Existing comment:
Odd Jobs:
The rootless Lincoln settled in New Salem on his return from the New Orleans trip in the summer of 1831 and worked in a store operated by Denton Offutt. He also worked at the saw- and gristmill. Offutt's enterprise soon failed, leaving Abraham to make a living as best he could. He performed day labor, split rails, tended a still, watched over a store, carried election records to the courthouse at Springfield -- whatever came his way. Lincoln later recalled pondering the future and thinking that he might take up blacksmithing or the law. He never considered establishing a farm. |