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Show Lincoln's Forbears Shame for his humble forefathers saddened and humiliated humil-iated the life of Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the great Abra-i.ani. Abra-i.ani. So declares Miss Ida Tarbell, who has spent years in luuiistakini; research on Lincolnia. Miss Tarbell explains that the tfreat emancipator's son was especially chagrined at tales of his e;ranil father's shit'ilessness and the possible illegitimacy of his ;raiKlnu)l her. The grand father in question was Abraham Lincoln's father, and her grandmother, Nancy Hanks, Abe's mother. William Herndon, for many years Abraham Lincoln's law pari iter and friend, published this phase of the great Abe's ancestry, it seems, lie even threw suspicion on the legality of Honest Abe's own birth by denying that documents existed proving the marriage of Abraham's parents. Hubert Todd Lincoln took these revelations so seriously that he bought up all the Herndon books possible and destroyed de-stroyed them. The entire life of this son of Lincoln was iuined, affirms Miss Tarbell, by his humble origin. He himself him-self loved elegance, social distinction, the luxuries of wealth, and stressed family position. If this is true, indeed, of Lincoln's son, who died at the are of M last July, it is the one failure of the great "Lincoln's "Lin-coln's life to have reared a son whose sense of real values was so poor a thing ! But can it bo true? With millions of human beings envious en-vious of such a heritage as being Lincoln's son, could his own son fail to know the supreme honor that was his? |