Existing comment:
Thomas Lincoln:
A difficult start: At age 10, Thomas saw his father shot to death by an Indian as the family planted a field in the Kentucky countryside. Thomas stayed by the body and might have died had his brother not returned fire. To help support the family, Thomas likely looked for work as soon as he was old enough to earn wages. Abraham Lincoln later described his father as "even in childhood a wandering, laboring boy."
Landowner, public servant: Working as a carpenter and hired hand, Thomas bought a 200-acre farm in Hardin County, Kentucky at age 27. As a landowner or freeholder, he became eligible for community service. He served as a juror, patrolman, and road surveyor at various times during his life in Kentucky.
Husband, builder, father: By the time he married, Thomas has established a respectable drawing account -- money in the bank -- with an Elizabethtown, Kentucky merchant. He built his bride a cabin in Elizabethtown, where he owned two lots. They welcomed their first child, Sarah, the following year.
Solid citizen: "Humility, sobriety, industry and integrity" characterized Thomas Lincoln as he matured and had a family, Lincoln biographer Louis A. Warren wrote in 1926. |