202

17. humor analysis, 2

18. humor analysis, 8

19. humor analysis, 4

20. humor analysis, 2

21. White 82-83

22. White 70-85

23. John T. Stuart, Informants, 519

24. White 85-86

25. Oates, 36

26. Oates, 46-47

27. Oates, 38-39

28. White, 87

29. Charnwood, 58

30. White, 91-92

31. Charnwood, 57-58

32. Burlingame, 152

33. Burlingame, 148

34. Samuel Parks, Informants, 239

35. James H. Matheny, Informants, 472

36. Ninian W. Edwards, Informants, 447

37. Oates 48-49

38. White, 95

39. Oates, 52

40. White, 96-97

# Bibliography

Albert J. Beveridge, _The Lincoln Reader,_ edited, with an introduction by Paul M. Angle, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1947

Michael Burlingame, _The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln,_ Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994

Lord Charnwood, _Abraham Lincoln, A Biography,_ Lanham, New York, London: Madison Books: 1996, originally published: 1st American ed. New York: H. Holt & Co., 1916

Daniel Mark Epstein, _The Lincolns, Portrait of a Marriage,_ New York: Ballantine Books, 2008

Hugh Gregory Gallagher, _Black Bird Fly Away -Disabled in an Able-bodied World, Arlington, VA: Vandamere Press, 1998_

Harold Holzer, _Lincoln As I Knew Him, Gossip, Tributes, and Revelations From His Best Friends and Worst Enemies_ , Chapel Hill: Algonquin books, 1999

Stephen B. Oates, _With Malice Towards None, A Life of Abraham Lincoln,_ HarperPerennial, a Division of HarperCollinsPublishers, 1977

Joshua Wolf Shenk, Lincoln's Melancholy, How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, Boston, New York: A Mariner Book, 2006, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005

_Lincoln 's Humor: An Analysis,_ Benjamin P. Thomas, Volume 3, Issue 1, 1981, p. 28-47. Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo:2629860.0003.105,

Benjamin P. Thomas, _Abraham Lincoln, A Biography,_ New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1952, 1994 Barnes & Noble Books

_Herndon 's Informants. Letters, Interview, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln,_ edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis with the assistance of Terry Wilson, University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago: 1998

Joshua Zeitz, _Lincoln 's Boys, John Hay, John Nickolay, And the War for Lincoln's Image,_ New York: Penguin Group (USA) LLC,First Published by Viking Penguin, a member of the Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2014

http:www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2590046/Crows-intelligent-CHILDREN-Study-reveals-birds-intelligence-seven-year-old.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_upon_a_Hill

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/panic-of-1837>

<http://www.landandfreedom.org/ushistory/u58.htm>

<http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Panic_of_1837/rec=536>

www.u-s-history.com/pages/h967.html
