Sarah Bush Lincoln

Sarah Bush Lincoln (née Bush; formerly Johnston) was born on December 13, 1788, in Hardin County, Kentucky, and died on April 12, 1869. She was the daughter of Christopher Bush and Hannah Davis. Her father, Christopher Bush, was a settler of Dutch descent, a landowner with over two thousand acres in Kentucky, and served as a slave patrol captain. The Bush family relocated to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, when Sarah was approximately two years old, and she was the third daughter in a family with nine children.

In 1806, Sarah Bush married Daniel Johnston, with whom she had three children: John, Elizabeth, and Matilda. The Johnston family experienced financial difficulties, characterized by a lack of taxable property and debts managed with occasional assistance from Daniel’s brothers. In 1814, Daniel Johnston became the county jailer, a position that provided housing within the jail, and Sarah served as the cook and cleaner. She and Daniel also performed cleaning services for the courthouse. Daniel Johnston died of cholera in 1816 during an epidemic.

Following Daniel Johnston’s death, Sarah Johnston acquired a cabin previously owned by Samuel Haycraft. She furnished the residence with luxurious items and sent one of her daughters to a private school.

In 1819, Sarah married Thomas Lincoln, a widower from Coles County, Indiana, whom she had known from her youth. Their marriage took place on December 2, 1819, in a log house on Main Street in Elizabethtown. Thomas Lincoln brought Sarah and her three children to his farm in Indiana, where she became stepmother to his children, William Wallace Lincoln (who died in infancy) and Thomas "Tom" Lincoln. The household was described as being improved by Sarah’s efforts, including the addition of furniture, a wooden floor, and other household improvements.

Sarah was noted for her neatness, industriousness, and good sense. She played a significant role in caring for the household and cultivating a positive environment for her stepchildren, including Abraham Lincoln, whom she addressed as "Mama." She encouraged his reading habits and provided access to books such as the Bible, Aesop's Fables, The Pilgrim's Progress, and Lessons in Elocution.

In 1823, Sarah and Thomas Lincoln and their family became members of the Little Pigeon Creek Baptist Church. Although Abraham Lincoln did not formally join, he attended sermons and was influenced by the environment. Sarah’s daughter Elizabeth married Dennis Hanks in 1821, and they lived approximately half a mile from the Lincolns. Her daughter Matilda married Squire Hall shortly after Sarah’s marriage to Thomas Lincoln.

In 1830, Thomas Lincoln sold land in Indiana and relocated the family to Illinois, settling first in Macon County and later in Coles County, near Charleston. The homestead site in Coles County is now part of the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site. Abraham Lincoln visited Sarah and Thomas periodically during his legal circuit travels in Illinois.

After Thomas Lincoln’s death in 1851, Abraham Lincoln continued to support his stepmother and maintained land for her in Illinois. Sarah received the news of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination from Dennis Hanks in 1865, who recounted that she was living nearby on the Goosenest Prairie farm at the time. She is reported to have reacted with grief upon hearing of Lincoln's death.

Sarah Bush Lincoln was interred next to Thomas Lincoln in the Shiloh Cemetery near Lerna, Illinois. Her legacy includes the preservation of her Illinois homestead at the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, and a health center in Coles County named in her honor.