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Show I GREW TO I i MANHOOD raR LANDMARKS ASSOOATBD wt IfH WITH MOB SMANCIPATOl&M WML EARCY LIFE) JWf KEJNTDCEar m5 VMgteg. AND INMAKA Um pCTjjgjTJBcgN' February 12 of fJraiZSittifejr ovcry year tho SW05kw mind of every 45 fcjWW feSJ American loyal clt-Rrl clt-Rrl lzun Is momen-JKkx50c momen-JKkx50c tartly turned to fV&AyfftfiA upon that day, Just so many years ago, Abraham Lincoln, ono of tho world's greatest mon, was born. Soma merely give tho celebration a thought, but thoso who havo mado tho llfo of Abraham Lincoln u study, nnd thoso people who llvo In Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois look upon tho birthday anniversary an-niversary ns something more than tho moro passing of n milestone Each of thoso states claims a right to being tho 'homo of tho man who has mado for himself an Immortal name In thu history of tho world's greatest men. Historians sny that Lincoln was born In Ilnrdln county, Kentucky. In fact, ho was born In La Huo county, whtrh, hnwover, Is a subdivision of Hardin county. Chroniclers continue with their biographies nnd say that ho, togothur with his father, mother nnd a sister, wont to Indiana and entered en-tered a claim to a pleco of land In Spencer county. As a matter of fact, ho ontorcd a clnlm to a pleco of land in Warrick county, but which has been set nsldo and named Sponccr county. Tho Llncolns went to Indiana In 181C, tho samo year that Indiana wns admitted ad-mitted to tho union ns a stato. lie ontored a quartor section of land, built a log cabin nnd lived tnoro until 1S30. It wns known that Thomas Lincoln, father of Abraham Lincoln, was In poor circumstances. To sny that Abraham Abra-ham Lincoln wns tho son of n poor carpentor and fanner gives an Insight Into hard conditions that little Abo had to faco when ho was a youngster. When ho went to Indiana ho was Just jovon, and romainlng In Indlann until 1830 ho spont 14 years of his llfo In Indiana, or until ho wns 21 years of ago. Aftor 1820 Spencer county had. at .Rockport, its county scat, a public llbrnry of soveral hundred volumes of tho standard works of the day. Thomas Lincoln nnd Abraham Lincoln woroatltockport at least twotlmcs during dur-ing tho year, but tho namo of Abraham Lincoln docs not appear as a borrower of books at the library. Tho Held from which Abraham Lincoln could glean knowledgo in that neighborhood was very limited, though ho borrowed ovory book that ho could got. During Abraham Lincoln's 1C years of llfo In Indiana ho had read nnd reread re-read this list of lltorary and historical histori-cal books over and over again. Ills pood naturo among Lincoln City people peo-ple wns not unnoticed; all agreed to Ills honesty nnd good nature. Questions Ques-tions of dlsputo and potty differences were at first submitted to him In a Joking way, and later on In a sincere way, until ho was complimented for his honest nnd Just way In Bottling disputes and differences, lie was told more tlmos than onco that somo day ho would turn out to bo a lawyer, Hnving read all the lltorary books and what few thoro wero of law In and around Doonvlllo, Lincoln heard of tho court at Doonvlllo. IJo resolved to go down to that placo, 20 miles distant, and learn what ho could In tho real court, which wns In session there several sev-eral times during tho year. Tho court houso In noonvlllo, thon a small ham-lot ham-lot of less than 200 Inhabitants, In strong contrast to tho beautiful now structure that now adorns tho beautiful llttlo town, stood In tho very spot where tho now ono now stands, In tho center of n largo court square. It was a framo building; tho nrchltcc-turo nrchltcc-turo was, to Bay tho least, very novel. A ditch, two feet wide nnd two feet deep, was filled with smoothly hown logs, on which was built a stone wall 18 inches high. This furnished thu foundation upon which tho building proper rested. Tho building Itself was never entirely completed. It was weather boarded, but neither plastered nor lathed. It remained in this condition condi-tion until 1S3G, which was after tho Llnpoln family had moved to Illinois. It was cnpablo of holding only n hundred hun-dred people and could only bo used In the summer. In tho night tho cattle which grazed about town would go thcro for sholtcr. Such was tho structure struc-ture whero President Lincoln received his first Impulso to become a lawyer. Hero It was that ho received his first rudimentary prnctlco In pleading cases that nftcrward aided In making him tho lawyer of tho reputation ho had It wns to attend court In this rudely constructed building that tho young man walked 20 miles from Lincoln City to I!oonvlllo, Ind. Ho was an ardont listener and tho lessons thnt ho painted upon his memory nt this placo aro tho ones that Inspired tho great mnn to becomo tho lawyer ho after-ward after-ward beenmo. And, from thlB fact tho llttlo town of Doonvlllo claims tho distinction of furnishing to him tho material that aided In his nftcr success. suc-cess. To clnlm so grcnt n distinction If It could not bo verified would bo false and unfair; but from tho history of young Lincoln whllo ho was n visitor hero attending court, nnd from tho as-suranco as-suranco that ho received tho lcnowl- OLD ZmQmomrWSm'CSCO edgo ho did, which inspired him to bo-como bo-como tho lawyer ho did, It Is another laurel for tho llttlo city In southorn Indiana. Shortly nftcr tho assassination of Abraham Lincoln a picnic pnrty from tho llttlo town of Dato went up to Lincoln City to tho Lincoln farm nnd spent tho day. Tho oxcitemcnt was so high at that timo thnt old peoplo as well as young wont to tho farm nnd enjoyed thcmsolvea visiting tho historical his-torical places in nnd about the Lincoln Lin-coln farm. Tho cabin was still standing nnd but n short dlstnnco up on tho hillsldo was a marblo slab that marked tho spot whoro tho good mothor of Abraham Lincoln lay beneath tho sod. Whllo thero tho picnickers wont through tho cabin whoro Lincoln saw his mothor pass away and from which placo ho returned to Kentucky to got a minister to come to Indiana nnd bury his mother, moth-er, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. A few old relics wore found, among them bolng an old knot maul nnd an old fashioned mouldboard plow, both of which had boon left thoro when tho Llncolns moved to Illinois. Tho old plow wns brought outsldo and an old man by the namo of Gabrlol Modcalf stood between be-tween tho handles whllo ono of tho party caught a plcturo of tho old Lincoln Lin-coln cabin. Tho old man carrying tho polo was Josoph P. Haines, bettor known as Undo Porter Halnos. Tho picture of Lincoln's socond log cabin 'was made from tho original taken at tho time this party wont to tho horn along in tho seventies. |