Lincoln Discussion Symposium

I was able to save the majority of my photos, although I couldn't find my book proposal. I'm going to add some of the photos I took when I visited the birthplace memorial, the Knob Creek farm and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Hope you enjoy.

The Birthplace Cabin Memorial Hall


The representation of the birthplace cabin


Standing before the sign at Knob Creek. If you look over my right shoulder, you'll see the representative cabin which is on the site.


The Knob Creek Farm (not much is there)


Knob Creek


Thomas Lincoln and a representation of what Nancy Hanks Lincoln may have looked like. This is at the Lincoln Boyhood National Historic Site.


A cabinet built by Thomas Lincoln


Interpretive stone leading to Nancy Lincoln's grave.


The grave stone for Nancy Lincoln.


The cabin foundation and chimney foundation for Lincoln's Indiana boyhood home.


I'm only allowed 10 pictures per post, so I'll start a second thread to post the remainder.

Best
Rob

Thanks for posting all these wonderful photos, Rob. For some reason every time I try to follow the story of what happened with the original birthplace cabin I get "lost." Can this be explained in a clear, logical manner my aging brain might understand? What exactly are people looking at when viewing the representative cabin inside the Memorial Hall?

Roger,

I discuss the birthplace cabin in Chapter 4 of my book. The two sources I used for the overall story was a report written in the late 1960s by a woman named Gloria Peterson of the National Park Service and an article which appeared in the Abraham Lincoln Quarterly by Roy Hays in 1948. The Hays article is somewhat long, but it explains the background very well.

Tarbell was one of a group of people that gave their opinion as to whether it was genuine or not. She believed it was, although I can't find any evidence that she did any more than rely on her memory of her early 1890s visit to Kentucky when she was researching the McClure's Magazine series. There was a picture of the cabin in McClure's.

Here are the links to what I used.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/onlin.../hrs2c.htm

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/alajournals/...w=fulltext

Best
Rob

Great photo's Rob. One of the things that surprised me when I visited his birthplace site was how small the cabin is.

Thanks, Rob! It's fascinating to see pictures of Knob Creek and the environment. (Looks less different to where I live than I thought.)

Rob,

Thanks for posting these. It is sad that the Boundary Oak is now gone. If I can ever find them I took photos of the Boundary Oak in the 1970s when it was still intact, and again in the 80s when it was merely a stump. I understand that none of it remains today. Is that correct? All of this makes me want to travel to the Kenticky and Indiana sites again real soon. Your photos are wonderful!

Now, son, get back to writing!

Joe

Joe,

It was completely removed in 1986, according to the NPS. I would love to see your pictures.

Now that I've got my new computer up and running, I'm back at the chapter. I'm still not happy with the Tarbell legal saga.

Best
Rob

Great photos, Rob!

(How do they know that that one foundation is the foundation of the Indiana Lincoln home? Just wondering.)

Liz,

From "Interpreting Lincoln--A Work in Progress: Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial as a Case Study" in the Indiana Magazine of History (December 2009, Vol. 105, Issue 4)

In 1917, Spencer County’s centennial commission requested the assistance of older county residents in determining the exact location of Thomas Lincoln’s cabin. Twenty volunteers assembled on the historic property and pointed to a site they believed to be correct, and a marker was erected there on April 28, 1917.

Also from THERE I GREW UP ... A History of the Administration of Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home by Jill York O'Bright Regional Historian, Midwest Region, National Park Service, 1987

In 1917, John J. Brown and John Chewning, members of Spencer County's centennial commission, formed a committee to obtain the assistance of older residents of the county in determining the exact location of Thomas Lincoln's cabin. Twenty such residents assembled on the historic Lincoln property on March 12. The site was identified by Davis Enlow, Joseph Gentry, and "the Lamars." This group pointed to the site they believed to be correct, and the first shovelful of dirt revealed cobbles and crockery. A marker was erected on the site on April 28, 1917, stating: "Spencer County Memorial to Abraham Lincoln, Who Lived on this Spot from 1816-1830."

So it appears there is no concrete evidence, but rather human memory.

Best
Rob

(10-28-2013 11:21 AM)Rob Wick Wrote: [ -> ]and the first shovelful of dirt revealed cobbles and crockery. A marker was erected on the site on April 28, 1917, stating: "Spencer County Memorial to Abraham Lincoln, Who Lived on this Spot from 1816-1830."[/i]

So it appears there is no concrete evidence, but rather human memory.

So your basically saying the evidence for this location being the Lincoln cabin is a crock?

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(10-27-2013 08:55 AM)Gene C Wrote: [ -> ]Great photo's Rob. One of the things that surprised me when I visited his birthplace site was how small the cabin is.

According to the link you supplied, http://www.nps.gov/history/history/onlin.../hrs2c.htm
footnote (57) they - Lincoln Farm Association - sawed the logs in the cabin to fit the memorial building, from 16 x 18, to 12 x 17. That reduced the livable interior space by almost 25%. I never knew that.

Quote:So your basically saying the evidence for this location being the Lincoln cabin is a crock?

Bad joke, Fido. Bad dog!

Best
Rob

(10-27-2013 08:01 AM)Rob Wick Wrote: [ -> ]Roger,

I discuss the birthplace cabin in Chapter 4 of my book. The two sources I used for the overall story was a report written in the late 1960s by a woman named Gloria Peterson of the National Park Service and an article which appeared in the Abraham Lincoln Quarterly by Roy Hays in 1948. The Hays article is somewhat long, but it explains the background very well.

Tarbell was one of a group of people that gave their opinion as to whether it was genuine or not. She believed it was, although I can't find any evidence that she did any more than rely on her memory of her early 1890s visit to Kentucky when she was researching the McClure's Magazine series. There was a picture of the cabin in McClure's.

Here are the links to what I used.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/onlin.../hrs2c.htm

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/alajournals/...w=fulltext

Best
Rob

Rob,

The Indiana cabin in McClure's might be one that the Lincolns had begun (but also might not have completed) before they departed to Illinois and not the one they resided in during the ndiana years--which, by the 1890s, may have been gone.

Joe

Rob, Great pictures! I took my son to visit the Lincoln boyhood site in August of 2011. A great experience!

Craig

Great post Rob- enjoyed it very much over my coffee this morning.

Rob - these pictures are stunning! And I just noticed how many things I missed!!! I was on a trip this summer from Chicago to Washington and was quite amazed how present Lincoln is in Illinois. However, when I came to Kentucky, I realized that there was even MORE to see and by then, I was already running out of time. My travel companion almost had to force me back into the car at gunpoint because I did not want to leave Hodgenville.
Had I known how many more places there are to visit...we'd probably still be there!