Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on Sinking Spring Farm. He was the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Lincoln was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an English immigrant to Massachusetts in 1638, and from the Harrison family of Virginia. His paternal grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Kentucky before being killed in a Native American raid in 1786. The family settled in Hardin County, Kentucky, in the early 1800s.

In 1816, Lincoln's family moved to Indiana, settling on a forested plot in the Little Pigeon Creek Community. His father, Thomas Lincoln, worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter, acquiring clear title to 80 acres of land in 1827. Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Lincoln's mother, died of milk sickness on October 5, 1818, when Abraham was nine years old. Following her death, Thomas Lincoln remarried Sarah Bush Johnston, a widowed woman with three children, whom Abraham called "Mama." Lincoln's sister, Sarah, died in childbirth in 1828.

Lincoln's early education was sporadic and largely self-directed, amounting to less than 12 months of formal schooling by age 15. He was an avid reader and developed a lifelong interest in learning. As a teenager, Lincoln worked on the family farm and took various jobs, including hauling goods to New Orleans via flatboat, an experience that exposed him to slavery firsthand.

In March 1830, Lincoln's family moved to Illinois due to concerns about milk sickness. Abraham became increasingly estranged from his father, partly over differing attitudes toward education. He lacked formal schooling but compensated with extensive reading. Lincoln's romantic interests included Ann Rutledge, whom he met in New Salem, Illinois, in the early 1830s; Rutledge died of typhoid fever in 1835. He also courted Mary Owens in 1836 but ultimately did not marry her.

In 1837, Lincoln met Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois. They became engaged in 1839 and married on November 4, 1842. The couple purchased a residence in Springfield near Lincoln's law practice. They had four sons: Robert Todd Lincoln, born in 1843; Edward Baker "Eddie" Lincoln, born in 1846 and died in childhood; William "Willie" Lincoln, born in 1850 and died in 1862; and Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, born in 1853 and died in 1871. Lincoln experienced periods of melancholy, and the death of his children affected him deeply.

Lincoln's early vocations included working at a general store and serving as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War in 1832. Although he was elected militia captain, he did not participate in combat. He initially intended to become a blacksmith but instead purchased the general store in New Salem in 1833, which also operated as a tavern. His business ventures faced challenges due to his reluctance to deny credit and the unruly behavior of his partner, William Berry.

In 1832, Lincoln announced his candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives but interrupted his campaign to serve as a militia captain. He lost the election. Throughout his early life, Lincoln was involved in local politics and worked to improve navigation on the Sangamon River, gaining recognition as a storyteller and a figure of local importance.