Library of Congress
- NAME – Abraham Lincoln
- NICKNAME(S) – Honest Abe / The Rail Splitter / The Great Emancipator
- BIRTH / DEATH – Feb. 12, 1809 Hardin County, Ky. / 1865 Washington, D.C.
- FATHER – carpenter, farmer
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – none
- WIFE – Mary
- KIDS – four boys
- PETS – turkey (Jack), goats (Nanny, Nanko), cats (Tabby, Dick), dogs Jip, Fido), pigs, white rabbit
- RELIGION – no formal affiliation
- ANCESTRY – English
- AGE – 52
FIRSTS:
– first President born outside the 13 Colonies
– first President assassinated
MA AND PA: His father was a good carpenter who kept his family above poverty. His mother died when he was nine. The following year, he remarried a widow with three kids. His stepmom encouraged him to read.
BACKGROUND:
– Illinois state legislature 1835-36
– Congressman 1847-49
– Illinois state legislature 1855
– loses Senate race to Stephen Douglas
FIRST LADY: Abe left Mary Todd at the altar, but they rekindled and got married a year later. Her four half-brothers were killed fighting for the Confederacy. She liked dancing, riding horses, and fine clothes. She ran up a $27,000 bill for “trifles” in 1864 while First Lady. She once bought more than 300 pairs of gloves in four months. She once had a séance in the White House to try to contact her son Willie.
RETIREMENT: None.
TRIVIA:
– favorite foods – bacon, gingerbread cookies
– he’s in the Wrestling Hall of Fame
– his son Tad rode around outside the White House in a wagon pulled by a goat
– he was born in a one room log cabin
– as a child he read the Bible, Aesop’s Fables, histories, and biographies; he enjoyed Shakespeare
ANECDOTES:
AN INSANE FIRST LADY?
Mary Todd Lincoln was a difficult woman to be married to, but Abe put up with her mood swings and bouts of abuse. She once threw a cup of coffee in his face. Another incident had her throwing potatoes at him. She hurled a piece of firewood at him. And their neighbors were treated to her chasing him down the road with a knife. The public didn’t know much about her treatment of her husband, but she did get noticed by Congress for her excessive spending. She bought expensive new china for the White House. She bought 300 pairs of gloves. She purchased $2,000 dresses, some of which she didn’t even wear. By the way, some of the dresses had scandalous neck lines that revealed more than her husband wanted. Once, he earned her wrath by telling her that some of the fabric from the train “needed to be a little closer to the head”. Her behavior may have been due to migraines. She also suffered from depression, especially after the death of their son Willie. She spent three weeks in bed and did not attend the funeral. She held a seance at the White House to try to communicate with him. Her behavior made it difficult for the Lincoln’s to socialize. The night of his assassination, they were turned down by fourteen couples who were invited to accompany them to Ford’s Theater. This included the Grants. Julia forced Ulysses to make an excuse because of an incident a few weeks before. On a tour of a naval ship, Julia got fatigued and sat down. Mary went off on her saying: “How dare you sit in the presence of the wife of the President!” On the positive side, she did make frequent visits to hospitals to visit wounded soldiers. After Abe’s death, she got worse and was even put in a mental asylum by her son Todd in 1875. She was released after six months.
- Ayres 129-132
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Todd_Lincoln
ROBERT LINCOLN, THE JINX
Robert Lincoln was a magnet for tragedy. He was connected to three presidential assassinations. Although he was not with his father in Ford’s Theater when he was shot, he rushed to the site and was with his father as he died. He was with President Garfield when he was shot at a train station. Twenty years later, he was about to join President McKinley when he was shot at the Pan American Exhibit. Ironically, when he was a youth, he tripped on a railway platform and almost fell in the path of a train. His life was saved by the famous actor Edwin Booth – the brother of John Wilkes Booth.
– maroon 19
BLAB SCHOOL
By age 15, Lincoln had learned his alphabet and how to read, but he was weak in “cipherin’” (math). His mother sent him and his sister to a “blab school”. This was a school where the children learned by all reciting the lesson at the same time. Each day, Abe and Sarah walked four miles to the one room schoolhouse. Although he ended up with only about a year’s worth of formal education, he learned on his own and became a lawyer.
– maroon 93
THE JACKASS STORY
Lincoln loved to tell stories and this is one he told to some jobseekers. Once upon a time a King wanted to go hunting so he asked a government minister if the weather would be good. The minister told him the royal weatherman assured him the weather would be fine. On the way to the forest, the King met a farmer riding a donkey. The farmer warned the King it was about to rain. The King laughed, but soon he was soaked by a downpour and the hunt was ruined. The King called for the farmer and asked him how he knew it was going to rain. The farmer told him that his donkey’s ears would stand up if it was going to rain. The King fired the royal weatherman and gave his job to the donkey. Lincoln: “That was a big mistake because ever since then every jackass thinks he is qualified for government office.”
– maroon 91
FAILING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP
He failed in business at age 22. He was defeated for the state legislature at age 23. He failed again at business at age 24. He was elected to the state legislature at age 25. He suffered a nervous breakdown at age 27. He was defeated for state speaker of the house at age 29. He was defeated for state elector at age 31. He was defeated for Congress at age 34. He was elected to Congress at age 37. He lost his seat at age 39. He lost for the Senate at age 46. He was passed over for Vice President at age 49. He was elected President at age 52.
– maroon 121
STAY AT HOME
Lincoln would poke fun at his looks. He told this story. He encountered a young woman who told him he was the ugliest man she had ever seen. Lincoln told her there was nothing he could do about it. She responded: “No, you can’t help it, but you could stay at home.”
– Boller 126
NOT EVERYONE WAS A FAN
According to Paul Boller in his book Presidential Anecdotes Lincoln was called all of the following: an ape. a baboon, a buffoon, a clown, a usurper, a traitor, a tyrant, a monster, a lunatic, a despot, a blunderer, a charlatan, an idiot, a eunuch, a bigot. Pete Muggins, from Louisiana, wrote him the following letter: “God damn your god damned old hellfired god damned soul to hell god damn you and god damn your god damned family’s god damned hellfired god damn soul to hell and good damnation god damn them and god damn your goddamn friends to hell.”
– Boller 127
FALL IN ON THE OTHER SIDE
Lincoln liked to make light of his involvement in the Black Hawk War. He was chosen to be captain of a militia unit which did not see any action. Being new to military command, he was not clear on all the commands for marching. His unit of about 20 men were marching in a column through a field when they came to a fence with a gate in it. Lincoln did not know the command for this situation so he told his men to take a two minute break and reassemble on the other side of the fence.
– Boller 129
THREE STRAY KITTENS
Lincoln visited the army’s telegraph headquarters quite often to keep up with the war. One day he noticed three kittens and asked where their mother was. He was told that she was dead. Lincoln commented: “Then she can’t grieve as many a poor mother is grieving over a son who has died in battle”. He picked up the kittens, put them in his lap, and began petting them. As they purred, he said “Kitties, thank God you are cats and can’t understand this terrible strife that is going on.”
– Boller 135
GET DOWN!
In 1864, a Confederate army made a stab at Washington. Lincoln made a trip to a fort near the fighting. He was escorted by Capt. (and future Supreme Court Justice) Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Holmes led Lincoln to the ramparts and pointed out the area of fighting. Just then there was rattle of musket fire from the Rebels. Holmes grabbed the tall President and pulled him down saying: “Get down, you damned fool!” Holmes quickly realized who he was speaking to and begged forgiveness. Lincoln: “I’m glad to see you know how to talk to a civilian.”
– Boller 141
GRANT’S WHISKEY
One of the most famous Lincoln stories involved Gen. Grant. In one version, a temperance committee visited the President to complain about his drinking. Lincoln: “I wish you would tell me his brand of whiskey because I would like to send a barrel of it to all my other generals.” Sadly, the story is apocryphal. Lincoln himself admitted he never said it.
– Boller 141
THE FATEFUL NIGHT
Lincoln was not in a mood to go to Ford’s Theater that night. He had already seen “Our American Cousin”, but Mary wanted to go and the press had been told they would be in attendance. On leaving the White House, Lincoln spoke to a guard named Col. William Crook and mentioned he was not thrilled to be going, but had no choice. He then said “good-bye” to Crook. Every other time he had said “good-night.”
– Boller 146