Existing comment:
Reconstruction:
Most of what we known about New Salem comes from the recollections of former residents recorded many years after the village disappeared.
William H. Herndon was Lincoln's last law partner. Hoping to write a biography of Lincoln, Herndon interviewed and corresponded with many of the old settlers. He collected the stories they told about New Salem, including that of the Abe-and-Ann love affair. Herndon's papers are now in the Library of Congress. |