Chapter 1.
- Date and place of Lincoln's birth. -- the interview with J. L. Scripps. -- Lincoln's reference to his mother. -- the Bible record. -- the Kentucky stories of Lincoln's parentage. -- the Journal of William Calk. -- the death of Abraham Lincoln, the President's grandfather. -- Mordecai's revenge. -- Thomas Lincoln, his marriage and married life. -- Nancy Hanks, the President's mother. -- her sadness, her disposition and mental nature. -- the camp-meeting at Elizabethtown.
Beyond the fact that he was born on the 12th day of February, 1809, in Hardin county, Kentucky, Mr. Lincoln usually had but little to say of himself, the lives of his parents, or the history of the family before their removal to Indiana. If he mentioned the subject at all, it was with great reluctance and significant reserve. There was something about his origin he never cared to dwell upon. His nomination for the Presidency in 1860, however, made the publication of his life a necessity, and attracted to Springfield an army of campaign biographers and newspaper men. They met him in his office, stopped him in his walks, and followed him to his house. Artists came to paint his picture, and sculptors to make his bust. His autographs were in demand, and people came along distances to shake him by the hand. This sudden elevation to national prominence found Mr. Lincoln unprepared in a great measure for the unaccustomed demonstrations that awaited him. While he was easy of approach and equally courteous to all,
