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Show Society Features. 'Weddings $& Music Boolts Drama Arl Jtoit fiik ifibtuw jVU l7iA1o men I I SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 12, 1961 I - k" , , w , Jt '1 f Nk fr' ' 't'f 9 C t ? , i f is v? h . . V fa. i wa flyv .o ki A &V Ac? J v y v$?wA ??& 5 fVw u-o Kot every little girl can boast of a famous ancestor like little Nancy Hanks l ,ifi' ?fizT' " t 4 : 1 is X - & Sm' J3f TSi ! i t tl V fe , , . namesake r t By Grace Grether Tribune Staff Writer The Land of Make Belie e is an enchanted isle into which e ery little girl loves to escape . . . usually in mothers high-- v est heels, her fanciest hat and very longest skirt. Whether her dreams are of shining knights in armor and beautiful grown up ladies only the little girl herself can ever know . . . That is, unless shes lucky like little Nancy Hanks pictured here. Then her dreams can be really true ones, for this Nancy, dressed up in attire of long ago, is the namesake of one of America s most famous women the mother of Abraham Lincoln. Today, on his birthday, our whole country pays homage to his memory. All the words in the world couldn't describe the first All that Nancy Hanks better than Abes one sentence . . I am, or eer hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. Btory of Her Girlhood In the story of her gnlhood one sees, delightfully disclosed, what Lincoln so prized m his inheritance from her. And in the exciting episodes of frontier life during the most romantic period of Kentucky history the late 1780s even staid old grownups can see how much fun it must be for a little namesake (our Nancy today) to dream about a distant famous relative like Abe's mother. Nancys parents, Mr. and Mrs. Marion D. Hanks, 1399 Butler Ave , believe that every little girl in America should read the story. Nancy Hanks was 22 when She was married to Thomas Lincoln. Their wedding, in the backwoods of Kentucky, was a simple one She spent her life in a conflict with the wilder ness Abe May Turn Out All Right Abe may On one occasion when her spouse remarked turn out all right if he dont fool away his time on books Nancy icplied, "Abes mind and mine seem to run together" Between mother and son was the closest sympathy, and understanding history records He never tired of hearing her read aloud, story after story To him she was the most beautiful creature in the world . . . soft brown hair . . . clear gray eyes . . . In periods of despair her humor would infest every member of the household. She was Abes teacher, mentor, and guide Little wondethat after her death (at only 35 years of age) she was called The Madonna of the Backwoods Abe was only nine years old . . . but Nancy made a permanent impress that was never erased from the mind of a boy who later became one of the greatest, if not the greatest statesman in America. of Abraham Lincolns beloved mother. Photo by BOrge Andersen, Tribune Staff photographer. |