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Browsing named entities in William H. Herndon, Jesse William Weik, Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Etiam in minimis major, The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln by William H. Herndon, for twenty years his friend and Jesse William Weik.

Found 8,235 total hits in 1,918 results.

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Springfield (Illinois, United States) (search for this): chapter 1
hing taken at second hand. He has visited — as I also did in 1865--Lincoln's birthplace in Kentucky, his early homes in Indiana and Illinois, and together, so to speak, he and I have followed our hero continuously and attentively till he left Springfield in 1861 to be inaugurated President. We have retained the original Mss. in all cases, and they have never been out of our hands. In relating facts therefore, we refer to them in most cases, rather than to the statements of other biographers.ginal Mss. in all cases, and they have never been out of our hands. In relating facts therefore, we refer to them in most cases, rather than to the statements of other biographers. This brief preliminary statement is made so that posterity, in so far as posterity may be interested in the subject, may know that the vital matter of this narrative has been deduced directly from the consciousness, reminiscences, and collected data of William H. Herndon. Springfield, Ill., November 1, 188
Greencastle (Indiana, United States) (search for this): chapter 1
merous for separate mention, but the recompense of each one will be the consciousness of having contributed a share towards a true history of the first American. Over twenty years ago I began this book; but an active life at the bar has caused me to postpone the work of composition, until, now, being somewhat advanced in years, I find myself unable to carry out the undertaking. Within the past three years I have been assisted in the preparation of the book by Mr. Jesse W. Weik, of Greencastle, Ind., whose industry, patience, and literary zeal have not only lessened my labors, but have secured for him the approbation of Lincoln's friends and admirers. Mr. Weik has by his personal investigation greatly enlarged our common treasure of facts and information. He has for several years been indefatigable in exploring the course of Lincoln's life. In no particular has he been satisfied with anything taken at second hand. He has visited — as I also did in 1865--Lincoln's birthplace in
1851 AD (search for this): chapter 2
inary height in stature, weighed about 130 pounds, was slenderly built, and had much the appearance of one inclined to consumption. Her skin was dark; hair dark brown: eyes gray and small; forehead prominent; face sharp and angular, with a marked expression of melancholy which fixed itself in the memory of everyone who ever saw or knew her. Though her life was seemingly beclouded by a spirit of sadness, she was in disposition amiable and generally cheerful. Mr. Lincoln himself said to me in 1851, on receiving the news of his father's death, that whatever might be said of his parents, and however unpromising the early surroundings of his mother may have been, she was highly intellectual by nature, had a strong memory, acute judgment, and was cool and heroic. From a mental standpoint she no doubt rose above her surroundings, and had she lived, the stimulus of her nature would have accelerated her son's success, and she would have been a much more ambitious prompter than his father ev
1860 AD (search for this): chapter 2
ory 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 hisreality the offspring of a Hardin or a Marshall, or that he had in his veins the blood of some of the noted families who held social and intellectual sway in the western part of the State. These serious hints were the outgrowth of the campaign of 1860, which was conducted with such unrelenting prejudice in Kentucky that in the county where Lincoln was born only six persons could be found who had the courage to vote for him. R.. L. Wintersmith, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I remember that afte
1850 AD (search for this): chapter 2
s, and the utter absence of all romantic and heroic elements. He communicated some facts to me concerning his ancestry, which he did not wish to have published then, and which I have never spoken of or alluded to before. What the facts referred to by Mr. Scripps were we do not know; for he died several years ago without, so far as is known, revealing them to anyone. On the subject of his ancestry and origin I only. remember one time when Mr. Lincoln ever referred to it. It was about 1850, when he and I were driving in his one-horse buggy to the court in Menard county, Illinois. The suit we were going to try was one in which we were likely, either directly or collaterally, to touch upon the subject of hereditary traits. During the ride he spoke, for the first time in my hearing, of his mother, Dennis and John Hanks have always insisted that Lincoln's mother was not a Hanks, but a Sparrow. Both of them wrote to me that such was the fact. Their object in insisting on this
1859 AD (search for this): chapter 2
town of Petersburg we were overtaken by an old man who rode beside us for awhile, and entertained us with reminiscences of days on the frontier. Lincoln was reminded of several Indiana stories, and by the time we had reached the unpretentious court-house at our destination, his sadness had passed away. In only two instances did Mr. Lincoln over his own hand leave any record of his history or family descent. One of these was the modest bit of autobiography furnished to Jesse W. Fell, in 1859, in which after stating that his parents were born in Virginia of undistinguished or second families, he makes the brief mention of his mother, saying that she came of a family of the name of Hanks. The other record was the register of marriages, births, and deaths which he made in his father's Bible. The latter now lies before me. That portion of the page which probably contained the record of the marriage of his parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, has been lost; but fortunately the
1865 AD (search for this): chapter 2
t him to the ground. Josiah returned from the fort with the desired relief, and the savages were easily dispersed, leaving behind one dead and one wounded. The tragic death of his father filled Mordecai with an intense hatred of the Indians--a feeling from which he never recovered, It was ever with him like an avenging spirit. From Jefferson county he removed to Grayson, where he spent the remainder of his days. A correspondent W. T. Claggett, unpublished Ms. from there wrote me in 1865: Old Mordecai was easily stirred up by the sight of an Indian. One time, hearing of a few Indians passing through the county, he mounted his horse, and taking his rifle on his shoulder, followed on after them and was gone two days. When he returned he said he left one lying in a sink hole. The Indians, he said, had killed his father, and he was determined before he died to have satisfaction. The youngest boy, Thomas, retained a vivid recollection of his father's death, which, together with
1806 AD (search for this): chapter 2
iterate and superstitious, they corresponded to that nomadic class still to be met with throughout the South, and known as poor whites. They are happily and vividly depicted in the description of a camp-meeting held at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in 1806, which was furnished me in August, 1865, by an eye-witness. J. B. Helm, Ms. The Hanks girls, narrates the latter, were great at camp-meetings. I remember one in 1806. I will give you a scene, and if you will then read the books written 1806. I will give you a scene, and if you will then read the books written on the subject you may find some apology for the superstition that was said to be in Abe Lincoln's character. It was at a camp-meeting, as before said, when a general shout was about to commence. Preparations were being made; a young lady invited me to stand on a bench by her side where we could see all over the altar. To the right a strong, athletic young man, about twenty-five years old, was being put in trim for the occasion, which was done by divesting him of all apparel except shirt and
1780 AD (search for this): chapter 2
e safe? Would not the people lynch me? That reports reflecting on his origin and descent should arise in a community in which he felt that his life was unsafe is by no means surprising. Abraham Lincoln, Regarding the definition of the names Lincoln and Hanks it is said, the first is merely a local name without any special meaning, and the second is the old English diminutive of Hal or Harry. the grandfather of the President, emigrated to Jefferson county, Kentucky, from Virginia about 1780, and from that time forward the former State became an important one in the history of the family, for in it was destined to be born its most illustrious member. About five years before this, a handful of Virginians had started across the mountains for Kentucky, and in the company, besides their historian, William Calk,--whose diary recently came to light,--was one Abraham Hanks. They were evidently a crowd of jolly young men bent on adventure and fun, but their sport was attended with fre
Abraham Lincoln (search for this): chapter 2
Chapter 1. Date and place of Lincoln's birth. the interview with J. L. Scripps. Lincoln's reference to his mother. the Bible rLincoln'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 grandfatherLincoln'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 anAbraham 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,h he felt that his life was unsafe is by no means surprising. Abraham Lincoln, Regarding the definition of the names Lincoln and Hanks itLincoln and Hanks it is said, the first is merely a local name without any special meaning, and the second is the old English diminutive of Hal or Harry. the gndfather was, if indeed he knew. His paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, They [the Lincolns] were also called Linkhorns. The old s
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