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A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 22 NUMBER 4 WINTER 2020 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org

Richard S. Lowry

2021 Lincoln Day Speaker

Our Lincoln Day speaker will be Rich ment that offered the best chance for Lowry, author of several books and his fellow citizens to transcend their since 1997 the editor of The National upbringings.” Review. William F. Buckley, Jr., the magazine’s founder, chose the 29-year-old Veteran critic Charles Krauthammer Lowry for the post. Mr. Lowry will exulted: “A gem: powerfully argued, speak on “Lincoln’s Nationalism.” beautifully written, and both politically and historically illuminating. Lowry makes an impassioned case for a con- As a syndicated columnist for King temporary Republican renewal on truly Features, opinion writer for Politi- Lincolnian lines.” co, and a guest commentator on NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC’s This Here is Lowry himself from that Week, and Fox News Sunday, Mr. Low- book: “We all know the Lincoln of the ry has been read and seen by millions. Second Inaugural and the Gettysburg His 2013 book Lincoln Unbound: How Address. We need to know the Lincoln an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Saved of the Address before the Wisconsin the American Dream was just one of Lowry confines himself largely to Lin- State Agricultural Society and of the many topics he has tackled, including, coln’s pre-presidential career, explain- Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, most recently, The Case for National- ing how the backwoods boy of little both talks in which he vents his favorite ism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, schooling and negligible property early enthusiasms. We need to understand his and Free. on identified with the Whigs rather than thirst for economic and industrial de- the Jacksonian Democrats who cap- velopment. We need to realize that he

tured so many of his similarly situated was a lawyer for corporations, a vigor- Reviewers of Lincoln Unbound were - ous advocate of property rights, and a very admiring. Kirkus Reviews ex- peers. The Rail Splitter, he argues, is best understood not as a man of the axe defender of an ‘elitist’ economics plained, “Ever since his assassination but of the book, not so much by his against the unreflective populist bro- and swift elevation to the pantheon of origins as by his aspirations. For the mides of his age. We need to focus on our greatest presidents, ‘getting right his love for the Founders as guides to with Lincoln,’ in the memorable phrase deeply ambitious Lincoln, enhancing opportunity was the animating principle the American future. We need to grap- of one historian, has been the business of his politics, and he committed him- ple with his ferocious ambition, person- of our mainstream politicians. self to a program of uplift and improve- al and political.”

Schedule for February 12 and 13, 2021 https://abrahamlincolnassociation.org/2021-symposium-events/

Friday, February 12, 2021 10:00 a.m. 7:00-8:30 p.m. Symposium: David Reynolds Lincoln and 19th-Century Opening of UIS Center for Lincoln Speaker, Rich Lowry American Culture Studies. Welcome by Prof. Michael Lincoln’s Nationalism Burlingame. Introduction, Michael Burlingame, 1:00 p.m. ALA President. Symposium: Elizabeth Mitchell Roundtable: all four speakers Lincoln and the Press: The Mystery Saturday, February 13, 2021 will participate. Moderated by Behind His ‘Bogus Proclamation’ 10:00 a.m. Michael Burlingame, ALA Presi- Symposium: H. W. Brands dent. Lincoln and John Brown Symposium: Edward Achorn Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

2 WINTER 2020 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION F OR THE PEOPLE

The 2021 ALA Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium

All speaking events, including the Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium, will be presented remotely. Though we’ll miss seeing you in person, we trust that by 2022 we can hold those events live in Springfield, and we look forward to reuniting with you then. https://abrahamlincolnassociation.org/2021-symposium-events/

Henry William Brands, Jr.

John Brown and Abraham Lincoln

H. W. Brands is an American historian who holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in Histo- ry at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1985. He has au- thored 30 books on U.S. history, two of which have been selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. Born in 1953, Brands grew up in the Portland, Oregon area. He attended Jesuit High School, where he was a three-sport athlete and National Merit Schol- ar. Brands received his undergraduate degree in history from Stanford University in 1975, returning to Jesuit to teach mathematics. He taught at the high school for the next five years, and earned a M.A. in Liberal Studies from Reed College in 1978, followed by an M.S. in Mathematics from Portland State in 1981. His dissertation was on the Eisenhower administration and its foreign policy during the Cold War.

Edward Achorn

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

Edward Achorn is the author of Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second In- auguration of Abraham Lincoln (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020), as well as earlier books on baseball history. He is the deputy editorial page editor of The Providence (R.I.) Journal. He has won numerous writing awards and his work appears in Best Newspaper Writing, 2007-2008. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary and winner of the Yankee Quill Award, he is the author of two acclaimed books about nineteenth-century baseball and American culture, Fifty-nine in ’84 and The Summer of Beer and Whiskey. He lives in an 1840s farmhouse in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth Mitchell

Abraham Lincoln and the Press: The Mystery Behind His ‘Bogus Proclamation’

Elizabeth Mitchell’s newest book, Lincoln’s Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street, and the White House, was published in October 2020. Her other books include Liberty’s Torch: The Great Adventure to Build the Statue of Lib- erty, Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing and W.: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty. Her bestselling e-single, The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin, tells the tale of the first female detective in U.S. history. Mitchell was executive editor of George magazine. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

David S. Reynolds

Lincoln and Nineteenth-Century American Culture

David S. Reynolds is a Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography, winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Ambassador Book Award. His other books include Beneath the American Renaissance (winner of the Christian Gauss Award); John Brown, Abolitionist; Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson; Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Battle for Ameri- ca; and Lincoln’s Selected Writings. He is a regular book reviewer for The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, and The Wall Street Jour- nal. His latest book, Abraham Lincoln in His Times Abe, was published by Penquin Press in 2020.

FOR THE PEOPLE A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION WINTER 2020 3

The Abraham Lincoln Association

Michael Burlingame President President Burlingame’s Message

William E. Bartelt Dear Friends, First Vice President

James M. Cornelius As Lincoln so eloquently said in his immortal Second Inaugural Address, “Fondly do we hope, Secretary fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of Coronavirus may speedily pass away.” Donald R. Graham Treasurer While fervently hoping and fondly praying, the ALA has been altering its plans for the High Bob Willard Holidays (February 12-13). The Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium and our evening speaker Immediate Past-President will be held remotely. Though we’ll miss seeing you in Springfield, we trust that by 2022 we

Board of Directors can hold both of those events here, and we look forward to reuniting with you then. Kenneth L. Anderson Douglas M. Barringer Our four symposium speakers will be presenting their talks online, Friday, February 12, and J. Steven Beckett Saturday February 13. On the afternoon of the 13th, our speakers will participate in a live Roger D. Billings, Jr. Roger D. Bridges (remote) panel discussion. The banquet will not be catered by GrubHub, rumors to the contra- Julie Cellini ry notwithstanding. Instead, it will be virtual, with our speaker, Rich Lowry, delivering his Joshua A. Claybourn address live online. Information on him and the symposium speakers is given on the first page Robert J. Davis and opposite this page. https://abrahamlincolnassociation.org/2021-symposium-events/ Chris DeRose Jim Edgar Guy C. Fraker On February 12, the new Center for Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield Sara Vaughn Gabbard will be launched with remote fanfare, which we urge you to observe online. Joseph E. Garrera Allen C. Guelzo Kathryn M. Harris The “Lincoln’s Springfield Cottage” project has made significant progress, garnering enthusi- Richard E. Hart astic letters of support from Senators Durbin and Duckworth, Congressmen LaHood and Da- David Joens vis, the mayor and city council of Springfield, other local officials and civic organizations, as Ron J. Keller well as from prominent Lincoln scholars around the country. We have raised more than 75% Susan J. Koch Michelle A. Krowl of our goal of $400,000. Robert J. Lenz Sue S. Massie Please help us reach that goal by donating, which you can do online at the ALA website via Dan Monroe Paypal, or by sending a check to Kay Smith, ALA Executive Manager, P. O. Box 1865, Anne E. Moseley Keri L. Nekrasz Springfield, IL 62705. James W. Patton III Tiffany A. Player Give in the spirit of Lincoln, who memorably wrote to a client on Independence Day 1851: Mark B. Pohlad “As the dutch Justice said, when he married folks ‘Now, vere ish my hundred tol- Roger D. Rudich Scott T. Schroeder lars?’” (Adjust for inflation, please.) William G. Shepherd Your humble servant, Ronald D. Spears Michael Burlingame Brian Steenbergen President Robert A, Stuart, Jr. James L. Swanson Louise Taper Donald R. Tracy Daniel R. Weinberg Jonathan W. White WELCOME TO OUR 28 NEW MEMBERS FROM 6 STATES Barbara Wysocki Stephen M. Young Mary J. Abroe Dan Holder W. G. Thielemann Honorary Directors Wilmette, Illinois Bloomington, Illinois Carlock, Illinois President Donald Trump Governor JB Pritzker Carol Dickerson James Hurder Thomas Ulen Senator Richard Durbin Freeport, Illinois New York, New York Urbana, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth William Edwards Keel Jones Jean Wendt Congressman Darin LaHood Bloomington, Illinois Villanova, Pennsylvania Bloomington, Illinois Congressman John Shimkus Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri Bill Kemp Robert Williams Congressman Rodney Davis Fairport, New York Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington, Illinois Chief Justice Anne M. Burke Mayor James Langfelder Hayden Fraker Douglas Kirby Fred Wollrab Bloomington, Illinois Mason City, Illinois Bloomington, Illinois Emeritus Directors Cullom Davis James Fraker Allen Kodish Stephen M. Young Richard Mills New Rochelle, New York Chicago, Illinois Batavia, Ohio N. Ronald Thunman Edith Graham Sarah G. Majcina Mark A. Plummer Chicago, Illinois Springfield, Illinois WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN Distinguished Directors David E. Griffith, M.D. Julia A. Nickerson THE ALA AT: Doris Kearns Goodwin Tyler, Texas Austin, Texas abrahamlincolnassociation.org/ Lewis E. Lehrman James T. Hart Paige Proctor membership-2/ Thomas F. Schwartz Santa Monica, California Carlock, Illinois Wayne C. Temple R. Evan Hart Linda S. Rzeszutko Springfield, Illinois Countryside, Illinois Darrell Hartweg Greg Scott Bloomington, Illinois Dublin, Ohio 4 WINTER 2020 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PEOPLE

Stephen A. Douglas Reassessed

By Martin H. Quitt generally on the grounds that others, like inhabitants to vote in federal territories himself, could move somewhere else in whether or not they had attained citizen- The removal of the Stephen Douglas statue America to find compatibility. ship. His unique national campaigning from the Illinois statehouse grounds has heralded the future of presidential politics. been accompanied by misstatements and a A new utopian religion was the Church of He was in the main a principled man who lack of historical understanding. Douglas Latter-day Saints, whose Mormon follow- also knew how to win popular support. He was a racist, but his relationship to slavery ers sought a refuge from hostile state gov- was one of the most influential politicians was complicated and needs a full airing. ernments. As Illinois Secretary of State, in the United States during the decade prior His stand against religious bigotry also Douglas supported the quasi-autonomy of to the Civil War. should be known. As head of the House Nauvoo, the center of Mormon immigration and later the Senate Committee on Territo- to the state. Then as a member of the Illi- Finally, after losing the election he commit- ries when a virulent nativism was on the nois Supreme Court in 1841 he dismissed ted all his energy to preserve the Union and rise, he welcomed the immigration of all on procedural grounds an extradition case support Lincoln. He never lost sight of the white Europeans, whether Irish Catholics, from Missouri against Joseph Smith, the big picture in politics – loyalty to the Un- Jews, or Protestants. And he supported religion’s founder. Mormons hailed Doug- ion. Although he imbibed and exploited the their right to vote even before they became las as their champion. Whigs charged that pervasive racism of his age, to offer un- citizens. His legacy also includes a strong he was currying favor with Mormon voters, truths about him and judge him by the new argument for modern federalism, the intro- while they ignored his conviction: “Every standards of 2020 is shortsighted. It dimin- duction of national presidential campaign- man has a right to worship as he believes.” ishes the importance of historical change ing, and a fervent devotion to the Union. Raised a Methodist in Brandon, where his and the need for understanding past eras on grandfather was a founder of the local con- their own terms. For Douglas, local self-determination was gregation, Douglas had no deep religious not merely an intellectual construct that he attachment. His second wife was Roman His first wife inherited a Mississippi slave applied to public policy issues, such as Catholic and he agreed to a wedding in her plantation that he wanted no part of because slavery. It was the reason for his place in church because he was indifferent to reli- it would hurt him in Illinois politics. But the sun. Douglas was born and schooled in gious preference. She became his trusted when she died early, his two young sons Vermont, apprenticed to an attorney in New advisor and political partner. became the heirs. Douglas served as their York, but achieved rapid success only in trustee, for which he received compensa- Illinois. What he could accomplish in his Douglas introduced a bill to organize the tion. He did not fully acknowledge his total adopted Western state he could not do in Nebraska Territory to facilitate the develop- control over the slave plantation. While his the East. He loved Illinois because at age ment of the first transcontinental railroad. sons were his dependents, effectively he 20 he passed the bar and opened his law His purpose was to knit the expanded coun- was a slaveowner, an identity he shunned. office – which he could not have done in try together, not extend slavery. The most He deluded himself into believing that he New York without several more years of inflammatory portion of the Kansas- was acting merely in a fiduciary capacity, training that neither his patience nor his Nebraska Act he shepherded was its nullifi- while he benefitted financially from manag- stepfather could afford. The varied practic- cation of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 ing the enterprise. es of states made his spectacular rise possi- -21, which had attained a sacred status in ble, and he never forgot it. During his cam- American politics. Douglas claimed that no Douglas broke precedent in 1860 by campaign for the presidency in 1860 he re- federal law or accord had ever freed a paigning for the presidency in three-fourths counted to the people of his native state slave. His own adopted state of Illinois was of the states. Had the transcontinental rail- how going west had supplied opportunities a good example. It was carved from the road been built, he would have traveled to unavailable in Vermont. Northwest Territory, which under the origi- the Far West. In contrast Lincoln adhered nal ordinance and the eponymous statute of to tradition by staying home. While few Douglas favored the right of local majori- the First Federal Congress prohibited slav- politicians had as firm a knowledge of local ties to adopt their own ways. He was less ery therein. Yet, as Douglas emphasized, conditions as Douglas, to his credit he did concerned with individual rights. He be- slavery existed in Illinois for decades be- not trim his speeches to suit audiences. He lieved federal territories should have the fore the constitution of 1848 expressly wanted to unite the country and avoid the same decision-making freedom that states banned it. He noted that in 1776 all 13 imminent breakdown should an unaccepta- enjoyed. He was wary of federal power states had slavery, but by the middle of the ble candidate win the presidency. If he had imposing uniform national policies on lo- 19th century more than half of them had won the election, his campaign innovation calities. He fit within a tradition of experi- abolished it. He predicted that most states would have become the new standard. But mentation and diversity that originated in eventually would do likewise. he lost. colonial America, which had hosted a vari- ety of utopian ventures: church-centered So why does he deserve to be remembered? Puritan towns in Massachusetts, Quaker He promoted American geographic diversi- pluralism in Pennsylvania, feudalism in ty as a means of accommodating the varied Maryland, patroonships in Dutch New cultural ways brought by immigrants. Fed- Martin H. Quitt is Professor Emeritus of History York, and slave plantations in the South. A eralism for him was a vibrant political force at the University of Massachusetts Boston and author of Stephen A. Douglas and Antebellum historian once wrote that America was a that enabled people of different back- Democracy (2012) as well as two later essays graveyard for utopias, but he missed the grounds and beliefs to find a place in Amer- for the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Associa- salient fact that only here could such ideas ica. His openness to all white immigrant tion. be tried out. While respecting local majori- groups made him an influential voice in [email protected] ties to implement their own rules, Douglas welcoming Europe’s oppressed and perse- was willing to sacrifice individual rights cuted. He promoted the right of all male

FOR THE PEOPLE A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION WINTER 2020 5

The Tragic Story of Fido and Charles Planck

By Brian Steenbergen ALA Board Member Not much is known of Charles Planck. He was the son of Springfield grocer Jacob C. Perhaps the most endearing habit of Fido, the Planck, whose path crossed those of attor- Lincoln family dog, was “showing his con- neys Lincoln or Herndon in a couple of small geniality by depositing his muddy yellow matters. Charles enlisted at Springfield as a fore paws plump on the breast of anyone volunteer on August 15, 1862, and soon who addressed him familiarly.” That conge- mustered into Company G of the 114th Regi- niality may have got Fido killed. ment as a private. He was described as 20 years old, brown hair, blue eyes, fair com- Dorothy Kunhardt suggested in Life Maga- plexion, standing 5’ 6”. The 114th saw a lot zine (Feb. 15, 1954) that Fido may have of rough action, including at Brice’s Cross- joined the Lincoln family sometime around roads and the Battle of Nashville. In June 1855, based on their purchase of ‘Bottle Ver- 1864 now Corporal Planck was listed among mifuge’ from the Corneau and Diller drug- those thought lost or missing from a battle at store. (Vermifuge is an anti-parasitic used to Guntown, Mississippi, but who later re- treat tapeworm.) Fido’s pedigree was undis- turned. He was discharged on March 7, tinguished, described as mongrel with no 1865. discernable ancestry. Two days before he was mustered in, Planck Fido no doubt expended much energy chas- was quoted in the Daily Illinois State Jour- ing Willie and Tad around the yards and nal excoriating the “Liberality of B.A. Wat- neighborhood of the Lincolns’ home at 8th The author recently traced Charles Planck’s son.” The Watsons, a big family of bakers/ and Jackson. As Kunhardt observed, “A dog gravesite at Grand Rapids Veterans Ceme- confectioners on the south side of the square, always belongs really to the children of a tery, Grand Rapids, Michigan, set the image had catered Lincoln’s nomination party in of Fido by it, and took this photo. family.” Winter evenings might have found May 1860. Apparently, Watson had prom- Lincoln wrestling his youngest boys and ised Planck $50 if he would enlist. When playing with Fido on and around their black John E Rolls with his boys who are about the Planck asked Watson for the money, Watson horsehair sofa. Those evenings may have age now that Tad and Willie were when they offered a “note, payable when discharged been the impetus, or perhaps just a reminder, left for Washington.” from the service – if killed, to give it to my of an oft-used Lincoln riddle: “If you call a nearest heirs.” The indignant Planck gave dog’s tail a leg, how many legs does a dog In the wake of Lincoln’s fame, William the note back to Watson, saying “he can save have?” Boys’ answer: “Five.” Abraham’s Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner, disgustedly his liberality and money too. This is true answer: “No, four. Calling a tail a leg don’t observed that people wanted hairs from the patriotism, generally shown by small men.” make it a leg.” tail of Lincoln’s horse Old Bob, and that even the dog running about the Lincoln Planck is known to have had at least two Much like Mrs. Lincoln, Fido was frightened house had assumed a form of “beauty and encounters with Springfield law enforcement during thunderstorms. This fear, as well as power.” In the months following Lincoln’s following his discharge. In September 1865 practical considerations, explain why Fido funeral and burial in Springfield, Fido re- he was beaten and robbed by two men on could not make the trip from Springfield to sumed his life, roaming the streets of Spring- North 7th St. In March 1868 he was in- the White House in 1861. The journey to field and showing his affection by depositing volved in a shooting of Peter Burns; Burns Washington would take 13 days, punctuated those familiar muddy fore paws on anyone had a history of violence, suggesting that by frequent cannon fire announcing the arri- he could. Planck may have been acting in self-defense. val of the President-elect along the route. Sometime in the 1870’s Planck and his wife Poor Fido would have been terrified. The available historical evidence points to Hattie, whom he had married in 1867, one Charles Planck as Fido’s killer. Ac- moved to Detroit, where he worked as clerk It was determined that Fido would be placed counts vary as to what actually happened. In and expressman. On February 25, 1907, in the care of the Roll Family. John Roll 1866, according to a much later newspaper when he requested a record of his enlistment, was among Lincoln’s oldest friends in version of the story, Planck was a “half- he was living at 443 Fourth Avenue in De- Springfield, and his two children, John and intoxicated man” plunging a knife into Fido troit. In April 1915 he moved to the Grand Frank, were roughly the same ages as Willie after Fido placed “his paws on the breast” of Rapids Veterans Home, where he died two and Tad. Along with Fido came the black Planck. A separate story, on Feb. 20, 1893, years later on March 21, 1917. Planck is horsehair sofa; Fido needed his refuge. in the Journal, has Planck “whittling a stick buried in the Grand Rapids Veterans Ceme- with a sharp, long bladed knife. By acci- tery. Dogs and children are resilient, and Willie dental move while the dog was expressing and Tad found new friends and adventures in himself in caresses the blade was buried Perhaps Fido’s playful habits simply reflect- the White House. Fido no doubt fell into deep in his body.” ed his master’s plea to move past the war daily life at the Rolls’ home, John and Frank “with malice toward none” and “to care for replacing Willie and Tad as his companions. Either way, the mortally wounded Fido him who shall have borne the battle.” William Fleurville, a.k.a. “Billie the Barber,” limped away to his final refuge “behind the wrote Lincoln a letter of condolence at the chimney of the old Universalist Church.” Brian Steenbergen is an ALA Board White House after Willie’s death, adding Fido’s “lifeless body was discovered” a Member who lives in Grand Rapids, “tell Taddy that his and Willie’s dog is alive month later and “buried by loving hands in a Michigan. and kicking, doing well. He stays mostly at spot that is kept sacred to this day.”

6 WINTER 2020 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PEOPLE

Slavery in Lincoln’s Hardin County, Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln’s Earliest Encounter of African American Slaves By Richard E. Hart Rolling Fork River. Peter Atherton owned Their Kentucky community had not only ALA Former President and Board Member seven slaves in 1813 and eight between 1814 been saturated with slavery arguments pro and 1816. No doubt Abraham and Sarah and con, for twenty-five years before Abra- From the earliest days of the European settle- often saw Atherton’s slaves while attending ham Lincoln’s nativity, but, on the very date ment of Kentucky, African American slaves Riney’s school. of his birth, the church within two miles of were present. Abraham Lincoln’s first en- where he was born was in the midst of the counter with slavery was as a young child Riney had come to Kentucky with a large most prolonged disturbances which had ever living in Kentucky. This aspect of Abra- group of St. Mary’s County Maryland Catho- occurred in the congregation over the subject ham’s early life and its impact on his earliest lics who formed a substantial part of the pop- of slavery. But membership of Thomas and judgments and attitudes about slavery, how- ulation of Bardstown, 18 miles from the Nancy Lincoln in the abolitionist church is ever, has been mostly ignored or simply Knob Creek farm. Holy Cross Church, one yet another story for another day. overlooked. of the first Catholic churches west of the Al- legheny Mountains, was under construction We will probably never know why the par- 1811-1816 at Knob Creek Farm by 1792. But the untold stories of the prox- ents were anti-slavery. Was it a strict moral imity of the Catholic Cathedral, monastery, judgment that slavery was inherently bad no Abraham Lincoln was born at Sinking Spring and school are another part of Abraham Lin- matter when or where accepted? Or was it Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky on Febru- coln’s early environment that has been ig- an economic judgment? The Lincolns op- ary 12, 1809. There he, his sister Sarah and nored and whose stories will await another posed slavery because the slave labor com- his parents lived until the following year day for telling. peted with their labor as well as other non- when they moved nine miles to a twenty-acre slaveowning small farmers of the Upper farm known as the Knob Creek Farm. The South. Slaves were not compensated and family lived there until it moved to Indiana in Slave Coffles Pass Lincoln Cabin thus gave an unfair competitive advantage to 1816. These were important formative child- slave owning farmers. As we will never hood years in Abraham’s life. While living at Knob Creek from 1811 to know, perhaps it was a blend of both of 1816, young Abraham not only saw the these factors. Thomas Lincoln’s slaves living in his neighborhood but he also Slave-Owning Neighbors saw the coffles of slaves herded south along These early contacts and explanations were the Bardstown - Green River Turnpike, part the genesis of Abraham’s future judgments of the old Cumberland Trail. The Trail was Census and tax assessment records for those and thoughts about slavery. adjacent to and visible from the Lincoln formative years provide clear evidence that Knob Creek home. The Trail was one of the slavery existed in Hardin County while Abra- The child is indeed the father of the man. overland African-American routes slave ham lived there, and it existed in close prox- dealers used to transport coffles of slaves in imity to the Thomas Lincoln family home on chains while going south to Nashville and Knob Creek. In 1810, there were at least 97 other slave markets. African American slaves living in Hardin Mast Appointed Director of

County. These slaves were owned by 18 This was most probably the first time Abra- Lincoln Presidential Library men and one woman. These and additional ham thought about slaves living in his neigh- Foundation slaves were an important part of young borhood and those slave traders marching Abraham’s environment while he lived in down the road within view of his family’s The Abraham Lincoln Hardin County. cabin and with slaves in chains. Presidential Library Foundation (ALPLF) Thomas Lincoln Enrolls Abraham and Thomas and Nancy’s explanations must has named Erin Carl- Sarah Lincoln in Catholic Neighbor have described the activity in a negative son Mast its new

Zachariah Riney’s School judgmental way, and this would most proba- President and CEO.

bly have been the first time Abraham would The Foundation In the fall of 1815 Thomas Lincoln and his have thought about the slave traders and works closely with family were living at the Knob Creek Farm slavery. Seeing people of color in chains and exclusively supports the exhibits - - when Thomas enrolled 6 year old Abraham driven down the road like cattle must have and programs of the Abraham Lincoln - - and 8 year old Sarah in a subscription school been an indelible image of injustice and in- Presidential Library and Museum in - - taught by Zachariah Riney, a 52 year old humanity for Abraham. Springfield. Roman Catholic neighbor and friend. The school was the first they attended and it last- Most probably he asked his parents about Mast is a leader in the museum and ed for about three months and had about 20 what he saw. In 1816, his parents belonged historic site field and current CEO and - students. It was a one room, dirt floored, log to the Little Mount Church, a church against Executive Director of President Lin- cabin located about 2 miles northeast of slavery sometimes called an abolitionist coln’s Cottage in Washington, D. C. Thomas’s Knob Creek Farm, where the town church and one that was formed to express She brings to the ALPLF a distin- of Athertonville, Kentucky now stands at the that opposition. They had previously be- guished track record in leading suc- fork of Cumberland Road and Pottinger’s longed to Kentucky churches deemed Sepa- cessful capital projects, research and Creek Road. It was near, if not adjacent to, rate Baptist, but withdrew over the issue of exhibits, public programming, and the Atherton Ferry, mill and distillery on slavery. In Indiana they joined another anti- partnerships focusing on Lincoln’s slavery church. Washington Cottage.

FOR THE PEOPLE A NEWSLETTER OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN ASSOCIATION WINTER 2020 7

Lincoln’s Curious String of New Salem Romances

By Guy Fraker guile, but said he was “homely,” “very December 13th describes his pain be- ALA Board Member awkward,” and “very bashful.” She cause she had not written him, with his also called him a “queer fellow,” be- “spirits so low.” On May 7, 1837, he cause he was so “superstitious.” Lin- wrote again to outline the dim prospects coln proposed to her twice, but she of life in the new capital. He said that quickly rejected both. Shortly after his she “would not be satisfied with life in proposal she married William Boyce of Springfield” and described his own lim- New Salem on June 18, 1837, noting ited prospects. Finally, on August 16th, that Lincoln’s ardor had caused her to he penned a remarkably unflattering move more quickly into the marriage. letter, stating that he felt duty-bound to Contemporary evidence confirms that enter into marriage, and he would do so New Salem is well known as the place they did know each other. Lincoln and if she wished. She never answered that where Lincoln matured from a callow Boyce had fought side-by-side in the letter. Lincoln’s 1838 letter to Eliza youth to a political leader and nascent Black Hawk War. Later they joined in Browning was uncharacteristically un- attorney. The difficult path he traversed signing petitions related to roads in the kind in his description of Mary, noting there in matters of the heart is less area. In July 1837, Lincoln represented her defective facial features and “her known. Susan’s father, Louis Reed (sic), in the unfortunate corpulence.” case of Reed v. Fleming, in which Reed The story of his meeting Ann Rutledge sought money damages. The case end- After Lincoln’s death, Mary Owens re- in 1831 is well known. Lincoln board- ed in a hung jury. Both Susan Boyce luctantly corresponded with William ed in her father’s tavern, but the and William P. Boyce were listed as Herndon to describe the lack of courtesy Rutledges left New Salem and moved a witnesses. and manners he had displayed during the few miles to Sand Ridge in 1833. The brief courtship. She married Jessie Vine- friendship then blossomed into a full- The Boyces left Illinois and moved to yard in 1841, with whom she had five scale love affair, according to contem- Texas in the 1840’s, eventually landing children. They migrated to Missouri, porary accounts. The relationship tragi- in Calistoga, where The Call caught up where she died in 1877. cally ended with Ann’s death from ty- with Susan for the interview. She was phoid fever in August 1835. She was 82 at that time. The story was picked Lincoln’s letter to Eliza Browning pro- buried in Old Concord Cemetery in up by the Iowa State Register from The vides closure to these episodes. “I have Sand Ridge, where legend has it that Call on June 4, 1897, noting that Boyce now come to the conclusion never again Lincoln was a frequent visitor to the was a gambler, and that Susan had to think of marrying.” grave site. Skepticism about the ro- picked a gambler over Abraham Lin- mance that arose in the early and mid- coln. The story commented, “There is A review of the three forays into romance 20th century has mostly subsided, woman’s perversity for you.” She died suggests that the first was a genuine, thanks to Douglas L. Wilson and others in 1907, or 22 years after the death of deep love for Ann Rutledge. The next who painstakingly analyzed contempo- her husband. two suggest a man bent on marriage as rary sources. soon as practicable. What was driving It was shortly after the abrupt termina- Lincoln at the time? Was it the deep Recent research by Kathy Bazzoli of the tion of the Reid courtship that Lincoln sorrow and loneliness of lost love caused Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga, Cali- turned to his friend Elizabeth Abell to by Ann’s death? Was it the fact that fornia, suggests a subsequent romance inquire about her sister Mary Owens, most of his contemporaries were mar- with another New Salem charmer, Su- whom Lincoln had met when she visit- ried? Had he concluded that a suitable san Reid. It provides evidence of the ed New Salem from Kentucky for a spouse was necessary for the twin careers extended reach of the story of Lincoln’s month in 1833. His account of the he had chosen? early life. Born in Kentucky in 1815, courting of Mary Owens is set forth in a Susan came to central Illinois with her letter to Eliza Browning on April 1, The answer to these questions can only family in early 1836. Susan and Lin- 1838. Lincoln and Elizabeth Abell con- be answered by Lincoln. But we do coln met at a social event for young spired to bring Mary back to Springfield know that two years later he met some- people hosted by Elizabeth Abell at her for the purpose of possibly marrying one as anxious to marry as he was: Mary home near New Salem. Lincoln was Lincoln. Mary, born in 1808 (thus 5 Todd. quite taken by Susan, who was 5’ 7”, years older than Ann and 7 years older with grayish-blue eyes, according to an than Susan), was cultured and educated. Guy Fraker is an ALA Board Member interview in the San Francisco Call on She had a jovial and companionable and an attorney in Bloomington, Illinois. May 22, 1897. She was “unusually personality. Her appearance was de- He thanks Ann Scullion of Livermore, bright” and still had her “rugged beau- scribed as striking. She was 5’ 5”, but California; Curtis Mann, Curator of the ty.” apparently on the heavy side, having Sangamon Valley Collection of the Lin- grown so between the years 1833 and coln Library in Springfield; and Hannah The courtship that ensued included 1836 when she returned to New Salem. L. Brauer of the staff of the University of horseback rides, and attendance at They courted briefly before Lincoln left Illinois Library. church and Sunday school together. for the legislative session in Vandalia in She noted Lincoln’s honesty and lack of December 1836. His letter to her on

For The People (ISSN 1527-2710) is published four times a year and is a benefit of membership of The Abraham Lincoln Association. James M. Cornelius, Editor. Joshua A. Claybourn and Richard E. Hart, Assistant Editors.

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“COTTAGE” COMMITTEE REPORT By Sue Massie ALA Board Member

Several months ago, the “Lincoln’s Springfield Cottage mated $400,000 cost has been con- Committee” was formed to pursue a long-held dream of dis- tributed or pledged. The City of tinguished historian and author Michael Burlingame. Burlin- Springfield and Sangamon County game, now president of Abraham Lincoln Association, envi- have both pledged sizeable dona- Csioned experiencing the home purchased by the Lincolns, a tions. Local businesses are con- simple cottage with four rooms downstairs and two sleeping tributing electrical, HVAC, and orooms above. It bore little resemblance to the elaborate 2- plumbing supplies. Many Abra- tstory Lincoln Home now featured in the Lincoln Home Na- ham Lincoln Association mem- Ttional Historic Site. bers, Lincoln scholars, and the public have also given generously. aArchitectural plans are now being prepared by architects gMelotte Morse Leonatti Parker Ltd. A booklet has been pub- Sue Massie elished describing the project, its purpose, location, cost, and Please consider a year-end gift to the potential, and letters of support, endorsements, and procla- Cottage Fund. Send to: The Abraham Lincoln Associa- mations. The overwhelming support of these endorsements tion C Fwill no doubt aid in the replica Cottage eventually becoming PO Box 1865, Springfield, IL 62705 or o upart of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. use the ALA website: abrahamlincolnassociation.org. t nFundraising has begun. Already more than 75% of the esti- Thank you. t d Call ______toll free for more information: a (______8500Kathryn Harris Named Citizen of Year g e Kathryn Harris, former ALA President and current Board Member, has been selected as First Citizen of Springfield for the year 2020. She was named the State Journal-Register’s 57th annual First Citi- zen Award winner on November 29. More than 30 nominations were received for the award. Initial- ly given in 1963, the First Citizen Award recognizes civic-minded people in greater Springfield for F their unselfish commitment to helping their fellow citizens and working to make the community a Name the ALA in your better place to live. u will or trust. n Congratulations Kathryn!