Lincoln Home

[Donna McCreary]

After a conversation with the curator at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, I have an answer to this question. When the Lincolns first purchased the house, the kitchen had a large open hearth fireplace for cooking.
We do not know when the Lincolns purchased their first cooking stove. It may have been during the 1846 renovations of the home. They added a bedroom and pantry, and the kitchen was moved. Perhaps the first stove was purchased in 1849 when stoves were added to the parlors. There is no documentation showing the purchase of the first cooking stove. There is documentation for the purchase of the second stove in June 1860. This is the stove that is still in the Lincoln Home.
Gene – of course Mary knew how to cook! As a girl in Lexington, she received a “proper English education in all of its branches.” This included instructions for cooking. One of my favorite courting stories about Abraham and Mary is the tale of her offering Lincoln a piece of cake and saying: “I am sorry this cake is not as light as usual. I baked it on a Friday, and I suppose that is why it is so sad.” (Not an exact quote, but close enough). They then fell into a charming, poetic conversation about the fates, the furies, and the fairies.