Category Archives: Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln, Brady and the Cooper Union Photograph

Lincoln of Illinois In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a country lawyer from Illinois was little known outside of his home state. He was fifty-one years old and a former Whig. Despite having served in the state legislature while he was … Continue reading

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Abraham Lincoln: Quibbling Thanksgiving

In 1863 Thanksgiving Day had been a local or regional holiday for more than two centuries. Quibbling The Day Massachusetts has long maintained that a day of Thanksgiving was celebrated a year after the devout Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in … Continue reading

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Burying Mary Lincoln

Everybody knows about Lincoln’s assassination and the huge funeral journey back to Springfield. But what about when Mary died? Mary Lincoln, Widow Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) became a widow when she was 45, and survived her husband by seventeen years. … Continue reading

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Grant and Lincoln at City Point

In 1864-5, City Point, VA briefly became the tenth largest city in the United States. Grant in the East On February 29, 1864, President Lincoln promoted General Ulysses S. Grant as General of the Army – outranking everyone. Since Grant … Continue reading

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Mary Lincoln: The Lizzie Friends

“Elizabeths” were imporant in Mary Lincoln’s life – and that doesn’t even include her mother Eliza and stepmother Betsey! Friends in General It has been said that some friends are for a season, a reason, or a lifetime. Hmmm. But … Continue reading

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Lincoln and Johnson vs. The Georges of 1864

It wasn’t a shoo-in by any means. The USA in 1864 The Civil War had begun its fourth year. Casualties were huge,with seemingly no end in sight. Nobody was happy. Nobody was winning. But it was not an election year … Continue reading

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Mary Lincoln and the Seed Pearls

No question abut it, Mary Lincoln liked nice stuff! The Well-Born Miss Todd Miss Mary Todd (1818-1882) was born into what might be called Lexington, Kentucky aristocracy. At birth, she was already 3rd generation Lexingtonian. The Todds had done well … Continue reading

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Lincoln: The Deepest Sadness

“It is hard, hard to have him die.” Man of Sadness Most historians agree that Abraham Lincoln, when he wasn’t laughing and telling droll stories, was a generally sad man. He described his upbringing as the “annals of the poor.” … Continue reading

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Lincoln Cousin: Dennis Hanks

It was a complicated and sometimes confusing kinship. Dennis Hanks: A Flotsam-Jetsam Childhood Dennis Friend Hanks (1799-1892) was the illegitimate son of Nancy Hanks – an aunt of another Nancy Hanks, Lincoln’s mother. Born in Hardin County, KY, a decade … Continue reading

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Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball

The mood of the country was vastly different in 1865 than in 1861. The Difference Being… …(at least in general essence), that in 1861, the country was nervous and frightened. Several Southern states already seceded, and the tensions at South … Continue reading

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