Sunday, October 11, 2009 10:32 PM CDT
Event allows re-enactors to reveal family memories of Honest Abe
By DAWN JAMES, Staff Writer
djames@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Abraham Lincoln was beloved by many and has gone down in history as one of the most influential presidents, but he was especially loved by those closest to him — his family.
Anecdotes were shared as part of a mock interview/letter presentation held Saturday at Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site just south of Charleston. Volunteers at the site portrayed members of the Lincoln family.
The event was based on Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon’s desire to write a book about his deceased friend and colleague. Herndon knew and worked with Lincoln for nearly a quarter of a century.
The narrator began the session saying that Herndon, who thought he knew Lincoln well, found out that the more he learned about Lincoln, the less he truly knew.
Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln, Lincoln’s stepmother, who had a close and affectionate relationship with him, shared information about a young Abe Lincoln.
In the portrayal, the character said that young Abe wasn’t much on physical labor but was an avid reader, taking in “congenial books” and sometimes focusing on the Bible. Her recollection also involved him reading the “Louisville Journal.”
She said that as a child, Abe would often make speeches to the other children. Many times while working on the farm, he would start giving speeches to the other children, which interfered with his work and theirs as well.
Displaying praise and outright affection for her stepson, Sarah Bush Lincoln said he never spoke crossly or even gave her a bad look, and he always did as he was told. She added that the young Abe was kind to everybody and everything and was always accommodating to those around him.
Mrs. Lincoln said her late husband, Thomas, never interfered with Abe’s love of reading. Sometimes if the reading was interfering with Abe’s chores, Thomas would do the work himself. Thomas, who wasn’t educated himself, valued learning and education, she said.
“Abe was the best boy,” she said. He never drank and almost took the temperance philosophy a little too far, she added.
Also portrayed in Saturday’s event was Matilda Johnston Moore, a younger stepsister to the late President Lincoln.
She too had the same recollection of Abe as Mrs. Lincoln. Lincoln was an active reader and was persistent in learning, she said. She said he read the Bible often and books like “Robinson Crusoe.” She had fond memories of playing with him as a child and shared a respect she had for him when he would often preach to her and the other children.
Often when their parents were off on the more-than-a-mile walk to church, Lincoln, who was 15 at that the time, would preach to the children and present a hymn that they would all sing together.
She said Abe had a great memory and was always truthful and good. She recalled him preaching to his brother John Johnston about how it was wrong to be cruel to animals, she said.
Another recollection Matilda had was when she playfully jumped on his back and then fell and cut her foot on an axe. She had told Lincoln that she was only going to tell her mother that she fell on an axe, and that would not be a lie. His response was that they should tell the whole truth and “risk your mother.”
The volunteer portraying Mrs. Moore said she was about 50 years of age when she shared these facts with Herndon.
Dennis Hanks was another relative of Abe Lincoln’s that was portrayed in Saturday’s events. According to site Manager Matthew Mittelstaedt, Hanks was a cousin to Lincoln’s real mother, Nancy Hanks. Mittelstaedt said Hanks wanted to be remembered as the sole source of information on the late president.
Hanks was offended when he found out Herndon was seeking out and making inquiries to many friends and family members other than himself. He and Herndon didn’t end up getting along, and in a letter from Hanks to Herndon, Hanks told Herndon that his book would fail if he didn’t mention Hanks’ name repeatedly.
Hanks had the attitude that he taught Lincoln everything he knew. (Hanks grew up and lived with the Lincolns as child.) Mittelstaedt said that Hanks really capitalized on his relationship with Lincoln after he was assassinated.
In addition, a couple known as Augustus and Harriet Chapman (Harriet was Hanks’ daughter) were also part of the Saturday presentation. Harriet was a cousin to Lincoln and also the granddaughter of Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln.
Lincoln was friendly with the Chapmans and had even let Harriet stay with his family in Springfield while she pursued her education, Mittelstaedt said.
In fact, Lincoln made the same offer to many of his relatives — that if they wanted to come to Springfield they could as long as they were doing something to better themselves, he said.
The character of Augustus Chapman (Harriet’s husband) was also portrayed, offering information about Lincoln’s last visit to the farm in Coles County. His information focused on how hundreds of visitors came to the farm once they knew Lincoln was there.
He said he and Lincoln had to travel by buggy so that Lincoln could visit his stepmother, who was staying with her daughter in Farmington. Chapman said Lincoln and his stepmother had a very loving and affectionate relationship, adding that Lincoln had told him that she was his best friend in the world.
Lincoln Log Cabin is to host a Harvest Festival on Oct. 24-25. There will be a ham and bean supper and a barn dance on Saturday, and on Sunday there will be vendors and musicians on hand as well.
Visit www.lincolnlogcabin.
org for more information.
Contact Dawn James at djames@jg-tc.com or (217) 238-6866.
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