LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/youngabelincolncOOmars 
 
THE BOY LINCOLN READING BY THE UGHT OF THE FIRE 
 (After a painting by Eastman Johnson made in 1868) 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 A COTTON BOWL OF LINCOLN STORIES 
 FOUNDED ON TRADITION 
 
 TOLD BY AUNT ANN OF INDIANA 
 
 BY 
 
 S. LOUISE (COTTON) MARSH 
 
 The Christopher Publishing House 
 Boston, U. S. A. 
 
COPYRIGHT 1929 
 BY THE CHRISTOPHER PUBLISHING HOUSE 
 
 PRINTED IN 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMEIRICA 
 
*?73. 7LL>3 i/>i 
 
 
 
 DEDICATED TO MY 
 
 DEAR FRIEND 
 
 AND CO-WORKER 
 
 MARY CORNELIUS WHITE 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 OBJECT OF BOOK 
 Young Abe Lincoln 
 
 If this book has increased the desire of American 
 citizens to go forward with the proposed Lincoln Me- 
 morial for Nancy Hanks Lincoln and young Abe, in 
 Spencer, Indiana where young Abe spent the form- 
 ative period of his life, efforts of the author have not 
 been in vain. 
 
 Boys and girls of today will be the citizens of to- 
 morrow and should be justly proud of their Lincoln 
 heritage and help put the Lincoln Memorials for 
 Nancy Hanks Lincoln and young Abe over for monu- 
 ments for all time. 
 
NOTE 
 
 Aunt Ann was a woman much beloved by the chil- 
 dren for the stories she told and the candy pulls she 
 gave to them. When she departed to live in a great 
 city, thirty-five or more children followed her to the 
 depot. While she was gone they were quite lonely. 
 Upon her return they were quite eager to see her. 
 They cried, "Aunt Ann is coming! Goody, Goody !"" 
 At the time of her death when she was taken back for 
 burial in Lincoln Ferry County, do you wonder that 
 hundreds came with floral offerings, especially children 
 forgetting their creed — a source of joy and heartfelt 
 appreciation to her relatives. 
 
 Mrs. S. Louise (Cotton) Marsh, a pioneer, was one 
 of the first, if not the first, in the movement that 
 brought to light the middle link or formative years 
 which has been the neglected part of Lincoln's life, as 
 is disclosed in her article in the National Republic, 
 January 31st 1925, entitled "Where Abraham Lincoln 
 Grew to Manhood," and through her speeches during 
 many years. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 I. Young Abe Lincoln 13 
 
 II. Lincoln's Reverence in His Youth 31 
 
 III. Family Worship in Lincoln Cabin 31 
 
 IV. Young Abe's First Attempt at Love 32 
 
 V. Young Abe Escaped Death Twice 33 
 
 VI. Lincoln, a Product of Books 34 
 
 VII. Shakespeare and Lincoln, Men of the Ages .... 35 
 
 VIII. Lincoln and Lindbergh 36 
 
 IX. The Ohio River Highway 36 
 
 X. Lincoln in Illinois 38 
 
 XI. A Lincoln Relic in a Shakespeare Shrine 39 
 
 XII. The Lincoln Spirit 39 
 
 XIII. Legends of the Lincoln Bridge 40 
 
 XIV. No Looking-Glasses in the Days of Lincoln .... 42 
 XV. Lincoln's Clothing Material 42 
 
 XVI. Teachers, Normal School Graduates 42 
 
 XVII. Fishing-Hooks for Girl 43 
 
 XVIII. Lincoln as a Man 44 
 
 XIX. Interesting Facts in Indiana History 47 
 
 XX. Abe's Inspiration to Spencer County Youths ... 49 
 
 XXI. Abe's First Conception of Chicago and St. Louis 52 
 
 XXII. Whipped for an Act of Kindness 52 
 
 XXIII. Legend of the Lincoln Ferry 52 
 
 XXIV. Mother's Day 55 
 
 XXV. The Lincoln Handshake 56 
 
 XXVI. Lincoln, Ideal Poor Youth 57 
 
 XXVII. The Hoosier Welcome 58 
 
 XXVIII. Lincoln's Favorite Poem 59 
 
I. 
 Young Abe Lincoln 
 
 In a log cabin at Nolan's Creek, Hardin County, 
 Kentucky, on Sunday, February 12th, 1809, the boy 
 Lincoln breathed his first breath of life. As the say- 
 ing goes, 'Sunday's child has far to go/ — which was 
 surely true of Abe Lincoln. Judging from his home 
 surroundings, his anchor hung on a slender string but 
 his birth-place possessed a soul — for a home with one 
 good book in it, has a soul; this book was the Bible, 
 which molded his mind and manners, and made him 
 the matchless man he became. Some biographers say 
 that Abe made his advent in life during a snow storm, 
 which represented his life of storm and stress. The 
 following is symbolic of Lincoln and has been ded- 
 icated to him. 
 
 Good Timber 
 
 The tree that never had to fight 
 For sun and sky and air and light 
 
 That stood out in the open plain 
 And always got its share of rain 
 
 Never became a forest king 
 
 But lived and died a scrubby thing. 
 
 The man who never had to toil, 
 
 Who never had to win his share 
 Of sun and sky and light and air, 
 
 Never became a manly man, 
 But lived and died as he began. 
 
14 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 Good timber does not grow in ease; 
 
 The stronger wind the tougher trees 
 The farther sky the greater length 
 
 The more the storm the more the strength 
 By sun and cold by rain and snows 
 
 In tree or man timber grows. 
 
 Where thickest stands the forest growth 
 
 We find the patriarch of both, 
 And they hold converse with the stars 
 
 Whose broken branches show the scars 
 Of many winds and much of strife, 
 
 This is the common law of life. 
 
 His cabin home with its pioneer training gave him 
 little opportunity for schooling. When Abe was about 
 seven years of age his father, Tom Lincoln, settled in 
 Indiana on a little farm near Gentryville, Spencer 
 County, where the country was so new that Tom had 
 to cut his way at times to continue their journey. 
 Southern Indiana at that time had little convenience 
 to offer any living being. Their first landing in South- 
 ern Indiana was at Troy on the Ohio River. The old 
 biographers give the landing of the Lincoln family 
 below Troy, near the Anderson Creek Ferry, situated 
 in what is now Perry County, and the little village was 
 known as Maxville. From an old document found in 
 the Court House in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana, 
 by Clarence Leaf, a few months ago the following has 
 recently been given to the public. "Abraham Lincoln 
 who is held to have crossed the Ohio river with his 
 father, Thomas Lincoln and family at Grandview, 
 probably crossed at Tobinsport, it has been disclosed 
 by an old document found in the recorder's office." 
 
 Clarence Leaf, present operator of the Tobinsport- 
 Cloverport ferry, while looking through an old trunk 
 which contained some old deeds, ran onto a faded 
 document written by his grandfather, Jacob Weather- 
 holt, Jr., who at that time owned much of the land in 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 15 
 
 Tobin township bottoms. Mr. Leaf brought the docu- 
 ment to the court house where he inquired for the re- 
 corder, James Nix, who was at that time out. The 
 document found by Mr. Leaf told of another document 
 in the records of Perry County, a duplicate of the one 
 held. Mr. Leaf and Mr. Doogs, deputy auditor, went 
 to the recorder's office where they found the document 
 mentioned. Judge 0. C. Minor later heard the story 
 and looked it up and holds that the record would hold 
 as prima facie evidence in any court of law. 
 
 The document reads in exact: "Sealed August 20, 
 1866 
 
 '^Memory of Jacob Weatherholt, Jr., at this writing 
 seventy one years of age. 
 
 ""From 1866 back fifty years to 1816 the year Indiana 
 became a state Abraham Lincoln to whom I am refer- 
 ing to this day and age was one of the greatest land 
 marks of America. My father, Jacob Weatherholt, 
 Sr., ferried Thomas Lincoln and family wife Nancy, 
 daughter Sarah and son Abraham age eleven years 
 from the hills of Kentucky to Indiana consisting of a 
 yoke of oxen, a cow, a cart and some camping outfit by 
 canoe and a dog and raft of logs. From what is known 
 as Clover Creek Ky to Indiana and landed on land and 
 camped over night on land I now own, and hold deed 
 for referrence and next day made his way down the 
 Indiana Banks of the Ohio By Indian trails and Paths 
 and camped the second night at what is known as Rock 
 Island where General La Fayette was wrecked in 1825, 
 and then made way to his New Indiana Home where 
 he had taken up a Federal land Claim before at Vin- 
 cennes and from this on not all dates I can give. In 
 fall of 1818 Thomas Lincoln wife died from one of the 
 world greatest dread at that time Milch sickness and 
 for funeral services no preacher could be had as 
 preachers was few, a letter was sent back to the old 
 Kentucky Home for a preacher and to the best of my 
 recall His name was Parson Elkins. In spring of 
 1819 he came and preached Nancy funeral. In the fall 
 of 1819 Thomas Lincoln returned to his old Kentucky 
 
16 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 Home by same trail and Brought back with him his 
 second wife by the name of Sarah Bush Johnston etc," 
 and whom we will speak of later. 
 
 Thomas Lincoln was a philosopher. The building 
 of the home so that it opened to the south that the sun 
 and light might come through to warm and light it 
 was proof of this. History has misrepresented him in 
 saying that he was shiftless. It is true he moved often 
 but he was not lazy or shiftless. The pioneer spirit 
 was one of adventure, to find better land and home 
 for his family. He had many lines of work, farming, 
 cabin making etc. In the settlement in Southern 
 Indiana he made furniture and coffins for the neigh- 
 bors. One of his corner cupboards is still in existence 
 and owned by one of his old neighbor's sons. 
 
 On a little farm near Gentryville, Spencer County, 
 Tom Lincoln and his family cleared the land and built 
 themselves a rough dwelling, a "half faced camp." 
 This afforded a little less shelter than the tepees of the 
 Indians, who still lingered in the Indiana forests. This 
 home could scarcely be used today as a barn in the 
 same locality. Heat and light came from a crude fire- 
 place intermittently. 
 
 Southern Indiana was a transplanted Kentucky. 
 However, the neighbors from all points of the United 
 States of America dwelt here in great harmony. 
 Hence the Universality. So much so was this manifest 
 that a Union neighbor kept the valuables of a Southern 
 sympathiser. A family by the name of David Turn- 
 ham was a neighbor of the Lincolns. They had other 
 neighbors who were all about in the same circum- 
 stances, the Lincolns being no poorer than their neigh- 
 bors. Many of them were descendents of good families 
 in Kentucky and Virginia — the offspring of the young- 
 er sons left no inheritance under the precedents of 
 that day. Here in the "Penny-Rile" Hills of Spencer 
 and Perry Counties, Southern Indiana, young Abe 
 waxed strong and grew to manhood. 
 
 They were wise in the lore of the forests and every 
 day life, with much of wit and humor, and a spirit of 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 17 
 
 independence born of necessity and self-reliance. The 
 Indianan of that day was much like the Virginian of 
 the period which produced the greatest crop of human 
 character and ability that ever sprang from the soil 
 of a single common-wealth. 
 
 About the age of ten, Lincoln attended the first In- 
 diana school which was kept by Andrew Crawford. 
 He had also a teacher by the name of Hazel Dorsey. 
 This school was not far from Abe's home. Abe, being 
 one of the few that could write, went about writing 
 letters at the age of ten for the neighbors who could 
 not read or write. Tom Lincoln was taught writing 
 by his wife. The first book young Abe studied while 
 in Kentucky was the Kentucky Preceptor. 
 
 Books to the pioneer settlers of the Lincoln Ferry 
 Country (Southern Indiana) were as essential as 
 bread. What these first English settlers fed the minds 
 of their children was as essential as their daily bread 
 and they educated their children as far as was in their 
 power knowing that mind makes the man. Young Abe 
 stood the acid test which with patience made him one 
 of God's best scholars. God is said to give hardest 
 lessons to the obedient. This was Lincoln's anchor. 
 In comparison take Aaron Burr for an example. He 
 was a bright college lad who had no patriotism or 
 religion. He went down without success. If religious 
 principles and Pioneer spirit, Folk lore etc., are things 
 of the past in American life, what will be the result? 
 Are Americans to take this in ease while it seems 
 atheism is abroad in our land? Our constitution's 
 basic principle is being attacked. What Washington, 
 Jefferson and Lincoln — the Triumverate of the 
 American constitution — upheld, must live. We would 
 not go back to the pioneer days to live as they lived, 
 but returning to the great basic principle of their 
 spirit, we can yet gain strength and go forward. 
 
 Abe was very handy with the axe and was often 
 kept out of school to assist his father. While in 
 Spencer County he attended several schools. While 
 attending the school instructed by Andrew Crawford, 
 
18 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 who taught manners as well as "book larnin' ", Abe 
 wrote his first essay on "Kindness to Animals." It 
 was in this essay that he showed his first thought was 
 sympathy for God's dumb creatures, which character- 
 istic was shown through his whole life — relieving the 
 suffering of the oppressed through some kind act. 
 
 Abe's first real sorrow was in the death of his 
 mother, Nancy Hanks. She was a frail, delicate wo- 
 man and soon succumbed to an epidemic which from 
 time to time made the woods full of malaria. This 
 was on October 5th 1818. After the death of his 
 mother his father made a coffin from lumber cut out 
 of logs by a whip saw and put togeher with wooden 
 pegs. She was buried on a hillside near the little cabin 
 home. Her body in its rude coffin was pulled on a sled 
 to its last resting place. There was no ceremony and 
 no preacher, just a few friends and the sorrowing 
 family. The boy Abe was sad over the hurried event, 
 and three months later summoned a traveling circuit 
 rider, Parson Elkins, by letter whom he induced to 
 go with him to his mother's grave to deliver a sermon 
 in her honor. This was an event full of sadness. Her 
 death cast a shadow over his whole life, for he cared 
 for his mother in her last illness as tenderly as any 
 girl, reading the same scriptures that she had taught 
 to him. This was a great comfort to her in her dying 
 hours. 
 
 Thomas Lincoln, after the death of his wife, found 
 life an uphill struggle and finally, about a year later, 
 he returned to the old home in Kentucky and while 
 there met a former sweetheart, Sarah Bush Johnson, 
 who had been married and widowed. Thomas pro- 
 posed marriage and was accepted. On December 2nd 
 1819, they were married and soon left for the Indiana 
 home. Ralph Krume, who had married Mary Lincoln, 
 sister of Thomas, was pressed into service with his 
 four horse team to transport the new Mrs. Lincoln 
 with her three children, Elizabeth, Matilda and John 
 and her husband, Thomas. On their arrival in Indiana, 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 19 
 
 they were greeted by Abraham and Sarah Lincoln and 
 Dennis Hanks. 
 
 Although Lincoln's people were in poverty at the 
 time of his youth, his life should not be pictured as 
 the poverty of the slum. It is true the Lincolns were 
 poor but after the second marriage of Tom Lincoln 
 the home life was more attractive for the second wife 
 brought her household goods, which were beyond the 
 ordinary, with her. After their marriage, there was 
 no lack of amusement or social enjoyment. The 
 country store, the occasional church service, the neigh- 
 borhood quiltings, corn huskings and other social as- 
 semblages, and best of all, the open forum at the 
 country store, were occasions for Lincoln's wit and 
 wisdom. Homely as it seemed then it soon gave him 
 leadership. 
 
 Abe's stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnson, was a 
 Christian woman of considerable force, therefore suc- 
 ceeded in having Thomas Lincoln, Abe's father, con- 
 sent to his reading and going to school. She was a 
 woman of some education and like Abe's own mother 
 was a godly woman. She became interested in Abe's 
 education from the start and did much to encourage 
 him for she recognized the boy's keen mind for learn- 
 ing. His own mother was of the submissive type of 
 woman, very spiritual, and most biographers are of 
 the opinion that it was from her that young Abe in- 
 herited his sweet and kindly disposition. Dr. Denton 
 J. Snider, author of "The Universal Lincoln" gives 
 this opinion. Young Abe was fortunate in one thing 
 at least — that he had the influence of two godly wo- 
 men, his own mother and his stepmother. Abe and 
 his stepmother became friends from the start. The 
 neglected lad's heart responded to Sarah's. It is said 
 of him that although like all small boys there was an 
 inclination to avoid the washing of the neck and ears 
 daily, Abe was obedient to his stepmother and submit- 
 ted to the scrubbing soon after she arrived. When 
 she appealed to him to be more tidy with his personal 
 appearance he replied, "Never mind, mlother, who 
 
20 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 knows, I may be President of the United States some- 
 day." Abe was about twelve years of age at this time 
 and this statement was prophetic. 
 
 Picture a boy of ten years of those days reading the 
 Bible. Books that appealed to most lads were not 
 often read by Abe. When not reading he was engaged 
 in earning money by doing chores for neighbors. 
 Small wages they were but every cent was a help to 
 his father. Abe worked for James Taylor who ran the 
 Ferry and who was a Southern sympathizer. Green 
 Taylor younger than young Abe Lincoln never thought 
 of the great part Abe was to render his country in 
 later years at the time he, Abe, was engaged as a 
 helper in the Taylor family. The Taylors were the 
 highest class citizens of this day. Young Abe was 
 more than the "hired hand." He was called upon for 
 many things, about the Taylor home and being oblig- 
 ing he was talked about as being the "hired girl." 
 This is a good illustration of the axiom that the first 
 shall be last, and the last shall be first. However, it 
 was not hard for Uncle David Turnham or Andrew 
 Crawford, Abe's teacher, to understand Abe reaching 
 the heights, for they realized he was an unusual lad. 
 Here he waxed in strength and stature. The struggle 
 was hard. The none too fertile soil yielded them only a 
 bare living. This farm was later called the Lincoln 
 Farm and is near the present town of Lincoln City. 
 Gentryville was the cross-roads trading and voting 
 place where the Lincolns made their modest purchases 
 and received their mail during Lincoln's life in this 
 locality. 
 
 Abe's stepmother always spoke of him as the best 
 boy she had ever known. She often protected him 
 against his father's opposition to his reading habit. 
 Tom Lincoln thought his son too strong a youth "to 
 take to learning." Abe improved his time by reading 
 at every spare moment. Five miles was not too long 
 a distance to walk to borrow a book which was his only 
 means of securing an education. At one time he 
 walked seventeen miles to borrow a book from a pio- 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 21 
 
 neer. A story worth repeating is told in connection 
 with his days of schooling under the instruction of 
 Andrew Crawford. A book had been loaned Abe by 
 the schoolmaster and in some way it had become 
 damaged — some say he left it in the rain for he worked 
 and read at the same time but this was unlike Abe. 
 Others say the book was damaged by rain dripping 
 through the roof while Abe was asleep and this seems 
 to be a more likely story. Abe was tall and awkward, 
 clumsy and shy, with bare feet a long way below his 
 trousers. Picture him dressed in just such a fashion 
 with a book under his arm on the way to return it. 
 As he spoke to the owner and turned over the dis- 
 colored leaves, he looked the picture of distress. "Mr. 
 Crawford," he said, "I am very sorry that an accident 
 happened to your book. Last night I read by the fire- 
 place till bedtime, and then took the book to the cabin 
 loft with me to read until I had burned up a short end 
 of the candle." "Did you fall asleep a-reading, Abe, 
 and did the straw catch fire, and then did you souse 
 the book tryin' to put the fire out?", questioned the 
 owner. There was a twinkle in Mr. Crawford's eye 
 as he asked Abe these questions. But Abe was serious 
 and went on to explain. "I did not fall asleep, Mr. 
 Crawford, for the book was the most interesting one 
 I had ever read. When the candle burned out I laid 
 the bcok on the straw beside me, close against the logs. 
 But you know it rained in the night, and the cabin is 
 not very tight, so the rain came through. How much 
 is that book worth, Mr. Crawford?" "Oh, I reckon it's 
 worth seventy-five cents, Abe," answered the school- 
 master. "Well," continued Abe, "I've almost ruined 
 it, Mr. Crawford, and I think I ought to pay for it. 
 I have no money, but I can work for you, if that will 
 do. I am willing to help you three days in your corn 
 cutting." 
 
 Mr. Crawford reckoned that would be about right. 
 Later Abe was returning home feeling that he had 
 fully repaid Mr. Crawford for the damage done, when 
 Mr. Crawford called to him. "Hold on there, Abe, I 
 
22 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 don't want to sell that book and keep it, too. You made 
 as good a hand cutting corn as any on the place and 
 that book is yours." 
 
 Abe was greatly affected. He told Mr. Crawford 
 he had not thought of such a thing but he saw it was 
 fair, and he did love the book, which was Weems , "Life 
 of Washington" — a thrilling book to Abe. This story 
 planted the seed that he, Abe, in later life was the man 
 to uphold the constitution in his day, which proves 
 truth lives on and on. It also produced the great Folk 
 Soul in Lincoln that cried out for "a government of the 
 people, by the people, and for the people." What can 
 take the place of Folk-Lore? 
 
 With a light and happy heart the country boy walked 
 home that night with the cherished book under his 
 arm. Many years after when Lincoln became Presi- 
 dent, he used to say that the possession of that book, 
 the first he had ever owned, gave him greater pleasure 
 and pride than he had felt in his election to the pres- 
 idency. Many years later he used to refer to this book, 
 which gave him many fine ideals and above all, truth 
 and honesty. 
 
 He had read as many as twelve books in these years 
 of his youth, in Southern Indiana — among which were 
 "Aesop's Fables," "Robinson Crusoe," Pilgrim's Prog- 
 ress," and a history of the United States. These books 
 laid the foundation for his unusual mental powers and 
 his greatness was manifested even in early manhood. 
 Abe as a lad could mount the stump and make a 
 speech and make discourses to younger children who 
 would listen to him while their parents were at church. 
 
 It was here he had his early impressions, and under- 
 went many struggles with poverty in his cabin home. 
 Trials were overcome by great sacrifice and hard work 
 and as obstacles appeared in his path, he persevered 
 and mastered them. When his troubles were too great, 
 he took them to God — so he told later in life. 
 
 This backwood youth, whose loneliness and melan- 
 choly sat upon him, whose seriousness was sometimes 
 pathetic, learned his lessons of life early, and they left 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 23 
 
 their imprint upon his heart and mind and actions 
 through his future years. He was a man of sorrows — 
 for he lost all that he ever loved. There was even sad- 
 ness in his humor — for he carried the sorrows of others 
 — knowing the vicissitudes and weariness of humanity 
 at its early tasks. Those pioneer ancestors wrestled 
 a living out of the stubborn soil by constant toil. 
 
 Lincoln's schooling was confined to a few months 
 under a master whose knowledge of Greek and Latin 
 made him seem a "wizard" to the pioneers. No one 
 had a greater hunger for knowledge than Lincoln. His 
 opportunity to read was limited. Few newspapers 
 came to the community. While he was working in the 
 vicinity of Gentry's store, which was also the post- 
 office, he doubtless took advantage of reading whatever 
 periodicals presented themselves. 
 
 It was a noteworthy fact that while Lincoln was 
 within immediate reach of such limited opportunities 
 for schooling, seventy miles west through the forest, 
 was a community, New Harmony, which had at the 
 time what the famous Albert Gallatin said were "the 
 finest schools in the world" for the education of youth. 
 They were modeled after the school of Pestalozzi in 
 Switzerland by members of that remarkable group 
 which assembled around Robert Owen in his great 
 communistic experiment. 
 
 Perhaps it is not a misfortune that young Abe had 
 to rely on the resources of his own back-woods com- 
 munity ; better scholastic training might have changed 
 the whole current of his life. The books that were 
 within his reach were of the best and that book — the 
 Bible — represented great literature, both in prose and 
 verse and nearly every literature form, and he knew 
 it intimately. His schoolmates said he was always 
 at the head of his class, and even passed them in his 
 studies. 
 
 His stepmother made it possible for him to read at 
 home without being disturbed, and he read and studied 
 while at rest from work and sometimes on Sunday. 
 He was striving to express himself — writing on bits 
 
24 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 of paper, marking on boards and putting his thought 
 into words. Studying expression, we would say — and 
 acquiring clearness of style. What an example of 
 studiousness ! Memorizing phrases of good, pure Eng- 
 lish from these books and meditating on them until 
 he understood their meaning and then translating them 
 into his own style of speech. This is proof that there 
 may be some truth in the saying that Hoosier cradles 
 have pencil and pad of paper in them. Then, the fact 
 that Indiana was first to have a Traveling library did 
 much to make so many great story tellers in its Pio- 
 neer days which, in turn, resulted in it having many 
 writers in a later day. Their great love of home life, 
 mothers, wives, and children, without artificiality, has 
 made many statesmen. Later in life Abe Lincoln 
 wrote his greatest masterpiece, "The Gettysburg 
 Speech," a classic in modern literature. 
 
 Young Abe Lincoln, at the time he made trips 
 to Grandview, Indiana, was a tall, strong boy. The 
 following incident is often told of his trip to Ham- 
 mond tannery to have a hide tanned for his father. 
 Upon presenting the hide to the tanner he said, "Here's 
 my father's hide. Tan it !" Abe was quite a wrestler 
 and showed great strength in his wrestling bouts. 
 Young Abe made several visits to Grandview for the 
 purpose of helping to load loop poles in addition to 
 bringing hides to the tannery to be tanned. 
 
 Remote as the Gentryville neighborhood was from 
 the currents of civilization, there was much there to 
 appeal to the spirit of adventure. Only three years 
 before the Lincolns came to Indiana, which became a 
 state the year of the Lincoln migration, the battle of 
 Tippecanoe had been fought within the Indiana ter- 
 ritory. The possibility of Indian forays was not over. 
 There were deer, bears, and "catamounts" in the 
 forest. 
 
 At this time the Ohio River was the great thorough- 
 fare of travel in the Middle-West, and was but a few 
 miles away from the Lincoln home. This was the 
 scene of young Abe's first forthfaring adventure. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 25 
 
 Here he took employment as "skipper" of a ferry. He 
 also made flat-boat trips. 
 
 Tradition has it that young Abe's only adverse con- 
 tact with the law was when he began his work as a 
 ferry-man without knowing that a ferryman's license 
 was necessary, and he was arrested and fined for his 
 oversight. Lincoln, having suffered persecution for 
 ignorance of the law and things in general, his very 
 soul was athirst for more understanding and knowl- 
 edge. When he was about eighteen he began to ferry 
 for James Taylor, pork-packer, flatboatman, and lead- 
 ing citizen of that day in Maxville, Southern Indiana. 
 Young Abe left his oars outside the log school-house — 
 next the door. When people came and called to be fer- 
 ried across the Anderson Creek, the teacher excused 
 Abe. He came out, grabbed his oars, and made for the 
 Anderson Creek Ferry. 
 
 Not quite a mile above the Anderson Ferry was the 
 nearest post-office, at Troy near the mouth of Ander- 
 son Creek in Perry County. Here young Abe spent 
 about a year ferrying. This beautiful Creek was not 
 navigable for steamboats. He was paid about eight 
 or ten dollars per month for this service, the first real 
 wages he earned. 
 
 It was his habit to sit in the shade of a tree on the 
 bank of the river, patiently waiting with his oars, to 
 take a passenger over, and, as always, with a book to 
 improve the time. 
 
 He said his very first dollar was thrown to him by a 
 passenger as a "tip" for unusual attentions. 
 
 The old log house, with its veneer of weather boards, 
 still stands on the banks of the Ohio River, near Ander- 
 son Creek. This building is the last one standing to- 
 day. It was in this humble place and at an early age 
 that his leadership was recognized by his companions. 
 About this time, 1828, young Abe, assisted in a river 
 trip to New Orleans, and his story-telling ability, wit 
 and good humor, made him the center of attraction. 
 It is said that "when he appeared in company, the boys 
 would gather and cluster around him to hear him talk. 
 
26 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 Mr. Lincoln was figurative in his speech, talks and 
 conversation. "He argued much from analogy, and 
 explained things hard for us to understand," says his 
 early companions, ' 'telling us by story, maxim, takes 
 and figures." He would almost always point his lesson 
 or idea by some story that was plain and near to them, 
 that they might instantly see the force and bearing of 
 what he said. 
 
 When he was on this trip to New Orleans, as a flat- 
 boat hand, it was in this city that he witnessed a slave 
 auction — which so impressed him with pity and 
 sympathy for the negro — that he made the remark "if 
 he ever had a chance to hit this, he would hit it hard," 
 which he did in the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 
 Lincoln's river knowledge accounted for his settle- 
 ment later at New Salem, 111., on the Sangamon River, 
 a place he first saw from the deck of a river boat, or 
 raft. 
 
 His first knowledge of a circuit court room was at 
 Boonville, where he went to witness a murder trial. 
 Here he heard a speech by a famous Kentucky orator, 
 which so thrilled him that he pressed forward at the 
 close of court to shake the hand of the lawyer. This 
 incident perhaps first attracted Abe Lincoln to the law. 
 He studied zealously in his cabin home from a book 
 which he borrowed from the settlement constable, 
 David Turnham, and which was the Revised Statutes 
 of Indiana. 
 
 Abe Lincoln began his practice of law after he had 
 failed as a country store keeper in Illinois, and before 
 his admission to the bar. He served his clients for 
 nothing. 
 
 Following are a few interesting incidents that oc- 
 curred in his life. 
 
 One of the boyhood friends of Abe Lincoln, Green 
 B. Taylor, (afterward Captain Taylor) son of James 
 and Appie Taylor, for whom Lincoln ran the ferry, 
 were pals in this Lincoln Ferry Country. They husked 
 corn, went to spelling bees and occasionally had a fight 
 over being teased about the lassies they were trying 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 27 
 
 "to shine up to." It was during the season that Abe 
 was operating the ferry across the Anderson Creek. 
 It was a rainy day and the two boys were told to go 
 into the crib and husk corn. While they were husking 
 corn Abe taunted Green about a certain girl in Troy 
 that he, Green, did not like and kept it up until Green 
 tore the husk off a big ear of corn and threw the ear 
 at Abe. It struck him just above the eye and the scar 
 remained through life. Naturally, the corn husking 
 ceased and cheers went up and cries, "Go it, boys," and 
 "I'll bet on Abe," etc. made the old barn ring. Soon 
 the boys were rolling in the corn and scattering it in 
 their tumbling about. James Taylor, hearing the 
 scuffling and being a stern, thrifty man, expected work 
 out of his "hands" — hence the fight was concluded. 
 We have no doubt whatever that Abe would have 
 won for he was quite apt in wrestling and fair fight- 
 ing. 
 
 Lincoln had a sister Sarah, three years older than 
 himself, who had married and died at an early age, 
 and who lies buried in a cemetery near Lincoln City. 
 Grigsby Station, near Lincoln City, Indiana, is the 
 place made famous by Whitcomb Riley's poem "Grigs- 
 by Station." Abe's sister Sarah married Aaron 
 Grigsby. 
 
 Grigsby Station 
 
 "I want to go a visitin' back to Grigsby's station, 
 Where the latch-string's hanging from the door, 
 
 And every neighbor's dear as a relation, 
 
 Back where we used to be so happy and poor." 
 
 Abe Lincoln visited the graves of his mother and 
 sister in 1844, thirteen years after his migration to 
 Illinois. He wrote a sentimental poem inspired by the 
 feelings which came over him as he realized the 
 changes which death had made in his childhood home. 
 The saddest days of his youth were spent in Spencer 
 
28 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 County, where he lost his mother, and had no one to 
 care for him but his sister Sarah. The death of his 
 mother made a deep impression on his heart — and 
 those who read his life as a boy can picture his tender 
 and sad experiences. They can see his father, hewing 
 out the coffin from rough boards and the simple burial 
 afterward. 
 
 How far the good-hearted neighbors had to come to 
 do their little sympathetic acts — and how the boy 
 must have been touched when he thought of his 
 mother's sacrifices, suffering and love! He remem- 
 bered it always and could not rest until he found a 
 preacher three months later to have a service over his 
 mother's grave. 
 
 These early losses in his life saddened him to such 
 an extent that his loneliness stood out upon him — his 
 utter lack of grace or pretentiousness enhancing that 
 loneliness and humility. The lonely rugged pine, 
 standing out, up and alone among its fellows. Not un- 
 like Shakespeare, who suffered loss of his loved ones, 
 and perhaps others we could call to mind, made great 
 by these sacrifices. 
 
 Perhaps we can picture Abe as he rode to the grist 
 mill with corn to be ground — a tall, lanky youth, legs 
 dangling, meditating as he went. The old mill is a 
 land-mark, several miles from his home in Spencer 
 County, Indiana. Huffman's Mill, it was called and 
 the old bridge, which spans the creek, was built before 
 his day. It is not unlike the old double bridge, that 
 spanned the ferry over the Anderson Creek. The old 
 mill, a landmark of yesterday, was run by water power, 
 and is now a great place as a fishing resort. 
 
 Young Lincoln was a friend of the lads of the Huff- 
 man family and they had their thrills of youth to- 
 gether. Very mild they were compared with those of 
 the youth of today. The cleanliness of his youth, sow- 
 ing no wild oats, made him the great outstanding 
 American, whose life was so sensitive to right and 
 wrong. His clearness of vision was so true, he could 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 29 
 
 not be misled. He became a reader of character and 
 at the time of the Civil War saw what men were. 
 
 Speaking of thrills — young Abe had his and enjoyed 
 them as much as does the youth of today. One day 
 as Abe was using his axe on logs, Matilda sprang on 
 his back as a joke. He swung his axe suddenly around, 
 which accidently struck her foot. Abe quickly tore 
 off a piece of his shirt and cleansed the wound. Al- 
 though the other five children of the Lincolns, Hanks, 
 and Johnson families wanted young Abe to tell them 
 how it all happened, Abe refused and carried Matilda 
 home. Immediately upon his arrival he told his step- 
 mother, Sarah, the real truth. His education, his 
 moral principles, his love for truth and honesty, and 
 his kindness to all, were inculcated in his life as he 
 roamed the pleasant hills and fertile valleys of Spencer 
 County, Indiana. 
 
 In 1830 Thomas Lincoln, his wife, Sarah Bush Lin- 
 coln, and Abraham, now a young man of twenty-one, 
 and the families of Dennis Hanks and Levi Hall, who 
 had married Matilda and Sarah Johnson, numbering 
 thirteen in all, emigrated to Illinois. Abe was now 
 noted as the young man who had read "twelve books." 
 He had not only read them, he knew them "by heart" 
 and what he gleaned from them, the world well knows. 
 The youth of today who spurn the small beginnings, 
 would do well indeed to take his early life as an ex- 
 ample. 
 
 The "Penny-rile" Hills of Spencer and Perry 
 County, Southern Indiana, gave the foundation to 
 young Abe, who became the greatest pioneer, hoosier 
 story teller, and later the greatest folk soul America 
 ever produced. The world clamored for his democ- 
 racy. His great spirit lived during the World War — 
 all nations were seeking this spirit. 
 
 Lincoln was "a man of a right spirit — not a man of 
 narrow and private views, but great understanding — 
 interested and concerned for the good of the commun- 
 ity to which he belonged, and particularly of the city 
 or village in which he resided." Having touched hu- 
 
30 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 manity at all points himself, knowing much sorrow, he 
 shed his sympathy on American ideals — that spirit 
 having- reached around the World. The formative 
 period of his life, fourteen years spent in the "Penny- 
 rile" Hills of Southern Indiana, gives this literary 
 state the honor of sending out the greatest Folk Soul 
 America ever produced. "To this part of the United 
 States belongs the honor of sending out many charac- 
 ters that have made the national capitol, New York, 
 and other metropolises sit up and tak enotice. And yet 
 some would ask of this place as they did of the humble 
 home of Christ, "Can any good thing come out of 
 Nazareth?" 
 
 It was in this part of the United States that the 
 spirit of universal democracy was cradled by Lincoln. 
 During the World War this spirit was more vital than 
 ever. We had proof of this in the lectures made in 
 this country at that time, and later, by Lloyd George 
 and others. To those who are heir to this heritage 
 it was gratifying to have it recognized. It was yet 
 more gratifying to present Lloyd George a copy of a 
 letter from Lincoln, when he was here after the war, 
 trying to unite the two great English speaking nations. 
 The letter was presented to Lloyd George as a symbol 
 of democracy. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 31 
 
 II. 
 
 LINCOLN'S REVERENCE IN HIS YOUTH 
 
 Has the present generation as much reverence for 
 home, God, or Country as Lincoln had in his youth? 
 Contrast the reverence of Lincoln's youth, for law, 
 home, mother, and country with the present day of 
 frivolity and insincerity; the modern rush with no 
 time for study, with Lincoln's quiet and determined 
 attitude to become a scholar. The day of small begin- 
 nings is past in America. "Lest We Forget" how Lin- 
 coln succeeded — his life was founded on love, for his 
 fellow men — love, reverence, and discipline made him. 
 
 III. 
 
 FAMILY WORSHIP IN LINCOLN CABIN 
 
 The one great blessing they had was the undisturbed 
 worship of God. With grace at the table and reading 
 of scripture, prayers at night when each member knelt 
 down before his chair; prayers over the boys who 
 climbed the ladder to the loft, sleeping on beds of straw 
 or shucks; hard beds and hard tasks, with faith in 
 God, made them characters that never flinched at duty, 
 ever ready to press on to their goal. The Little Pigeon 
 Creek Baptist Church made of logs, was the place they 
 attended Church, having a circuit rider that preached 
 at least every month. It was a great event when 
 "meetin' Day" at this church came with the Circuit 
 Rider. They were men of different denominations, too. 
 Hence Lincoln's broad religious views. Pioneers ac- 
 cepted things as they came, with no complaint. 
 
32 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 IV. 
 YOUNG ABE'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT LOVE 
 
 When he was about eighteen in the Lincoln Ferry 
 Country, living in a log cabin in Spencer County, 
 Southern Indiana, picking the rudiments of education 
 in the intervals of rail splitting and plowing he fell 
 in love with the daughter of a poor Irish settler in a 
 neighboring log cabin, and after many clumsy failures 
 to declare his love to her in person, he penned with 
 difficulty one of his first letters asking her to become 
 his wife. He never received an answer to his "clumsy 
 effusion" as he afterward called it, but when next 
 he met Bridget she tossed her head and looked another 
 way. "She was much too good" she said to marry 
 a gawky farm hand. It was not long after that young 
 Abe left the paternal cabin and voyaged as a hired 
 hand and a flatboatman into the greater world which 
 before long was destined to ring with the fame of the 
 gawky farm boy. Thirty years later Lincoln became 
 President. Bridget was still living the slatterly wife 
 of a farm laborer in a log cabin and still preserved the 
 penned letter which had she been wise would have 
 made her the first lady in the land. 
 
 Abe and Katy Roby were friends, and she and the 
 rest of the young folks would gather around young 
 Abe and hear him tell stories. They thought him a very 
 learned young man. Southern Indiana, Lincoln City 
 now, in early day Gentryville was a fine place for 
 young Abe to study and develop his mental powers as 
 well as his physical strength. With his axe slung over 
 his shoulder the maul and wedge and Ferryman's oars 
 he grew into a clean minded youth, strong in soul and 
 body. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 33 
 
 V. 
 YOUNG ABE ESCAPED DEATH TWICE 
 
 On two occasions young Abe had accidents that al- 
 most deprived him of life. Austin Gollaher, Lincoln's 
 playmate rescued him from drowning in Knob Creek, 
 before he left Kentucky. He was not more than seven 
 years of age, since he left Kentucky before he was eight 
 years of age. 
 
 After reaching the Southern Indiana settlement he 
 rode the old grey mare to the Grist Mill, with bag of 
 shelled corn to be ground into meal. It was Abe's 
 turn to furnish the horse power for grinding the corn 
 into meal. The old mare hitched to the sweep, it was 
 Abe's duty to keep the old horse going around and 
 around. Abe was urging the old mare to go rather 
 fast, saying, "Get up, you old huzzy," when she kicked 
 him, knocking him senseless. The miller sent for Abe's 
 father, Thomas Lincoln, then they took Abe home and 
 all night he lay in an unconscious condition. At dawn 
 he awoke saying, "Get up, you old huzzy." His step- 
 mother, Sarah Rush Lincoln, predicted that some day 
 her stepson, Abe, would have a tragic ending. 
 
 Abe was always good to his father and stepmother. 
 Before leaving them to seek his own career, he did 
 all that he could toward settling them on a farm. 
 
 Rockport, Spencer County, Historic Society has 
 recently put on a Pageant symbolic of the 100th an- 
 niversary of Lincoln's flat boat trip to New Orleans 
 with Allen Gentry. The name of this Pageant was 
 "When Lincoln Went Flatboating from Rockport." 
 Mr. Taylor C. Basye, merchant, and the leading public 
 spirited citizens of Rockport, President of the Spencer 
 County Historical Society, did much to put this over. 
 Mrs. Calder Ehrman was the author. This pageant 
 was presented on July 4th, 1928 at Rockyside Park, 
 under the auspices of the Indiana Lincoln Memorial 
 Association. Many of the old neighbors, sons, and 
 daughters, of the Lincolns took part in the pageant and 
 some of the Gentry family also took part. 
 
34 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 VI. 
 LINCOLN, A PRODUCT OF BOOKS 
 
 Young Abe educated himself through the use of a 
 few good books. He stands out the greatest example 
 of this fact — that one can educate oneself. Then, his 
 contact with men later on gave him opportunity. That 
 this foundation was made in Southern Indiana, should 
 not be overlooked. 
 
 His first contact with the law was his being ar- 
 rested by the Dill Brothers the licensed ferrymen 
 of the Ohio at the Mouth of Anderson Creek, where 
 it empties into the Ohio River. When he was arrested 
 Lincoln, being ignorant of the law, was acquitted by 
 Squire Pate of Kentucky. The trial took place in 
 old Squire Pate's house, a few miles below, "The Lin- 
 coln Ferry" on the Kentucky side. The Squire freed 
 him because of his honest and frank manner. Young 
 Abe often rowed across the Ohio to read Squire Pate's 
 law books. They became friends. His ignorance of 
 law made him search for the truth. Young Abe of 
 yesterday, and young "Lindy" (Lindbergh) of today, 
 did their own thinking. Hence they were philosophers 
 and not parrots. Neither were they products of chance 
 or luck, but of pluck and determination. Kentucky 
 had jurisdiction over the Indiana Water line. Hence, 
 this trial was held in Kentucky just above Lewisport. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 35 
 
 VII. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE AND LINCOLN, 
 MEN OF THE AGES 
 
 That Shakespeare and Lincoln were men destined 
 to be born for all time, is proved by the self evident 
 fact, that there are more characters of the kind 
 Shakespeare created living today, than in his day. 
 
 Shakespeare absented himself from home and family 
 for eight years in London. After this length of time 
 he returned and took up his parental duty, and atone- 
 ment as it were, losing his only son and one of his 
 daughters, which has seemed to have made him have a 
 greater and sweeter sympathy. Lincoln's sorrows 
 were similar, losing his mother, at the age of about 
 ten years, his sister Sarah soon after, and later Ann 
 Rutledge, the girl at New Salem, Illinois, whom he 
 loved devotedly. Having lost what was so vital to him, 
 brought out the universal love and after the recent war, 
 all nations were clamoring for his great democracy. 
 Especially was it noticable in the English, as every 
 Englishman had his name written on their hearts. It 
 is interesting to know that Mordacai Lincoln, the first 
 ancestor came from England to America. That Shake- 
 speare today, has as much for this generation as the 
 past, and the great appeal for Lincoln's Democracy by 
 the Nations, is proof that they were men destined to 
 be created for all time. Their sorrows sweetened 
 rather than hardened them, and they were two of the 
 greatest souls the world has ever known. 
 
36 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 VIII. 
 
 LINCOLN AND LINDBERGH 
 
 Grandview, Spencer County, Indiana is celebrated 
 for being the historic site of an old camp ground where 
 long rows of cabins and tents housed the ministers 
 and people who attended the meetings, lasting for 
 weeks, when ministers of all denominations filled the 
 pulpit, and when political issues were a side-line. It 
 was here in the open under great groves of trees, that 
 Southern Indiana inhabitants heard the gospel in a 
 broad way. Hence the great universal spirit from 
 young Abe Lincoln's day makes this a place where 
 people are opened minded. That they still catch the 
 spirit of big things in the world today is manifest in 
 the fact that The Grandview High School graduating 
 class, three weeks after young Lindbergh made his 
 non-stop flight, had coined, and made as their class 
 slogan "Let's Live Like Lindy." 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE OHIO RIVER HIGHWAY 
 
 A tourist passing over the Louisville and Paducah, 
 Kentucky, Highway, by auto, which is only partly 
 finished, sees many many landmarks of yesterday. 
 
 An old well, by the roadside, with the windlass that 
 refreshed travelers on horseback, etc. occasionally re- 
 freshes the auto driver of today. An old bell suspended 
 from a forked post, once a small tree, about forty feet 
 high with a wire to ring it, reminds one that it once 
 called the slaves to dinner from the fields. 
 
 The tobacco fields, through which we pass are not 
 tended by the colored people as in yesterday. 
 
 The house-boats are seen occasionally on the shore 
 of the beautiful Ohio but not so numerous as in former 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 37 
 
 days. The new mode of travel is a house on wheels. A 
 family in a small house on a truck from Florida, are 
 seen motoring along enjoying this scenery just above 
 Hawesville, Hancock County, Kentucky, which is said 
 to be one of the most beautiful spots between Louis- 
 ville, and Paducah. 
 
 On the Indiana side of the River the beautiful cliffs, 
 bluffs, with green trees, trumpet vines, etc. overlook- 
 ing Horeshoe Bend on the Indiana side, is often spoken 
 of as "The beautiful Ohio, the Hudson of the West." 
 Then miles or more below here is seen the Indian 
 Mound, bluffs with natural rooms in the cliffs where 
 Gypsies camped. Seven hundred feet from the river's 
 base is a sight that holds one's attention. Tourists 
 often climb to the top to hunt Indian arrow heads and 
 to view Kentucky's wonderful landscape. 
 
 Yesterday, a great excavation in the top of the 
 mound was used to burn logs, making a great fire, as 
 a signal to the rest of the Braves that they were going 
 on the Warpath. 
 
 Many gentlemen farmers of this early day named 
 the landings from their family name, namely, Gage's 
 Landing, Cotton's Landing and the Landing at the 
 mouth of Anderson Creek, Lincoln Bridge and Ferry. 
 Great warehouses on the shore at the Landings with 
 double doors at either end so teams could drive through 
 and empty their loads of hay, grain, etc. stored the 
 grain until it could be shipped on the steamboats. It 
 was at this historic landing that young Abe Lincoln's 
 eyes were opened to greater navigation on rivers. 
 
38 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 X 
 LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS 
 
 Douglas, the little orator, of more means than Lin- 
 coln, came riding in a band wagon with pomp and ar- 
 ray. But Lincoln, the giant, and rugged pine of the 
 American forest, came in a most humble manner, some- 
 times riding a mule to reach his destination. This 
 reminds one of a picture in the Bible. It was this 
 humble spirit that made Lincoln the greater person- 
 ality. He was not seeking alone self ends, but to 
 uphold what he considered right. Being a student of 
 the Bible and Skakespeare, therefore, he could face 
 the problems of life, for he was to himself true and, 
 therefore, was not false to any man or any issue of his 
 day. 
 
 It seems in the order of Providence he came "A 
 Heaven inspired man, to guide in the time of America's 
 greatest crisis" when he says "I know there is a God 
 and he hates injustice and slavery" "I am nothing, but 
 Truth is everything." Here we see the man universal 
 and eternal, far surpassing Douglas in the end. 
 Douglas was made Senator in their race for this high 
 calling, but Lincoln was willing to exercise the great 
 fortitude in his character and await future develop- 
 ment — in his own words "Wait God's time." This 
 method of procedure is in great contrast to the short 
 cut method of today. 
 
 Lincoln with his magnanimous spirit was always 
 ready to forgive any wrong. It is easy for those who 
 have seen Drinkwater's play, when he extends his 
 hand to his great enemy, to see on this occasion 
 the hearty hand shake of Lincoln. This picture 
 of the two giants, unites them as great friends, 
 because they agreed on the great principle of Federal 
 Union. So the little giant, Douglas, now becomes as 
 Lincoln has beautifully remarked — "His first enlisted 
 soldier in his cause for The Union. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 39 
 
 Douglas with his magnanimity toward his former 
 rival, now goes to speak for Lincoln and the Union. It 
 is a touching scene when Douglas, after his last speech 
 for the American Union, contracts a severe cold from 
 which he never recovered. Lincoln's great heart was 
 wrought with grief, so it was that our two greatest 
 statesmen in the history of yesterday, built on the 
 solid rock of freedom for Union of the States. 
 
 XI. 
 
 A LINCOLN RELIC IN A SHAKESPEARE SHRINE 
 
 Edwin Booth, brother of Lincoln's assassin, carried 
 a crayon of the Log Cabin which Lincoln called home 
 to England. (After the Civil War, Edwin Booth, the 
 
 assassin's brother was an admirer of Lincoln.) It was 
 taken to England for safety by his friends, Henry Irv- 
 ing and Ellen Terry. Sir Henry Irving handed this 
 over to the Shakespeare Memorial Association. The 
 crayon drawing was dated 1865. 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE LINCOLN SPIRIT 
 
 The Lincoln spirit in the heart of every American 
 today would do much to bring world Peace. Two 
 statues of Abraham Lincoln were made in competition 
 for erection in London, one by Saint Gaudens and the 
 other by George Gray Barnard. The committee sel- 
 ected the work of Saint Gaudens, but later Charles P. 
 Taft offered the Barnard statue to the City of Man- 
 chester and it was accepted. September 15th it was 
 unveiled and the address of presentation was made 
 by Alton B. Parker. 
 
40 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 XIII. 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE LINCOLN BRIDGE 
 
 The point of land to the right of the Lincoln Bridge, 
 going up the River Road was used as a burial ground 
 for bodies that were drowned in the Ohio River. Sto- 
 ries of this made school children leery about passing 
 over it, especially about dusk. If they were coming 
 over the Bridge, on reaching the Spencer County end 
 or buttress, they would make a double o x uick gait for 
 fear the ghost of the dead would appear. Only a short 
 distance from this end of the bridge was an old shack, 
 of one room, in which lived a very old woman whom 
 the children called Aunt Harriet. Sometimes a fright- 
 ened child would take refuge, for a few minutes, at 
 Aunt Harriet's hut. These children were generally 
 from the homes of the better class whose mothers 
 would send them with food for Aunt Harriet. After 
 a word or two with Aunt Harriet they regained their 
 courage to return home. Some of these children imag- 
 ined they saw black ghosts while on their way to Aunt 
 Harriet's. They were told that colored people were 
 buried near there among the white people. 
 
 Old Aunt Harriet looked most like a witch herself. 
 Eighty years old, and stooped, wearing a small red 
 shawl which covered her head. 
 
 Kindly neighbors kept Aunt Harriet supplied with 
 food. As for fuel, she gathered drift wood from the 
 Ohio banks. She put one end of the wood into the 
 queer open stove and as it burned off she would push 
 the unburnt section in. 
 
 One day Aunt Harriet called upon one of the school 
 girls, eleven years of age, to write a letter to a distant 
 relative of hers. The child took the pen in her hand, 
 and with a feeling of fear she went about her task. 
 Aunt Harriet insisted that the letter commence "I take 
 my pen in hand, etc." The child supressed a smile 
 and, pretending she was writing as Aunt Harriet die- 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 41 
 
 tated, she wrote the letter in better form. When Aunt 
 Harriet requested her to read the letter, the child had 
 to think quickly and read what Aunt Harriet had dic- 
 tated to her. After the ordeal was over the young 
 girl was glad to leave and relate her experience which 
 afforded much amusement. 
 
 Aunt Harriet considered the school girls Angels of 
 Mercy, for although they only remained a short time 
 with her they did keep her supplied with food. Some- 
 times when her food supply gave out, she would come 
 with her basket and pail for food and milk. Aunt Ann 
 always had plenty to give old Aunt Harriet for she 
 owned two-hundred acres of farm land, and other 
 unfortunates like Aunt Harriet, and worse off than 
 she, clustered about her door. None went away empty 
 handed. 
 
 Aunt Ann was the most intelligent woman of the 
 vicinity. Her maternal and paternal people had been 
 pioneer lawyers and doctors, descendants of the first 
 English emigrants in northwest. If a child had a 
 spasm or met with an accident, Aunt Ann was always 
 called to administer first-aid. She was a natural born 
 physician. She was also called upon to make medi- 
 cine, home made remedy. Today she would have made a 
 graduate woman physician and been given a license to 
 practice. There were many other pioneer characters 
 dwelling in this sacred historic spot, where young Abe 
 Lincoln ran the Anderson Creek Ferry. 
 
42 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 XIV. 
 
 NO LOOKING-GLASSES IN THE DAYS OF 
 LINCOLN 
 
 In young Abe's day there were no looking-glasses 
 in his home, he saw his reflection only in the water of 
 the streams where he and his sister Sarah watched 
 tadpoles turn to frogs. 
 
 XV. 
 
 LINCOLN'S CLOTHING MATERIAL 
 
 In the winter young Abe wore buckskin breeches 
 that his mother made for him. His coat was made from 
 deerskin, and his cap was made of coonskin. In the 
 summer time he wore homespun breeches. It mattered 
 little to Abe what he wore as his mind was constantly 
 on the higher things of life, spiritual and intellectual, 
 and not the material. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 TEACHERS, NORMAL SCHOOL GRADUATES 
 
 The district school of thirty or more years ago, near 
 the Lincoln Ferry over Anderson Creek, had teachers 
 that were graduates of the State Normal School and 
 who were capable of teaching the languages, as well 
 as other subjects. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 43 
 
 XVII. 
 
 FISHING-HOOKS FOR GIRL 
 
 Pupils from the District School which was near the 
 Anderson Creek, often fished in this Creek, using pin 
 hooks and minnows. In 1844, Lincoln visited the scenes 
 of his boyhood. When in this section, Lincoln saw 
 children fishing. He noticed that one little girl had 
 no fishing hook. Without making himself known he 
 watched them for a short while and then, without 
 a word, took a pin and made a hook for the little 
 girl so she, too, could join in with the rest of the 
 children. She was very happy and upon returning 
 home told her parents. Upon hearing the descrip- 
 tion of this man, they told her that it must have 
 been Abe Lincoln who was visiting the scenes of his 
 childhood. Doing things for others without making it 
 known was a characteristic of Abe Lincoln. Another 
 story is told of how he walked a lengthy distance for 
 medicine for a child. The grand-daughter of this pio- 
 neer physician recalls her father relating the incident 
 which occurred in Troy. It is easy to see how myth- 
 ology adds to Aunt Ann's many stories of Southern 
 Hoosierland. 
 
44 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 LINCOLN AS A MAN 
 
 Lincoln always looked at questions from both sides. 
 Then he would ponder and meditate as to whether it 
 was right and just to all concerned, including his 
 country and humanity. This made him the leader he 
 became during the Civil War who decided more 
 great issues of the day than any other man. A char- 
 acter which being an obedient servant to his God, made 
 him through God's providence, a Saul — that piloted 
 us safely through the great crisis of the Civil War. 
 Without the influence of this man, who had many 
 trials, much persecution and always adhered to his 
 duty, American history might read differently. There 
 are some Americans today who judge this great man 
 wrongly. Their remarks are un-American. At a 
 time in the world affairs when we are seeking Uni- 
 versal Peace, some Americans might be of more in- 
 fluence if they would clear their minds of prejudice 
 which is so deadly to world issues. One of the saddest 
 pictures in American History, is Lincoln — the great 
 lonely pine — as he stood at the White House window 
 (alone save one) and looked out at the volunteers as 
 they marched through streets of Washington at the 
 beginning of the Civil War. It is a sad fact but true 
 that great characters, far in advance of their time, 
 must suffer persecution. He was thinking of human- 
 ity. To one of understanding they could see the se- 
 riousness of the deep sunken eyes — a mark of sincerity, 
 always — the expression of Universal sympathy which 
 revealed a soul that had touched humanity at all points. 
 
 Because of Lincoln's being the student of two great 
 books, the Bible and Shakespeare, he became the great 
 interpreter of moral law in his day. 
 
 His deep broad living conscience, his great reason, 
 told him what was true and right, for his conscience 
 echoed back the decision and it was this point that 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 45 
 
 made largely the Universal man a hundred years ago. 
 It also made him the man who decided new American 
 problems during the Civil War. Strangest and saddest 
 of all is that universal characters are so far seeing 
 that in their day they are misunderstood. 
 
 For the great Emancipator had something to say 
 on every issue of his day. He would not side-step any 
 issue, but he was a good loser. In defeat for the Senate 
 his fortitude brought him the Presidency. Who in 
 American statesmanship or in other places of life has 
 such fortitude today? 
 
 Since Lincoln was the great interpreter of moral 
 law, with his prophetic vision, the World Court, with 
 its broad power would appeal to him. Certainly, if he 
 were here, he would face this great question, without 
 shirking, with the true Lincoln spirit, of Brotherhood 
 of Man, regardless of race, color or servitude. Such 
 an attitude might go far to unite the nations of the 
 world in peace. 
 
 There is something finer in America today than 
 the expression "America First" and that is the Lin- 
 coln spirit. 
 
 That American people of today owe the Great Eman- 
 cipator a debt of gratitude, is found in the fact that 
 he preserved the Union, and the American home in the 
 great drama of the Civil War, closing with the divine 
 sentiment — "With malice toward none, but charity for 
 all." It seems fitting that American people of today 
 should emulate this spirit for Universal Peace, cradled 
 in Lincoln's youth, in Southern Hoosierland. 
 
 The formative years of Abraham's life were spent 
 in Spencer County. Here he worked, studied, played 
 and grew to manhood. He witnessed his parent's 
 struggle against the virgin wilderness and saw child- 
 hood fade with the death of his mother. When he bade 
 farewell to Indiana he went to Illinois almost, if not 
 entirely, equipped for the great work that lay before 
 him. Kentucky gave him birth, Illinois gave him his 
 political career, but Indiana molded the man and here 
 in Indiana he learned, from our forefathers the art of 
 living, and in a noble way. 
 
46 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 As an act of patriotism the citizens of Rockport and 
 Spencer County portray this pageant every second year 
 as a living memorial to his memory and that of their 
 own ancestors. Most of all the parts are taken by the 
 descendants of those pioneer men and women who lived 
 here and were friends of the Lincolns. 
 
 The pageant ground is the spot in Rockport, on the 
 beautiful Ohio, where Abraham Lincoln, at the age of 
 nineteen years, had the first great adventure of his 
 life, going with Allen Gentry on Gentry's flatboat to 
 New Orleans to market the Gentry produce. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 47 
 
 XIX. 
 INTERESTING FACTS IN INDIANA HISTORY 
 
 Two interesting facts in Indiana History are that 
 Lincoln came to settle there in 1816, just three months 
 before Indiana was admitted to the Union on December 
 16th, 1816. He settled near Gentryville, which is now 
 Lincoln City, Spencer County, Indiana. 
 
 a It was in this part of Indiana that there were organ- 
 ized travelling libraries in the early days. Perhaps 
 Rockport, Spencer County, had a library as early as 
 1819. Young Abe Lincoln may have borrowed books 
 from this library, as it is only seventeen miles from 
 his cabin. 
 
 The Constitution of Indiana was loaned Abraham 
 Lincoln by an old neighbor, David Turnham, and he 
 studied this thoroughly, which helped to make him 
 the character that upheld the American Constitution 
 in Civil War days. Perhaps in this modern day, 
 in the late oratorical contest for young people, 
 another genius may bloom forth from this State. We 
 wonder if there be any American living today with so 
 keen a conscience for the Constitution as Lincoln. 
 There is an Elm tree called the Famous Constitution 
 Elm under whose spreading branches the constitution 
 of Indiana was formed in 1816. It is a reminder of 
 early days. Although about dead, the trunk will be 
 saved as a sacred mark of history. It will be encased 
 in a glass house. The limbs and branches will be 
 saved as souvenirs under the direction of the state 
 forester. 
 
 While only seventy miles from the New Harmony 
 center of culture and education in the "Penny-rile" 
 District of Southern Indiana, Abe Lincoln struggled 
 for self-education. In those days this section of the 
 
 traveling libraries organized in an early date; not positive 
 where. 
 
48 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 United States was known as "The Wilderness." It is 
 now in the Club District of Southern Indiana, where 
 genius has seemed to thrive and gone out to enrich 
 the country and the world. Therefore, young Abe was 
 the greatest Hoosier. If the "Penny-rile" soil didn't 
 produce abundant crops of grain, it did produce crops 
 of character. Aside from the state of Virginia, In- 
 diana sent out more than any other state — many char- 
 acters, men and women, who did much to uphold civil- 
 ization. 
 
 The First Club District, in Southern Indiana, was 
 Spencer County. Spencer County and Vanderburgh 
 County, the only two counties of this section border- 
 ing on the Ohio, nutured our beloved Abraham Lincoln 
 during the formative period of his life, and sent him 
 forth a genius who had read twelve books, little know- 
 ing the great part he would play in the history of his 
 country. In this "Wilderness," this "Hoosier" genius 
 In this "Wilderness," this "Hoosier" district genius 
 seems to have thrived and to spread out to enrich the 
 whole country and the world, years before it was 
 known as "The First Indiana Club District." 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 49 
 
 XX. 
 
 ABE'S INSPIRATION TO SPENCER COUNTY 
 YOUTHS 
 
 Spencer County youths of today might be inspired 
 to repeat young Abe's action. We refresh our 
 memories with the fact that Washington's Life by 
 Weems came into young Abe's possession and after 
 having devoured its contents, helped make him the one 
 destined to uphold the Constitution in his day. Little 
 do we know where God produces genius. Poverty, 
 clean poverty, of Lincoln's youth, was better than be- 
 ing born with a silver spoon in one's mouth. To be 
 able to overcome obstacles, is to be born with a "Golden 
 Opportunity." After all, one can make of him or her- 
 self just what they will to have — provided it is a will 
 directed by divine will as was young Abe. 
 
 He was made a serious boy, far in advance of 
 his years. His first memories was visiting the grave 
 of his brother left in Kentucky, at seven, with poor 
 Nancy. Then when he left Indiana after having spent 
 fourteen years in Spencer County, he left behind the 
 grave of his mother Nancy Hanks, and his sister. By 
 the influence of his godly mother, and stepmother, he 
 became a student of the Bible at an early age. He 
 seemed to commune with the trees, and stars, seeing 
 God in all things. The love of the forest and out door 
 living seems to make godly characters. Some people 
 were quite sure Abe Lincoln would eat with his knife. 
 One of these same people had the shock of his life one 
 day, when a new door keeper let him in a room where 
 Lincoln in the White House was eating beans for his 
 lunch. The large hand with his fork was used very 
 skillfully. 
 
 The many characters that have gone out in the 
 world since Lincoln's Day from the "Pennyrile Hills," 
 Spencer and Perry Counties, — The Lincoln Ferry 
 Country — are found in the unexpected places. They 
 
50 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 are usually loved and respected for their kindness 
 which is innate. 
 
 One that has lived in this sacred historic spot 
 doesn't need to stretch his imagination far to guess 
 where they will go in the hereafter. 
 
 Those who do not know of the heritage of this Dis- 
 trict of the United States ought to know that since 
 early river traffic and the day of the steamboat — it 
 was far ahead in progress of many towns and cities 
 of later day. 
 
 It has produced as much or more character in pio- 
 neer and present days than many sections of the 
 United States. The Central United States may pro- 
 duce fine live stock and blue grass but the "Penny- 
 rile Hills" of the Ohio has produced writers, and 
 statesmen in great numbers. Their love of Home, 
 the first basic principle of a nation, is a natural con- 
 sequence. Today, it is an inspiration to see the fami- 
 lies gather around the piano and sing with the grand- 
 parents. 
 
 Spencer and Perry Counties in fact Southern 
 Hoosierland was considered by a liberty bond chair- 
 man during the war, one of the most patriotic districts 
 in the State. 
 
 Aunt Ann of Indiana often told the children stories 
 of Civil War days as to how the citizens answered by 
 volunteering to Lincoln's call for men. Perhaps few 
 counties equalled these from this District. 
 
 In the late world war they responded to call for 
 Democracy. Spencer County had many captains over- 
 seas. One Spencer County family near the Lincoln 
 Ferry gave six sons for the War of late Democracy. 
 Four of them stood six feet tall. One couldn't help but 
 see how they would surpass the Ex-German rulers' 
 six sons. They weren't so green as some considered 
 them when it came to bravery, and sharp shooting. 
 It is at first thought a rather strange coincidence — 
 that from this part of the United States which is the 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 51 
 
 beginning of "Pennyrile" District — came James 
 Bethel Gresham, the first American to fall — to make 
 the supreme sacrifice that Democracy might live. He 
 was from Evansville, Indiana. 
 
 That the liberty loan sales from this place was first 
 is proof that it is one of the most patriotic places in 
 the United States of America. Therefore, it is with 
 just pride and appreciation that citizens carry on the 
 heritage of this fine spirit. The foundation of which 
 was the great basic principal of love of "Home, God, 
 and Country." 
 
 In the recent campaign when Hoover and Borah 
 were speaking on the great issue of the farm problem 
 and the American home, many hearts, especially, those 
 from this section, were thrilled with vision, responding 
 with feeling so deep that it was greater than mere 
 applause. 
 
 Even tears of joy ran down the cheeks of some 
 former Hoosiers as the words Hoover on the 
 home, returned them again to scenes of their child- 
 hood home, where people live their democracy in this 
 sacred spot, where the feet of young Abe Lincoln 
 trudged over the Pennyrile Hills that he might rise to 
 the highest place in American life, the Presidential 
 chair. Hoover struck the ideal of all American life in 
 his appeal for the home problems. Therefore, char- 
 acters born in the "Pennyrile Hills" of Southern In- 
 diana more especially if one was born in a double log 
 house, weather boarded and white washed with a coral 
 honey suckle running around the double porch, must 
 make good in the world. For, people born in such 
 houses have ever been great because their parents 
 taught them to perpetuate this heritage. To see the 
 Bible and Shakespeare on the old sitting room table, 
 first objects you behold and learn to love; mother with 
 her knitting which she lays down to read the Bible to 
 the children; all kneeling before their chairs while 
 mother offers prayer before the family retire; is a 
 picture of character and responsibility which was in- 
 stilled into the lives of these people. 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS^ 
 
52 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 Lincoln was not lazy minded. Hoosiers sharpened 
 minds by homely wit. Young Abe Lincoln sharpened 
 his mind as well as his axe. Their jovial jest started 
 the day pleasantly. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 ABE'S FIRST CONCEPTION OF CHICAGO AND 
 ST. LOUIS 
 
 When young Abe was a small boy he went to church 
 for the first time, or rather to camp meeting, for there 
 were no churches in his home town. One day he 
 listened to the tales told by a trapper, who had been to 
 a "little mud hole," called Chicago and to a trading 
 post on the Mississippi called St. Louis. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 WHIPPED FOR AN ACT OF KINDNESS 
 
 Abe could not bear to see anything hurt and once 
 let a baby bear out of the trap which his father had set. 
 For this act of kindness, Abe was beaten by his father. 
 In those days children were beaten when they dis- 
 obeyed their parents. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 LEGEND OF THE LINCOLN FERRY 
 
 Old Aunt Harriet's death occured in the fall, when 
 an older girl of the District School, a ring leader at 
 the noon hour, took all the younger pupils to see the 
 corpse, which was almost criminal, for the younger 
 children, a few little girls, were hysterical. The 
 teacher had nothing but commotion that whole after- 
 noon. Younger sisters were clinging to the elder 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 53 
 
 sisters, the older girl who had taken them to view 
 Aunt Harriet's remains was reprimanded by the 
 teacher and on reaching her home was given such a 
 lecture she has not forgotten it today. The younger 
 sister of seven woke up at night and screamed at 
 horrible dreams. This plucky older girl was of real 
 value when any danger came in the children's path. 
 A snake, or a fierce dog, she protected them from. 
 She could dispatch a snake very quickly, while the 
 younger, more cowardly, would stand at a distance on 
 the fence. However, as she grew up she became a 
 woman of courage and ability. She was the one with 
 the old dog Naylor when we came to the covered 
 bridge over Anderson Creek, the younger children 
 bringing up the rear. The old dog Naylor, the pio- 
 neer type of dog, kept close to the girl leader, killing 
 snakes by grabbing them by the back of the neck and 
 shaking them until dead. He was not unlike the big 
 dog that came with Tom Lincoln's family to southern 
 Indiana. Young Abe went back for this dog when 
 he was left howling on the opposite side of the creek 
 they had forded. 
 
 Mark Twain's stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckle- 
 berry Finn were not more adventurous than this 
 eldest daughter of Aunt Ann of Indiana. Her younger 
 sister, timid and quiet, was born in April and that may 
 had something to do with her timidity, but on the other 
 hand, the other sister, born in March, was as brave as 
 a lion, and yet some of her pranks were injurious to 
 the less courageous. A small snake that she had killed 
 she would pretend to throw at them. The younger 
 sister, only 7, ran screaming and almost fainting 
 to a neighbor's home. She was severely chastised 
 for this. With a big stick in her hand the girl leader 
 would repeat "March, forward, etc." One thing we 
 are certain a few of the younger children will never 
 forget that they saw, the corpse of old Aunt Harriet. 
 It left a memory with the younger children that caused 
 many a bad dream. 
 
54 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 Aunt Ann deprived her eldest daughter the pleasure 
 of a candy pull Saturday night, which cured her of 
 taking the younger children to see corpses. 
 
 On the ledge of the rocks, at the foot of the bluffs, 
 not far from the school house and the home of Aunt 
 Ann of Indiana, this elder girl called her band together 
 for counsel, sometimes to go on a paw-paw hunt or a 
 persimmon hunt, owing to the season of the year. She 
 would repeat the lines of Tennyson's Light Brigade. 
 "What a charge they made!" 
 
 One day when this girl leader rowed out into the 
 Ohio in a small dinky boat, to ride the waves of the 
 steamboat Aunt Ann was frantic when she beheld 
 her children in midstream in a small dinky boat. She 
 was deprived of many pleasures for doing this and 
 promised that she would never repeat it. She was 
 plucky and persevered in her studies, making good in 
 her school work, graduating with honors that partly 
 paid her mother for the many pranks she played when 
 a child. 
 
 The girl leader announced to her band, "We will 
 play around the branch like young Lincoln and his 
 sister Sarah." The children were getting crayfish out 
 of the branch and putting them in their dinnerpails. 
 The younger sister put her hand in the water and 
 screaming jerked it out, a large crayfish had pinched 
 her hand. The elder sister pulled it off quietly, and 
 said "Oh, come on, don't be afraid, young Abe and his 
 sister were not afraid of crayfish." 
 
 NOTE: The better class of people lived back 
 on the hills from the Lincoln Ferry. The 
 school house, too, was on the edge of the vil- 
 lage, away from the landing and the river. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 55 
 
 XXIV. 
 MOTHER'S DAY 
 
 (S. Louise (Cotton) Marsh) 
 
 It is "Mother's Day" and back we come 
 To the dear old family lot — 
 For the trail was long on the lost pathway 
 To the dear old hallowed spot. 
 Though gone from her for many years 
 We have dreamed of mother's face 
 And joyed to wear the red, red rose 
 For her, in the old home place. 
 
 The sunset way may soon be hers 
 
 For she is growing old: 
 
 May we not fill her listening ear 
 
 With loving tales, retold? 
 
 Before white roses mourn her death 
 
 Let's make her pathway glad 
 
 With fragrant blossoms make each year 
 
 The best she ever had. 
 
 Written on Mother's Day, 1924, on Lincoln Ferry Country 
 Home and dedicated to Aunt Ann of Indiana and all pioneer 
 Hoosier Mothers. 
 
56 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 XXV. 
 THE LINCOLN HANDSHAKE 
 
 (S. Louise (Cotton) Marsh) 
 
 If Lincoln were here, ah, now what would he do — 
 Give a hearty hand-clasp to each one of you, 
 With heart-understanding, to each in the land — 
 All races and colors — he'd stretch for a hand 
 And all nations to gather in this gracious deed 
 Would find a rare symbol of world-peace — our need. 
 
 If Lincoln were here he would smile and would say, 
 
 "Come, brother, shake hands in the old-fashioned way. 
 
 Let no artificiality mar the good grip 
 
 As the cup of world-friendship shall touch every lip. 
 
 Divided we fall, but united, we stand. 
 
 Is as true of the world as it is of our land. 
 
 If Lincoln were here, more loud than his word 
 Would his kind action speak, in whatever occurred. 
 The touch of his hand-clasp, the voice of his prayer 
 Would give the world courage to wrestle with care. 
 For he would petition the surcease of hate, 
 The rock that is threathening our good ship of State* 
 
 (This poem is internationally known.) 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 57 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 LINCOLN, IDEAL POOR YOUTH 
 
 (We rank him with our Holy Dead,) 
 
 (S. Louise (Cotton) Marsh) 
 
 No, Lincoln's childhood knew no wealth, 
 
 He felt the pinch of want and pain 
 There was so much in life to learn 
 
 That often struggle seemed in vain. 
 He plodded on through weary years 
 
 That want might flee his cabin door 
 To fill his purse, with courage fine, 
 
 He strongly plied the ferry oar. 
 No work too humble or too hard 
 
 Upon his lonely upward way 
 So it was such that as he worked, 
 
 He did not feel ashamed to pray 
 For with a courage born of God 
 
 At early dawning of each morn 
 He did the duty that was his, 
 
 Careless, it seemed of praise or scorn. 
 
 But he kept vision in his heart, 
 
 He ever lent a helping hand 
 An through his very suffering 
 
 He came to know and understand. 
 Deep in the recess of his soul, 
 
 And ardent love of country grew 
 Innate in him that ancient type 
 
 Of sturdy manhood, fine and true; 
 "Malice toward none, and charity — " 
 
 The breathing spirit of his life 
 That lent a tenderness that glows 
 
 Through all those bitter years of strife. 
 We rank him with our holy dead 
 
 And celebrate his birthday so 
 That all may feel his spirit lives 
 
 And sheds a sunset of afterglow. 
 
58 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 THE HOOSIER WELCOME 
 
 (S. Lotiise (Cotton) Marsh) 
 
 Have you ever been in Indiana 
 And clasped the good old Hoosier hand? 
 It's a handshake kind and firm and hearty — 
 That kind that real folks can understand. 
 
 Oh, there is no formality about it — 
 It's "Howdy, Sue" or "Howdy, Dick" or "John" 
 We're mighty glad to see you here, my comrades, 
 And how are all your folks a-comin' on?" 
 
 With them, there is no "elevated angle" 
 To any good old Hoosier's hearty shake — 
 No pantomine, no fuss, and no fandango 
 No nonsense and no high-brow sort of fake. 
 
 You meet there with your neighbors, on the level 
 In every blessed Indiana town — 
 
 And what a heart-felt thrill their welcome gives you 
 Be you Cabot, Lowell, Jones or Smith or Brown. 
 
 Oh, it is mighty fine to just be living 
 When in dear old Indiana one may roam 
 For there is such a Hoosier welcome given 
 That it makes a body sort of "feel at home." 
 
 They tell us that inside the old log-cabin 
 Where latch-strings hung outside spelled "welcome in" 
 The host would call "Who's there" to any knocking 
 And since then good old "Hoosiers" they have been. 
 
 So ring out three times three for Indiana 
 
 The land of Hospitality and cheer 
 
 Where "Who's there" has long since been captioned 
 
 "Hoosier" 
 And friends are welcomed back from far and near 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 59 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 LINCOLN'S FAVORITE POEM 
 
 OH! WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORTAL BE 
 
 PROUD? 
 
 (William Knox) 
 
 Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 
 Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, 
 A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
 Man passeth from life to his rest in the grave. 
 
 The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, 
 Be scattered around and together be laid; 
 And the young and the old, and the low and the high 
 Shall molder to dust and together shall die. 
 
 The infant a mother attended and loved; 
 The mother that infant's affection who proved ; 
 The husband that mother and infant who blessed, — 
 Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest. 
 
 The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose 
 
 eye, 
 Shone beauty and pleasure, — her triumphs are by ; 
 And the memory of those who loved her and praised 
 Are alike from the minds of the living erased. 
 
 The hand of the king that the sceptre hath borne ; 
 The brow of the priest that the mitre hath worn ; 
 The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave, 
 Are hidden and lost in the depth of the grave. 
 
60 YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 
 
 The peasant whose lot was to sow and to reap ; 
 The herdsman who climbed with his goats up the steep ; 
 The beggar who wandered in search of his bread, 
 Have faded away like the grass that we tread. 
 
 The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven; 
 The sinner who dared to remain unf orgiven ; 
 The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, 
 Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. 
 
 So the multitude goes, like the flowers or the weed 
 That withers away to let others succeed ; 
 So the multitude comes, even those we behold, 
 To repeat every tale that has often been told. 
 
 For we are the same our fathers have been; 
 We see the same sights our fathers have seen ; 
 We drink the same stream, and review the same sun, 
 And run the same course our fathers have run. 
 
 The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think ; 
 From the death we are shrinking our fathers would 
 
 shrink ; 
 To the life we are clinging they also would cling ; 
 But it speeds for us all, like a bird on the wing. 
 
 They loved, but the story we cannot unfold; 
 They scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold ; 
 They grieved, but no wail from their slumbers will 
 
 come; 
 They joyed, but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. 
 
 They died, aye ! they died ; and we things that are now, 
 Who walk on the turf that lies over their brow, 
 Who make in their dwelling a transcient abode, 
 Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage 
 road. 
 
YOUNG ABE LINCOLN 61 
 
 Yea! hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, 
 We mingle together in sunshine and rain ; 
 And the smiles and the tears, the song and the dirge, 
 Still follow each other, like surge upon surge. 
 
 Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath, 
 From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, 
 From the gilded saloon to the bier and shroud, — 
 Oh ! why should the spirit of mortal be proud ? 
 
 Lincoln kept this poem near him and read it so often it was 
 thought he wrote it. It was set to music during the Civil 
 War in his honor. When it was sung the first time he said 
 with tears streaming down his face "play it again." 
 
 FINIS 
 
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