DOCSLIB.ORG

1 Lamon, Ward H. the Life of Abraham Lincoln from His Birth To

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1 Lamon, Ward H. the Life of Abraham Lincoln from His Birth To Lamon, Ward H. The Life of Abraham Lincoln from His Birth to His Inauguration as President. Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1872. CHAPTER I. Birth. — His father and mother. ■ — History of Thomas Lincoln and his family a necessary part of Abraham Lincoln's biography. — Thomas Lincoln's ancestors. — Members of the family remaining in Virginia. — Birth of Thomas Lincoln. — Removal to Kentucky. — Life in the Wilderness. — Lincolns settle in Mercer County. — Thomas Lincoln's father shot by Indians. — Widow and family remove to Washington County. — Thomas poor. — Wanders into Breckinridge County. — Goes to Hardin County. — Works at the carpenter's trade. — Cannot read or write. — Personal appearance. — Called " Linckhom," or " Linckhern." — Thomas Lincoln as a carpenter. — Marries Nancy Hanks. — Previously courted Sally Bush. — Character of Sally Bush. — The person and character of Nancy Hanks. — Thomas and Nancy Lincoln go to live in a shed. — Birth of a daughter. — They remove to Nolin Creek. — Birth of Abraham. — Removal to Knob Creek. — Little Abe initiated into wild sports. — His sad- ness. — Goes to school. — Thomas Lincoln concludes to move. — Did not fly from the taint of slavery. — Abraham Lincoln always reticent about the history and character of his family. — Record in his Bible . 1 CHAPTER II. Thomas Lincoln builds a boat. — Floats down to the Ohio. — Boat capsizes. — Lands in Perry County, Indiana. — Selects a location. — Walks back to Knob Creek for wife and children. — Makes his way through the wilderness. — Settles between the two Pigeon Creeks. — Gentryville — Selects a site. — Lincoln builds a half-faced camp. — Clears ground and raises a small crop. — Dennis Hanks. — Lincoln builds a cabin. — State of the country. — Indiana admitted to the Union. — Rise of Gentryville. — Character of the people. — Lincoln's patent for his land. — His farm, cabin, furniture. — The milk-sickness. — Death of Nancy Hanks Lincoln. — Funeral discourse by David Elkin. — Grave. — Tom Lincoln marries Sally Bush. — Her goods and chattels. — Her surprise at the poverty of the Lincoln cabin. — Clothes and comforts Abe and his sister. — Abe leads a new life. — Is sent to school. — Abe's appearance and dress. — Learning " manners." — Abe's essays. — Tenderness for animals. — The last of school. — Abe excelled the masters. — Studied privately. — Did not like to work. — Wrote on wooden shovel and boards. — How Abe studied. — The books he read. — The " Revised Statute of Indiana." — Did not read the Bible. — No religious opinions. — How he behaved at home. — Touching recital by Mrs. Lincoln. — Abe's memory. — Mimicks the preachers. — Makes " stump-speeches " in the field. — Cruelly maltreated by his father. — Works out cheerfully. — Universal favorite. — The kind of people he lived amongst. — Mrs. Crawford's reminiscences. — Society about Gentryville. — His step-mother. — His sister. — The Johnstons and Hankses. — Abe a ferryman and farm-servant. — His work and habits. — Works for Josiah Crawford. — Mrs. Crawford's account of him. — Crawford's books. — Be- comes a wit and a poet. — Abe the tallest and strongest man in the settlement. — Hunting in the Pigeon Creek region. — His activity. — Love of talking and reading. — Fond of rustic sports. — Furnishes the literature. — Would not be slighted. — His satires. — Songs and chronicles. — Gentryviile as " a centre of business." — Abe and other boys loiter about the village. — Very temperate. — " Clerks " for Col. Jones. — Abe saves a drunken man's life. — Fond of music. — Marriage of his sister Nancy. — Extracts from his copy-book. — His Chronicles. — Fight with the Grigsbys. — Abe "the big buck of the lick." — "Speaking meetings" at 1 Gcntryville. — Dennis Hanks's account of the way he and Abe became so learned. — Abe attends a court. — Abo expects to be President. — Going to mill. — kickcd in the head by a horse. — Mr. Wood. — Piece on temperance. — On national politics. — Abe tired of home. — Works for Mr. Gentry. — Knowledge of astronomy and geography. — Goes to New Orleans. — Counterfeit money. — Fight with negroes. — Scar on his face. — An apocryphal story 19 CHAPTER III. Abe's return from New Orleans. — Sawing planks for a new house. — The milk-sickness. — Removal to Illinois. — Settles near Decatur. — Abe leaves home. — Subsequent removals and death of Thomas Lincoln. — Abe's relations to the family. — Works with John Hanks after leaving home. — Splitting rails. — Makes a speech on the improvement of the Sangamon River. — Second voyage to New Orleans. — Loading and departure of the boat. — " Sticks " on New Salem dam. — Abe's contrivance to get her off. — Model in the Patent Office. — Arrival at New Orleans. — Negroes chained. — Abe touched by the sight. — Returns on a steamboat. — Wrestles with Daniel Needham. 73 CHAPTER IV. The site of New Salem. — The village as it existed. — The first store. — Number of inhabitants. — Their houses. — Springfield. — Petersburg. — Mr. Lincoln appears a second time at New Salem. — Clerks at an election.— Pilots a boat to Beardstown. — Country store. — Abo as " first clerk" — " Clary's Grove Boys." —Character of Jack Armstrong. — He and Abe become intimate friends. — Abe's popularity. — Love of peace. — Habits of study. — Waylaying strangers for information. — Pilots the steamer " Talisman " up and down the Sangamon 85 CHAPTER V. Offutt's business gone to ruin. — The Black Hawk War. — Black Hawk crosses the Mississippi. — Deceived by his allies. — The governor's call for troops.— Abe enlists — Elected captain. — A speech. — Organization of the army. — Captain Lincoln under arrest. — The march. — Captain Lincoln's company declines to form. — Lincoln under arrest. — Stillman's defeat. — Wasting rations. — Hunger. — Mutiny. — March to Dixon.— Attempt to capture Black Hawk's pirogues. — Lincoln saves the life of an Indian. — Mutiny. — Lincoln's novel method of quelling it. — Wrestling. — His magnanimity. — Care of his men. — Dispute with a regular officer. — Reach Dixon. — Move to Fox River. — A stampede. — Captain Lincoln's efficiency as an officer. — Amusements of the camp. — Captain Lincoln re-enlists as a private. — Independent spy company. — Progress of the war. — Capture of Black Hawk. — Release. — Death. — Grave. — George W. Harrison's recollections. —Duties of the spy company. — Company disbanded. — Lincoln's horse stolen. — They start home on foot. — Buy a canoe. — Feast on a raft. — Sell the boat. — Walk again.— Arrive at Petersburg. — A sham battle 98 CHAPTER VI The volunteers from Sangamon return shortly before the State election. — Abe a candidate for the Legislature. — Mode of bringing forward candidates. — Parties and party names. — State and national politics. — Mr. Lincoln's position. —Old way of conducting elections. —Mr. Lincoln's first stump- speech. — " A general fight." — Mr. Lincoln's part in it. — His dress and appearance. — Speech at Island Grove. — His stories. — A third speech. — Agrees with the Whigs in the policy of internal improvements. — His own hobby. — Prepares an address to the people. — Mr. Lincoln defeated. — Received every vote but three cast in his own precinct. - 121 2 CHAPTER VII. Results of the canvass. — An opening in business. — The firm of Lincoln & Berry. — How they sold liquor. — What Mr. Douglas said. — The store a failure. — Berry's bad habits. — The credit system. — Lincoln's debts. — He goes to board at the tavern. — Studies law.— Walks to Springfield for books. — Progress in the law. — Does business for his neighbors. — Other studies. — Reminiscences of .J. Y. Ellis. — Shy of ladies. — His apparel. — Fishing, and spouting Shakespeare and Bums. — Mr. Lincoln annoyed by company— Retires to the country. — Bowlin Greene. — Mr. Lincoln's attempt to speak a funeral discourse. — John Calhoun. — Lincoln studies surveying. — Gets employment. — Lincoln appointed postmaster. — How- he performed the duties. — Sale of Mr. Lincoln's personal property under execution. — Bought by James Short. — Lincoln's visits. — Old Hannah. — Ab. Trent. — Mr. Lincoln as a peacemaker. — His great strength. — The judicial quality. — Acting second in fights. — A candidate for the Legislature. — Elected. — Borrows two hundred dollars from Coleman Smoot. — How they got acquainted. — Mr. Lincoln writes a little book on infidelity. — It is burnt by Samuel Hill 135 CHAPTER VIII James Rutledge. — His family. — Ann Rutledge. — John McNeil. — Is engaged to Ann. — His strange story. — The loveliness of Ann's person and character. — Mr. Lincoln courts her. — They are engaged to be married. — Await the return of McNeil. — Ann dies of a broken heart. — Mr. Lincoln goes crazy. — Cared for by Bowlin Greene. — The poem " Immortality." — Mr. Lincoln's melancholy broodings. — Interviews with Isaac Cogdale after his election to the Presidency. — Mr. Herndon's inter- view with McNamar. — Ann's grave. — The Concord cemetery. .159 CHAPTER IX. Bennett Able and family. — Mary Owens. — Mr. Lincoln falls in love with her. — What she thought of him. — A misunderstanding. — Letters from Miss Owens. — Mr. Lincoln's letters to her. — Humorous account of the affair in a letter from Mr. Lincoln to another lady 172 CHAPTER X. Mr. Lincoln takes his seat in the Legislature. — Schemes of internal improvement. — Mr. Lincoln a silent member. — Meets Stephen A. Douglas. — Log-rolling. — Mr. Lincoln a candidate for re-election. — The canvass. — " The Long Nine." — Speech at Mechanicsburg. — Fight. — Reply to Dr. Early. — Reply to George Forquer. — Trick on Dick Taylor. —
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “Lincoln Bibles”?
    How Many “Lincoln Bibles”? GORDON LEIDNER In a 1940 edition of Lincoln Lore, editor and historian Dr. Louis A. War- ren stated that “no book could be more appropriately associated with Abraham Lincoln than the Bible,” and he briefly introduced his read- ers to nine “Historic Lincoln Bibles” that he thought should be linked with the sixteenth president.1 Eleven years later, Robert S. Barton, son of the Lincoln biographer Rev. William E. Barton, published a paper titled “How Many Lincoln Bibles?”2 In it, Barton updated the status of Warren’s nine historic Lincoln Bibles, then added three Bibles he thought should also be associated with the 16th president. This list of a dozen Lincoln Bibles has not been critiqued or updated since that time, 1951. But a few significant discoveries, particularly in the past decade, justify a fresh look at this subject. In this article I update the status of the twelve previously identified historic Lincoln Bibles, discuss which Bibles Lincoln used while presi- dent, and introduce four previously unidentified Bibles that should be added to this list. One of these “new” Bibles may have been used by Lincoln’s mother to teach him how to read when he was a child, and another was probably read by Lincoln when he was president. These sixteen Bibles are shown in the table. The first twelve are presented in the order that Warren and Barton discussed them. In Lincoln Lore, Warren wrote that the Bible was “the single most influential book that Abraham Lincoln read.”3 An extensive study of Lincoln’s use of the Bible is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it to say that Lincoln utilized the Scriptures extensively to support his ethical and political statements.
    [Show full text]
  • AXES and ANCESTRY: LINCOLN NEVER SAID THAT Ax
    FF oo rr TT hh ee PP ee oo pp ll ee A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION VOLUME 12, NUMBER 3 FALL 2010 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS AXES AND ANCESTRY: LINCOLN NEVER SAID THAT ax. Instead of chopping down trees, sharpening a wedge on a log, the ax Lincoln uses the ax to kill dreaded vam- glanced and nearly took my thumb off, pires who killed his mother, Nancy and there is the scar, you see.” The key Hanks Lincoln, as well as others. words “six” and “hours” are found in While the novel reflects the current two newspaper accounts of Lincoln‟s Twilight novel craze of vampires and address to citizens of Lafayette, Indi- werewolves, it also underscores a num- ana, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ber of spurious quotes attributed to both delivered as president-elect en- Abraham Lincoln and axes. route to Washington, D.C. On February 11, 1861, Lincoln told the good people A very good friend presented me with a of Lafayette: “Now only six hours have By Thomas F. Schwartz gift some years ago, a paperweight elapsed since I left my home in Illinois Illinois State Historian with the phrase, “Chop your own wood, where I was surrounded by a large con- and it will warm you twice, A. Lin- course of my fellow citizens, almost all A popular cable show that highlights coln.” Undoubtedly a true sentiment of whom I could recognize, and I find the skills and dangers of loggers felling but one not uttered by Abraham Lin- myself far from home surrounded by tall trees is “Ax Men.” While modern coln.
    [Show full text]
  • How Abraham Lincoln Became President
    K- -jS"^-';^"- How Abraham Lincoln Became President ^niMTi By J. McCan Davis Centennial Edition 1809 - 1909 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER MaauBMBmMM How Abraham Lincoln Became President Centennial Edition ">''-,*, «<:>;' ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT. From an old steel engraving, after a photograph by Brady. How Abraham Lincoln Became President By J. McCAN DAVIS " " Author of The Breaking of the Deadlock," Abraham Lincoln His Book/* etc. Centennial Edition THE ILLINOIS COMPANY SPRINGFIELD. ILLINOIS 1909 Copyright, 1909 by J. McCan Davis Engravings made by the Capitol Engraving Company, Springfield, Illinois Press of the Henry O. Shepard Company '^1^ •^Z.^3 To the Soldiers of the Civil War, Comrades of My Father, the heroic men who offered their lives that '* government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth/* /M Cccu^^'^'CMXx-^ Foreword. Abraham Lincoln was in no sense an accident. His nomination for President in i860 surprised the country. Yet it was the logical result of a series of events that had extended over a period of many years. This was not wholly clear then, but it is plain enough now. It is the purpose of this little volume to tell briefly the story of his preparation for his colossal task and of the events that made him, almost inevitably, as it now seems. Chief Magistrate of the nation. There have been many great men in the world, and the future will bring forth more great men. But the world has produced only one Abraham Lincoln, and we may not expect another in all the generations yet unborn.
    [Show full text]
  • LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL and Farm
    “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ‘all men are created equal.’” “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow, this ground — The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.” “It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the Lincoln1809 Bicentennial -2009last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” The Life of Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 near Hodgenville Ken- tucky, in a one-room log cabin.
    [Show full text]
  • CONSUMING LINCOLN: ABRAHAM LINCOLN's WESTERN MANHOOD in the URBAN NORTHEAST, 1848-1861 a Dissertation Submitted to the Kent S
    CONSUMING LINCOLN: ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S WESTERN MANHOOD IN THE URBAN NORTHEAST, 1848-1861 A dissertation submitted to the Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By David Demaree August 2018 © Copyright All right reserved Except for previously published materials A dissertation written by David Demaree B.A., Geneva College, 2008 M.A., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2012 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2018 Approved by ____________________________, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Kevin Adams, Ph.D. ____________________________, Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Elaine Frantz, Ph.D. ____________________________, Lesley J. Gordon, Ph.D. ____________________________, Sara Hume, Ph.D. ____________________________ Robert W. Trogdon, Ph.D. Accepted by ____________________________, Chair, Department of History Brian M. Hayashi, Ph.D. ____________________________, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences James L. Blank, Ph.D. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Lincoln Day Dinner Speech, Louisville, KY, February 8, 1969” of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R
    The original documents are located in Box D26, folder “Lincoln Day Dinner Speech, Louisville, KY, February 8, 1969” of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Digitized from Box D26 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library 000 EVENING. WHAT A THRILL IT SPEAKING TO YOU IN THIS GREAT FORUMJ YOUR SPLENDID FREEDOM HALL. YOU KNOW1 I FEEL RATHER AT HOME HERE BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THIS TREMENDOUS o?.-ACE ON TELEVISION S.2~Y~S. I LET ~ MY SONS DO THE~NG ~9W BUT l AM STILL VERY MUcH~~~-~ iH7vf··wttHED YOUR UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE BASKETBALL TEAMS ON "THE TUBE " AS WE SA Y AND ALSO THE 1 1 CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL GAMES THAT HAVE BEEN PLAYED IN THIS ARENA. -~~ IT IS WONDERFUL TO BE IN THE ~; E GRASS COUNTRY" -- THE LAND OF DANIEL BOONE, ABE LINCOLN 2 JOHN SHER~AN COOPER, THRUSTON:MORTo~jiMARLOW COO~~~OUIE N~N~ - BI LL COWGER_, G~NE SNYDr;_R J AND /T 1.M CARTER.
    [Show full text]
  • JOSEPH HANKS I (Ann Lee) Son of John Hanks and Catherine of Richmond Co
    JOSEPH HANKS I (Ann Lee) Son of John Hanks and Catherine of Richmond Co. Virginia Joseph Hanks, a son of John and Catherine Hanks is of record in Richmond Co. Va. from his birth in December 1725 until 1782 when he is on the Hampshire Co., VA. tax lists. What ties him to Richmond Co. Va., the Patterson Creek area of now WVA. and Nelson Co. Ky. are the St. Martin du Tours Catholic Church records in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana that show Charles Hanks, a son of Joseph Heinks and Anne Lies, is of Richmond Co. Va., of Kentucky and of Maryland depending on which child of Charles Hanks is being baptized. Many of the early records of the Catholic Church in La. are written in Spanish or French. The Church will sometimes let you have a copy, but more often all you get is a translation. I suspect the variance in previous locations as noted in the records i.e. from Va., Md., Ky. are based on the question asked by the recorder. “Where were you born?” “Where did you live?” “Where are you from?” will elicit three different responses. So, Charles Hanks, son of Joseph and Ann Lee Hanks was likely born in Va., lived in Md., and was from KY. Patterson’s Creek, the area of WVA. where the Hanks and Lees resided is on the border between Va. and Md. His Uncle Mark Lee with whom he migrated to La. was a resident of Md. while Uncle Peter Lee was on Patterson’s Creek, now Mineral Co.
    [Show full text]
  • Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home Cabin Historic Structure Report
    Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site Boyhood Home Unit Lincoln Cabin Historic Structure Report 2005 Historical Architecture, Cultural Resources Division Southeast Regional Office National Park Service The historic structure report presented here exists in two formats. A traditional, printed version is available for study at the park, the Southeastern Regional Office of the NPS (SERO), and at a variety of other repositories. For more widespread access, the historic structure report also exists in a web- based format through ParkNet, the website of the National Park Service. Please visit www.nps.gov for more information. Cultural Resources Southeast Region National Park Service 100 Alabama St. SW Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 562-3117 2005 Historic Structure Report Lincoln Cabin Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site Hodgenville, KY LCS#: 473358 Cover page: undated postcard, KyGenWeb Special Collections LINCOLN CABIN HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT ABLI Boyhood Home Unit, Hodgenville, KY Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS MANAGEMENT SUMMARY Executive Summary……………………………………………...………………………………..1 Administrative Data……………………………………………...………………………………..4 PART I – DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY A. Historical Background and Context………………………………………………...…….I.A.1 Kentucky………………………………………………………………….... I.A.1 The Lincoln Family…………………………………………………………I.A.1 Knob Creek Farm…………………………………………………………... I.A.2 Life in Indiana……………………………………………………………… I.A.4 Political Aspirations………………………………………………………... I.A.4 Civil War…………………………………………………………………… I.A.5 A National Hero……………………………………………………………. I.A.6 Birthplace Memorial……………………………………………………….. I.A.6 Other Memorials…………………………………………………………… I.A.7 Knob Creek after the Lincolns……………………………………………... I.A.7 Growing Tourism…………………………………………………………... I.A.8 The Lincoln Boyhood Home………………………………………………. I.A.8 The Tavern…………………………………………………………………. I.A.9 Site Managers………………………………………………………………. I.A.10 Growing Significance……………………………………………………… I.A.10 Changing Hands……………………………………………………………. I.A.10 National Register Nomination……………………………………………..
    [Show full text]
  • Emily Hanks Loomis (1837-1911)
    Emily Hanks Loomis (1837-1911) Emily Hanks Loomis was born October 18, 1837 on a farm in Hickory Point Township, four miles northwest of Decatur, Illinois in Macon County. She was the fifth of eight children born to John Hanks and Susan Wilson Hanks. Emily, like her father, was a cousin of Abraham Lincoln. They were related to Lincoln through his real mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. The Hanks’, like the Lincolns, were from Kentucky. Emily’s father moved his wife and two children from Kentucky to Illinois in the fall of 1828. They first settled along the Sangamon River. However, he was unable to “break the thick prairie sod with the ox or horse power at hand” and was forced to move to land that was easier to farm.1 So in 1829, he chose nearby Hickory Point Township for their new home. After building a cabin and settling on this new land, John wrote to his relatives back in Indiana telling them that they should come to Illinois. In this letter he told his family about the “fine woods and prairies,” encouraging them to “pull up stakes and come to Illinois.”2 One of those relatives he wrote to was Lincoln’s father, Thomas. John had lived near or with the Lincolns in Spencer County, Indiana when he moved there in 1822. This is how John got to know the young Abraham Lincoln who was just ten years old when John came to Indiana. John spent four years total in Indiana, working as a farm hand, doing odd jobs, and also as a rail splitter.
    [Show full text]
  • Ann Rutledge in American Memory: Social Change and the Erosion of a Romantic Drama
    Ann Rutledge in American Memory: Social Change and the Erosion of a Romantic Drama BARRY SCHWARTZ A legend of a shining, deathless, holy and pure passion arose, spread, grew by some inherent vital sheen of its own or of the need of those who wanted it, of Ann Rutledge. Carl Sandburg, The Prairie Years Among the many love stories that poetry, biography, film, and drama told during the first half of the twentieth century, that of Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge occupies a special place. Although scholars have argued for decades about the role Ann Rutledge played in Abra- ham Lincoln’s life,1 this essay says nothing about that question; rather, it speaks about the diminished relevance of the question itself. Moving back and forth between images of tragic romance and the changing ethos of American culture, the essay reviews the emergence and diffu- sion of the Ann Rutledge story. It explains why the story evoked strong public interest during the Progressive and New Deal eras, remained popular until the 1950s, then faded as a postindustrial society intensified demands for diversity, inclusion, racial justice, and gender equality. Diminishing popular interest in Ann Rutledge accompanied by rising academic interest raises important questions for scholars of collective memory. A second-cousin of “public opinion,” “collective memory” refers to the distribution throughout society of beliefs, knowledge, feelings, and moral judgements about the past. Only in- dividuals possess the capacity to contemplate the past, but beliefs do not originate in the individual alone, nor can they be explained on the basis of personal experience.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Twenty-Five “This Damned Old House” the Lincoln Family In
    Chapter Twenty-five “This Damned Old House” The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion During the Civil War, the atmosphere in the White House was usually sober, for as John Hay recalled, it “was an epoch, if not of gloom, at least of a seriousness too intense to leave room for much mirth.”1 The death of Lincoln’s favorite son and the misbehavior of the First Lady significantly intensified that mood. THE WHITE HOUSE The White House failed to impress Lincoln’s other secretaries, who disparaged its “threadbare appearance” and referred to it as “a dirty rickety concern.”2 A British journalist thought it beautiful in the moonlight, “when its snowy walls stand out in contrast to the night, deep blue skies, but not otherwise.”3 The Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler asserted that the “shockingly careless appearance of the White House proved that whatever may have been Mrs. Lincoln’s other good qualities, she hadn’t earned the compliment which the Yankee farmer paid to his wife when he said: ‘Ef my wife haint got an ear fer music, she’s got an eye for dirt.’”4 The north side of the Executive 1 John Hay, “Life in the White House in the Time of Lincoln,” in Michael Burlingame, ed., At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000), 134. 2 William O. Stoddard, Inside the White House in War Times: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln’s Secretary ed. Michael Burlingame (1880; Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000), 41; Helen Nicolay, Lincoln’s Secretary: A Biography of John G.
    [Show full text]
  • TRADITIONAL BROTHERS Ai"D SISTERS of LINCOLN's MOTHER Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Mother of the President, Must Iana Had a Sister Named Indiana
    L~ N COLN LORE Bu1letin of the Lin••oln National Lif«" Foundation - · - - . Dr. Louis A. Warren. Editor Published e3ch week by The l.incoln Nntional Life lnsur8.llcc Company, Fort Wayne, Indiana Number 692 FORT WAYNE, INDIANA .July 13, 1942 TRADITIONAL BROTHERS Ai"D SISTERS OF LINCOLN'S MOTHER Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of the President, must iana had a sister named Indiana. The family tradition ha vc had more brothers and sisters than any other hu­ preserved in letters written in 1894 is that "Joshua Hanks, man who ever lived, if statements :relating to her par­ the son of Richard, was a brother to Nancy Hanks, entage found in books, magazines, newspapers and mother of Abraham Lincoln. This family contributes Hanks family correspondence could be ~lied upon. There nine more prospective brothers and sisters: six boys­ is available in the archives of the Lincoln National Life John, Joshua, James, Thomas, David, Nathan; three Foundation information gleaned from these sources that girls-l\1artha, Mary and Ann. would credit Nancy Hanks with having at least thirty­ five brothers and forty-one sisters when it is gcnera11y William antl Sarah (Ralph) Hanks accepted that she never had a full brother or full sister. A \Visconsin woman seeking to trace her ancestors informed Mrs. Hitchcock on September 4, 1924 that a There were a great many women who bore the same kinsman said "John Hanks was a brother of Nancy malden name as Nancy Hanks and there may have been Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln." John's some confusion as to their identity, as many of these parents, William and Sarah, had three sons-Fleetwood, women lived contemporary with Mrs.
    [Show full text]