"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother"

I hope those who still have their mothers with them tell them just how important they are to you. For those (like me) whose mothers are no longer here, at least in physical form, be sure and remember what it was that made them so special in your heart! It was my "angel mother" who sparked my interest in Lincoln when, shortly after my father died, she went to Springfield to take her state boards in cosmetology and brought back a wooden bust of Lincoln that sits on my desk to this day. She also never stood in my way when I decided I wanted to study history in college instead of something "practical."

Best
Rob

Wonderful post, Rob!

Lincoln also had strong feelings for his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. The following is from a letter Lincoln sent to his stepbrother regarding Sarah's care:

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To John D. Johnston

Dear Brother, Springfield, Novr. 25. 1851.

Your letter of the 22nd. is just received. Your proposal about selling the East forty acres of land is all that I want or could claim for myself; but I am not satisfied with it on Mother's account. I want her to have her living, and I feel that it is my duty, to some extent, to see that she is not wronged. She had a right of Dower (that is, the use of one third for life) in the other two forties; but, it seems, she has already let you take that, hook and line. She now has the use of the whole of the East forty, as long as she lives; and if it be sold, of course, she is intitled to the interest on all the money it brings, as long as she lives; but you propose to sell it for three hundred dollars, take one hundred away with you, and leave her two hundred, at 8 per cent, making her the enormous sum of 16 dollars a year. Now, if you are satisfied with treating her in that way, I am not. It is true, that you are to have that forty for two hundred dollars, at Mother's death; but you are not to have it before. I am confident that land can be made to produce for Mother, at least $30 a year, and I can not, to oblige any living person, consent that she shall be put on an allowance of sixteen dollars a year.

Yours &c

A. LINCOLN

(05-08-2022 11:14 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Wonderful post, Rob!

Lincoln also had strong feelings for his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. The following is from a letter Lincoln sent to his stepbrother regarding Sarah's care:

*************************************************************

To John D. Johnston

Dear Brother, Springfield, Novr. 25. 1851.

Your letter of the 22nd. is just received. Your proposal about selling the East forty acres of land is all that I want or could claim for myself; but I am not satisfied with it on Mother's account. I want her to have her living, and I feel that it is my duty, to some extent, to see that she is not wronged. She had a right of Dower (that is, the use of one third for life) in the other two forties; but, it seems, she has already let you take that, hook and line. She now has the use of the whole of the East forty, as long as she lives; and if it be sold, of course, she is intitled to the interest on all the money it brings, as long as she lives; but you propose to sell it for three hundred dollars, take one hundred away with you, and leave her two hundred, at 8 per cent, making her the enormous sum of 16 dollars a year. Now, if you are satisfied with treating her in that way, I am not. It is true, that you are to have that forty for two hundred dollars, at Mother's death; but you are not to have it before. I am confident that land can be made to produce for Mother, at least $30 a year, and I can not, to oblige any living person, consent that she shall be put on an allowance of sixteen dollars a year.

Yours &c

A. LINCOLN

Lincoln could be quite explicit when he wanted to be so.

Rob, that is a beautiful memory about your mother bringing the Lincoln bust to you. Little did you know then how your life would change towards all things Lincoln afterward. You must smile every time you see the bust. Thanks for sharing that.