A
LEGACY OF FUN
BY
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WITH
A SHORT SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
LONDON:
Frederick Farrah, 282, Strand.
1865.
MEMOIR.
Abe Lincoln, the late President of the UnitedStates of America, was born on the 12th ofFebruary, 1809, in Hardin County, in the Stateof Kentucky. His grandfather, who emigratedfrom Virginia to the above State, was slain by theIndians in 1784. Thomas Lincoln, father of thePresident, and Nancy Hawks, his mother, werenatives of Virginia. The opportunities for educationenjoyed by Abraham were few and farbetween, for at an early age his father neededhis assistance in clearing the forest, and makingit a fitting dwelling place for man. Still, wheneveran opportunity presented itself, it waseagerly grasped, and the result was that, despiteof untoward circumstances, Abraham succeededin acquiring a decent knowledge of his mothertongue and the rudiments of an ordinary education.
“At nineteen,” says one of his biographers, “wefind him serving as a common bargeman on aboat plying to New Orleans. In March, 1830, heaccompanied his father to Macon County, Illinois,[iii]and helped him to build a log cabin for the familyhome, and he made enough rails to fence in tenacres of land. The next year he was employedas a boat builder to assist in building a flat-bottomedboat, which he afterwards took to NewOrleans, and upon his return his employer puthim in charge of a store in Illinois.
“In 1832, when the ‘Black Hawk War’ brokeout, he joined a company of Volunteer Rifles;and such was his popularity that he was almostimmediately unanimously chosen captain by hiscomrades—an unexpected piece of good fortunewhich he often said gave him greater pleasurethan any subsequent success in life. Here heserved for three months only, when he was proposedas a candidate for the Legislature ofIllinois, but his opponents being in a majority hewas defeated. Soon after this he was appointedpost-master of New Salem; and now, having alittle leisure time on his hands, he began tostudy law, borrowing of an evening books from aneighbouring lawyer, and returning them thenext morning.
“A survey of Sangamon County was orderedby the Government about this time, and the surveyoroffered to depute Mr. Lincoln to surveythat portion of the work lying in his part of thecounty. Nothing daunted, he procured a treatiseon surveying, and after reading it, purchased acompass and chain, and did the work.
“In 1834 he was elected member of the Legislatureof Illinois by a large majority, and was re-electedin 1836, 1838, and 1840. In 1836 he obtained[iv]a licence to practice law, and he removed toSpringfield, where he entered into partnershipwith a Mr. Stuart, and rose rapidly in publicfavour, being very successful as an advocate injury trials.
“In 1834 he was elected as one of the membersof Congress for Illinois. As soon as his Congressionalterm had expired, he returned to thestudy o