Life of Abraham Lincoln; being a biography of his life from his birth to his assassination; also a record of his ancestors, and a collection of anecdotes attributed to Lincoln...

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Chapter I. Pioneer Days Oe Lincoln's Ancestors In Kentucky

NEAR the point where the states of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky meet there is a wonderful gateway in the mountains, which was discovered in 174S, by Thomas Walker, and named Cumberland Gap, in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, prime minister to King George of England. He reported that it opened into a beautiful region inhabited by Indians and wild animals. From this gap north to where the waterways which form the Ohio river break through the mountains the rugged and towering Alleghenies present an almost impassable wall between Virginia and the country west. This barrier helped to protect the inhabitants against the warrior bands of western Indians, and for a time confined the march of the settler to the Shenandoah valley.

Daniel Boone had heard of the discovery of an opening in the mountains not far from his home, and thirsted for exploration of the unknown solitudes beyond, through which only Indians roamed. He was one of the elder sons of Squire Boone, who had come from Pennsylvania and settled in Wilkes county. North Carolina, on the Yadkin river. From his youth Daniel had shown a special fondness for hunting. Before he was ten years old he could shoot a deer while it was upon the run, and while yet a lad made long trips from home alone and was never lost. He was a born woodsman. He had the cunning and eye of an Indian, and could determine the points of the compass by the stars, like a mariner. In 1769, this intrepid hunter, in company with three companions, passed through Cumberland Gap into the wild territory west of the mountains, on a hunting and exploring expedition. As they advanced, the country and attractions improved. They traveled through vast reaches of somber forest, penetrating far into the interior. Boone and one of his companions were captured by the Indians, but made their escape. When they returned to their camp, the other two men had disappeared, and were never heard of again. Boone remained so long away from home that his younger brother, accompanied by a friend, came in search of him. Instead of returning, he sent his brother back for powder and bullets.

b ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

After being absent nearly a .year, Boone* retyrned home, with a glowing account of the vastness and fertility of the new territory. He reported a country that abounded in possibilities for the settler. It was not rocky and mountainous. Streams were numerous and wild game was abundant. He organized and led forward a band of fifty hunters and trappers into the wilderness, and others soon followed. They built a rude fort, calling it Boonesborough. They were typical hunters and adventurers, with rifles on their shoulders and knives in their belts — the picket-line going on before the march of civilization.

At last the Revolutionary war was over. Peace relieved the restraint on the onward march of the pioneer, and the hunters' stories of a boundless country,

renowned for soil and climate, across the mountains started an emigration fever. The rush of settlers from the Shenandoah valley counties of Virginia assumed striking proportions. Large groups of families from a single neighborhood banded themselves together for protection against the Indians while on the

will of M-nlr.Mi I.inr,,],

Boone, liis ■' l-n i n- iin ir

Squire V.m ili.- I.iili.i

Lincolus was manitil ii thought that Abraham Mary Shipley, whom hi' North Carolina. It is kT moved from Berks count

was made a trustee' t'l a^-ist in i-aiint,' I. ir the property. ■ neof the appraisers, one el tlje mimernus .Miraham

a first cousin of I)aniel l!<i<ine, Julj- hi, ITiiU. It is resident's grandfather, lirst became acquainted with ie,|, while visiting the Boones on the Yadkin river, in. use between the families was kept up after they

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

journey. Their destination and route had been determined by Daniel Boone, for he and his father were known throughout the valley. He recommended the central and northern part of Kentucky for a location, which they reached by following his trail through the Cumberland Gap. They went in the usual backwoods manner, on horseback, the clothing and household goods being carried on pack-horses. Herds and flocks were driven along. Occasionally a party had tents; usually they slept in the open air. They carried a small stock of provisions, including about thirty pounds of meal for each person. There was no meat, unless game was shot. The journey required from two to three Meeks. The trail was bad, especially where it climbed between the gloomy walls of Cumberland Gap. Even when undisturbed by prowling bands of red marauders, the trip was accompanied by much fatigue and exposure.

After traveling for many miles through dense forests, they came to the locality for which they had started.

Here the emigrant train began to scatter. The heads of families would select a piece of ground and begin a pioneer's life, with an ax in one hand and a firebrand in the other — the evidence that the advance-guard of civilization had arrived. A spot for a home was selected, generally near a spring or a stream, and father and sons set to work felling trees to build a cabin. All settlers' cabins were alike — an oblong room, built of rough logs, with a door in one side and a fireplace in one end; the roof consisted of rafters made from poles covered with clapboards; the cracks between the logs were stopped up with clay; usually there were no windows or floors. When more room was needed, the space between the rafters was made into a loft, reached by climbing up pegs in the wall. The furniture of the pioneer's cabin was such as he could make from split boards with a few crude tools. They cooked by the open fire. Bread was baked by heating flat stones; or perhaps they were the possessors of a Dutch oven, an iron vessel about the size of a skillet, only twice as deep,

THK ICII TIIF M I n't!

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

with short legs aud a lid. To bake, they placed it on the hearth and heaped live coals over it. Buffalo robes were their main bedding, and most of their clothing was made from the skins of animals. After the cabin was built, all hands set to work clearing ground for a crop. Trees were chopped down, the logs rolled in heaps, the brush piled on top, and burned.

The early settler's life was rough and monotonous; his surroundings were dreary; his cabin was destitute of the most common comforts; the blackened stumps and dead trees stood thick in his small field; neighbors were far apart: wild animals prowled around at night; and the settlers lived in mortal dread of the Indians, who were now thoroughly aroused against the white man for taking possession of their hunting-grounds, and were ever skulking around for a chance to take a scalp.

Such was the common lot of the early settlers in Kentucky, among whom were Abraham and Mary Shipley Lincoln, grandparents of President Lincoln.

A SHENANDOAH VALLEY SCENE. IN VIRGINIA.

Chapter II

IN 1782, Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of President Lincoln,* with his -wife and five children, three sons and two daughters, left Rockingham county, Virginia, in the Shenandoah valley, with a party of emigrants, for Kentucky. They all rode horseback, and followed Daniel Boone's trail through Cumberland Gap. They suffered all the hardships and mishaps usual to such a trip. They slept on the ground, were delayed by floods and harassed by Indians. Finally they reached Bear Grass Fort, in Mercer county, about fifty miles from what is now the city of Louisville. A farm of five hundred acres on Licking creek was selected. Here in the dense forest he cleared a few acres of ground, built a little log cabin, and became a pioneer settler on the western frontier. For generations past the Lincolns had been among those who kept on the crest of the wave of western settlement. They were typical pioneers, and marched along with those who pushed the frontier westward in the teeth of the forces of the wilderness. They conquered and transformed it. It was fighting work, only to be undertaken by these strong, brave, fearless men, who were familiar with woodcraft and knew how to find food and shelter in the forests — men who could outwit the Indian and endure the extremes of fatigue and exposure. They were uneducated; they lacked refinement; • they were harsh, sturdy, courageous, tenacious, self-reliant, industrious men, faithful to their friends and dangerous to their enemies.

One day in the year 1784, while Abraham Lincoln was working in the clearing near his cabin with his three boys — Mordecai, ten years old; Josiah, eight,

^President Lincoln knew very little about his aneestry. In a letter written in 1848, he said: "My grandfather went fmiu R.»'-kiiii;liarii (•(unity, VirRiiiia, to Kentucky aliout 17s2. and two

went from Pennsylvaiii' \ ■ ■,''!., .Mi,,l,.-r; ImmIpi ilmn iii.ii 'l li..v. ih'\.t

to the landing of the I, i^- n,- i ,.:•;,, t.,.|. , i, h, ,-, in ii,. ,, i- il - ,i -imiiI:,i n \ cf

Christian names: as M..] ^n • .n. Ai.i.iii.im, I ii^.m,,-, I - i m, ,i, .h n in.l i n • ' ■ ' n ' i '■,.,,,,,,, ||;iim,s are repeatedly fou ml in l lie lii-.i(.i\ nl <.ilicr laimiH- \\ n .,n. i,,,,i mii- I'i. i. ■ i liiiinln's great-great-Kreat-uiidi'lt.illinf was one Monlc.-n I .n,i-l n . -■. h. . ! i m > I i : , I: . ■ > 1 •, iiii^> 1-

vania, and (lii-cl ;iIm.iii 17:;.; liiai liis t;i-cat-L'n n u i 1 1.' I ^ ii in i i-n~ n. i , i i ..!ii. wIki

emigrated to IlMrk inn|i:illi cnlllll V. N'ilLiinia ; I h:il h I- n - i i m 1 t i1 hm \'' ■ un 1 n.nln.hild

little (1(. Ill, I that II uas ,,11 an. iil , ,1 li is i nl i . i lal , ■ I i i, n i, M , 1 1 . w il li I Im la i ii, ,ii - hiiinl i;.„.i,e

that Presi(l(;nt Lincoln's t,'raiiclfatlicr eiiiiK'raled to K(iitiicUv.

12 AHRAHAM LINCOLN.

and Thomas, six — a ballet fired by an Indian pierced his heart. Mordecai, startled by the shot, saw his father fall, and running to the cabin, seized the loaded rifle, rushed to one of the loopholes cut through the logs of the cabin, and awaited the approach of the savage. Josiah fled for the fort to give an alarm; the Indian came up to take little Thomas Lincoln and carry him away. Suddenly the crack of a rifle was heard, and the savage fell dead, shot by Mordecai. Such was the tragedy in the life of Mary Shipley Lincoln, the grandmother of the sixteenth president of the United States.

Soon after the death of her husband the widow moved to Washington county, near the town of Springfield, where she lived until her death. No schools had yet been established, and her children grew to manhood and womanhood without the opportunity of securing an education. Both of the girls married, and spent their lives in that section of the country. Under the law of entail in Kentucky the eldest son inherited the estate of his father, and so Mordecai came into possession of his father's property. Mordecai and Josiah Lincoln remained in Washington county, and became the heads of good-sized families. They were intelligent, well-to-do men, and owned slaves. Mordecai took part in the Indian wars; he hated Indians bitterly ever after the murder of his father, and to the day of his death never lost an opportunity of shooting them down.

A most remarkable and almost inexplicable fact is that to Thomas Lincoln was "reserved the honor of an illustrious paternity." Thomas was about five feet ten inches in height, weighed about two hundred pounds, had dark brown eyes,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

(lark skin and black hair. He was always poor and indolent. He was a man of great strength, but slow of movement. When he really tried he could accomplish a great deal at whatever he turned his hand, but he usually lacked the energy and perseverance necessary to make a success of his undertaking. He was a man of good intentions in all things and honest in all his dealings. He was a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, except when aroused to anger, and then he became a dangerous antagonist. He was of a nomadic disposition. One year he wandered off to his uncle's, on the confines of Tennessee. At another time he turned up in Breckinridge county. Finally, in ISOG, at the age of twenty-eight, he drifted to Hardin county, and worked at the carpenter's trade in the shop of Joseph Hanks. While there

he married his employer's niece,

Nancy Hanks. He then endeavored

to set up for himself, but failed.

He essayed farming at various times

in Kentucky, Indiana and Dlinois,

but ill luck followed him. When

he worked at the carpenter's trade

at all, he preferred to make common

He was never a steady hand, 'but

confined himself to doing odd jobs.

He could neither read nor write until

his wife taught him the letters of

the alphabet, so he could spell his

way slowly through the Bible, and

knew how to write his name, which

was the end of his attainments in this

line. He was good-natured and fond

of telling jokes, about the only trait

he transmitted to his illustrious son. ^ crpBOMiP m \m iv nmMvs iincoln

In politics he was a Democrat — a

Jackson Democrat. In religion he

was nothing at times and a member of various denominations by turns. It is

believed, however, that he died in the faith of a Campbellite.

Very little is known of Nancy Hanks, the mother of President Lincoln. It seems that she was born in Virginia, in 1783; that her mother's given name was Lucy, and after she married Henry Sparrow the child did not remain long under her stepfather's roof, but went to live with her Aunt Betsey, who had married Thomas Sparrow. They had no children of their own. Besides Nancy, they took to raise her cousin, Dennis Hanks. Little Nancy became so identified with Thomas and Betsy Sparrow that a great many supposed that she was their child, and she was called Nancy Sparrow by her playmates. They were the only parents she ever knew, and she must have called them by names appropriate to

LAHAM LINCOLN.

that relationship. They took her with them to Mercer county, Kentucky. They reared her to womanhood, followed her to Indiana, died of the same disease at about the same time, and were buried close beside her.

Nancy Hanks was a beautiful girl, of pleasing manners and keen intellect. She was slender and symmetrical, above the ordinary height in stature, and had the appearance of one inclined to consumption. She was a brunette, with dark hair, soft hazel eyes, and had a high, intellectual-looking forehead. While in

ROCK SPRING.

One of the picturesque and romantic scenes of the Lincoln homestead on Xolin's creek, in Kentucky, is Rook Spring. In summer especially this is one of the most beautiful spots imaginable, and to its pleasing scenery is added the practical advantage of a never-failing supply of the finest quality of limestone water, for which central Kentucky is justly famous.

Virginia she attended school and received other advantages which placed her on a higher intellectual plane than most of those around her. She always wore a marked melancholy expression, which fixed itself upon the memory of everyone who ever saw or knew her, and though her life was seemingly beclouded by a spirit of sadness, she was in disposition amiable and generally cheerful; these iM LINCOLN.

traits she transmitted to her son. Her aucestors were probably English, who emigrated to America in the early days. Under favorable environments she likely would have become an accomplished and talented woman.

Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, parent's of Abraham Lincoln, were married on June 12, 1806, near Beachland, Washington county, Kentucky, by the Rev. Jesse Head, a Methodist minister. Thomas was twenty-eight years of age and his wife twenty-three. They began married life in wretched poverty, in a dreary cabin about fourteen feet square, in Elizabethtown. Here, in the spring of 1807, their daughter, Sarah, was born. Thomas Lincoln soon wearied of Elizabethtown and carpenter-work. He thought he could do better as a farmer, and removed to a piece of land in La Rue county, three miles from Hodgensville, on the south fork of Nolin's creek. The land was poor and the landscape desolate. They took up their abode in a miserable cabin, which stood on a little knoll. Near by, a spring of excellent water gushed from beneath the rock, and was called "Rock Spring."

CHAPTER III. BIRTH AXn UOYHOOD IN KENTUCKY

OX February 12, 1809, a babe was boi-n in a log cabin, located on Nolin's creek, in La Rue county, Kentucky, -which was then a new and almost wild country. No doctors attended his birth. Only a few unskilled women were there to offer their willing services in caring for the mother. There was no fine linen ready in which to wrap the baby boy. His father was away from home. There was no food in the house, and had it not been for the kindness of neighbors he would have perished. But he was a child of destiny, and grew and waxed strong. They gave him his grandfather's name, Abraham — Abraham Lincoln! What a strange mingling of mirth and tears, of tragic and grotesque, of all that is gentle and just; humorous and honest, merciful, wise, laughable, lovable and divine, and all consecrated to the use of the man; while through all and over all an overwhelming sense of obligation, of chivalric loyalty to truth, and upon all the shadow of a tragic end.

The cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born on that cold winter's night was a forlorn hovel with one door and no window. There were great chinks in the wall, through which the sun, rain and wind came driving in at pleasure. At night the stars were plainly visible, shining through cracks in the roof. The room was cold and bare, as it had scarcely anything in it that could be called furniture, and no floor except the beaten ground. In one end was a wide fireplace. It (lid not look as though a tender, new-born babe could live, much less grow and thrive, in such an uncomfortable place as this poor hut.

Here the mother gathered her infant son in her arms; here she went about her daily tasks, much of which was a routine of drudgery, getting something for her family to eat and wear. All of the cooking was done on the hearth, before the open fire. The food was simple, usually corn-bread and bacon or game. She had not sufficient strength, energy or health to make the most of life in a poor man's cabin. She craved better things — books, friends and the comforts of life. Frequently her husband would be gone for several days or weeks on hunting or boating trips, or at work at his trade, leaving her and the children alone. At night they could hear the snarl of the wolf, the cry of the panther and the hoot of the owl. From the door no human habitation could be seen, no familiar neighbors passed and repassed, for there were no roads. The children were a great comfort to her in this lonely place, their prattle was the sweetest of music

AliRAHAM LINCOLX to her. At flusk she took them on her lap and told them stories and sang them to sleep, when she tucked them away in their bed of leaves, covered with buffalo-robes. As they grew older, she taught them their A-B-C's and how to read and spell and write. Sarah and little Abe were always glad to see summertime come, for then they could play out of doors, gather wild flowers, and carry little gourds of water for their mother from Rock Spring.

No school of any kind had ever been opened near Thomas Lincoln's home until Zachariah Riney, a wandering Roman Catholic priest, happened along, in the year 1813. He engaged an empty cabin, and sent word to the settlers that he would teach spelling and reading to all who would pay him. Although the Lincolns were very poor, it is a credit to the parents that Sarah and little Abe were found in the school. Logs split in two and turned flat side upward answered for benches, and the pupils included children and adults. The teacher

I'll. Till .In riiui eriofl of four years after iity. The farm on which 11. owners. The humble ' iitilizpfl otherwise, and , ,| \ ,„,.v.- pri'tfiitious i\' 1 1" I III' liii III Mgain

1 1 . i-hbor.

..:■ .iihI was

In reon. ..iii-e hr- 111 11- iiiipi..\ i-uient <• as a national park. Many ■oln cabin, and certain recent liowever, is a mistake. The lie same plan, and with logs knew nothing outside of spelling and reading, and not much of these. The only book used was a speller, of which there were only a few copies. It was a great surprise to the teacher when he found that little Abe, only five years old, was far in advance of any of the children of his age, and even of many

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

of the older pupils. Abe (that is what all his playmates called him) was tall of his age, and slender, had dark hair, gray eyes, and was of a quiet disposition. His sister, who was two years older, was large of her age, but not tall. She was a pretty child, with dark hair and gray eyes, and was very modest in the presence of strangers. With tattered speller, and lunch of corn-bread, she and Abe tramped through the woods to school the few weeks it kept open.

The church preceded the school-house in pioneer settlements. In Hodfjensville, which consisted of a primitive mill and a few scattered cabins, the puldic-

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

spirited had erected a log building, but had failed to provide glass for the windows. Occasionally a preacher came to the rude meeting-house, when the people flocked in from miles around, coming on foot or horseback. They did not all come for the purpose of hearing the religious services or to exhibit their clothing, but to see one another and exchange news, and hear what was going on in the world outside Hodgensville. Mrs. Lincoln was a devout woman, attending church services whenever she could. David Elkin, a traveling Baptist minister, was a special friend to the Lincolns, and took quite a fancy to Thomas Lincoln's boy. Thomas Lincoln had made no headway in paying for his farm; in fact, no terms were easy enough for him. He gave it up, and on September 12. 1813, bargained with a Mr. Slater for two hundred and thirty-eight acres. The terms were that he was to pay one hundred and eighty pounds, all deferred payments, which were never met. This land was situated about six miles from Hodgensville, on Knob creek, a very clear stream which empties into Rolling Fork two miles above the present site of New Haven. The farm was somewhat hilly, well timbered, and had some rich little valleys, of which Thomas Lincoln succeeded in getting six acres under cultivation. The cabin which he built here was even worse than the one they had left, if that were possible. While here, Abraham entered his second school, which lasted about three months. His teacher was Caleb Hazel. He could teach reading and writing in an indifferent way, and a little arithmetic. The school was located four miles from the Lincoln

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

farm, and the Lincoln children had to tramp the entire distance. It was about this time that Dennis Hanks initiated Abraham into the mysteries of fishing. One day he and a companion named Gollaher were out on a little excursion, and while Abe was attempting to "coon" across a stream on a sycamore log, he lost his hold and fell into the water, and was saved only by the utmost exertions of Gollaher. Hunting ground-hogs was another favorite sport of the boys.

As time wore oru, Thomas Lincoln became dissatistied, and being a wanderer by natural inclination, he longed for a change. He was gaining neither riches nor credit, and attributed his luck to the country where he lived. He felt ill at ease and cramped in the presence of his more prosperous neighbors. He listened to the stories of the fertility and cheapness of the land in the new state of Indiana, across the Ohio river, and believed them. So he resolved to pull up stakes and locate once more in the wilderness. Among the many things which he had attempted was flatboating, and had been hired to make a few trips to New Orleans. When he concluded to make the removal to Indiana, he built a rude boat and loaded most of his scanty store of property and tools, and sold the rest for four hundred gallons of whisky. In those days whisky was a common article of commerce, and passed for so much coin in buying and selling. He started down Rolling Fork, then down Salt river, and reached the Ohio river without any mishaps, but here his boat capsized. He fished up whatever tools and property he could, and most of the whisky, and started on his way, finally landing at Thompson's Ferry, two and a half miles west of Troy, in Perry county, Indiana. Here he sold the boat, and put the property in the hands of a Mr. Posey, a settler living near. He then started out to find a location, and decided upon a spot sixteen miles distant, afterward returning to his family in Kentucky, walking the entire distance.

Chapter IV. Boyhood In Indiana

THOMAS LINCOLN and family moved from Kentucky to Indiana in the fall of 1816. Before they left, Mrs. Lincoln and the two children visited the grave of her third child, a boy, who died in infancy. The trip to Indiana was a hard journey, as there were no roads or bridges. They made the trip on horseback, borrowing two horses for the occasion. Besides their scanty bed and clothing, they carried with them a few cooking-utensils, including a Dutch oven and lid, a skillet and lid, and some tinware. They camped out on the way, and depended mostly upon game for subsistence.

After reaching Mr. Posey's house, Thomas Lincoln hired a wagon, into which he loaded his tools, the whisky, his few goods, his wife and children, and plunged into the forest. There were no roads or foot-paths, and many times a passageway had to be cut before they could proceed farther. At length they arrived at the spot which he had selected between Prairie and Pigeon creeks, and which has since become famous as the Lincoln farm. Lincoln was a "squatter," and did not enter his claim until October 15, 1817.

This part of the country was covered with thick forests of deciduous trees — poplar, oak, walnut, elm, beech and sugar. The land was fertile, the grazing excellent, and there was an immense amount of mast on the ground for hogs. Lincoln selected a beautiful site on an elevation for his home. The selection was wise, except that no running water was near, and they had to use that which collected in holes when it rained, until a well was dug. Here Thomas Lincoln built a temporary shelter called "a half-face camp," which is a shed built of poles and open on one side. It was as cold as outdoors, and not fit for a stable. They lived here all winter and until the next fall before he had the cabin completed. This cabin had neither floor nor window, and the doorway had to be closed by hanging skins of animals over it. It seems that Lincoln was too lazy to use his skill as a carpenter to improve his home, for the furniture was cruder than the house. The bed consisted of two poles, with one end of each stuck in between the logs in one corner of the cabin, while the corner of the bed where the poles crossed rested in a crotch of a forked stick sunk into the earthen floor. On these were thrown some rough boards, and on the boards a lot of leaves covered with skins and any old clothing they had. The table was a similar

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

affair, and three-legged stools answered for chairs. They had a few pewter and tin dishes, and if they had knives or forks, it is unknown. Abraham slept on a bed of leaves in the loft, reached by climbing on pegs in the wall. In the fall of 1817 Thomas and Betsy Sparrow followed their adopted daughter to Indiana, and took up their abode in the old "half-face camp," which was about one hundred and fifty feet from the cabin. They brought with them their adopted son, Dennis Hanks, a cousin of Mrs. Lincoln's. For two years they continued to live along in the old way. Lincoln did not like farming, and did not succeed in getting very much of his land under cultivation. He raised a small crop of corn and vegetables, and this, with the game, which was abundant, supplied the table.

Milk-sickness broke out in the Pigeon creek region in the summer of 1818. It was a terrible disease, common to new counti-ies. It is supposed that it was contracted by cattle and sheep feeding on a poisonous weed, which grew in wild pasture-lands. It swept off the cattle which gave the milk, and the people who drank it. Among those who were attacked by it were Thomas and Betsy Sparrow and Mrs. Thomas Lincoln. The Sparrows were then removed from the "half-faced" camp to the Lincoln cabin, which was very little better. Many of the neighbors had already died of the disease, and Thomas Lincoln had made all of their coffins out of green lumber cut with a whip-saw. Toward fall the Sparrows and Mrs. Lincoln grew worse. The nearest doctor was at Yellow