Lincoln, 1865 - 2015.

[KatieH]

Hello, fellow Lincoln friends! A long-time lurker here, finally coming out of the woodwork for the upcoming 150th anniversary of his murder and the end of the war.

I'm super lucky to be able to go to D.C. with an old friend and her husband from Thursday, April 16 - Sunday, April 19. Though we will miss the main assassination events and remembrances, as someone who has loved and wanted to learn more about Lincoln for the past 20 years, I can't wait for our visits to Ford's, the Petersen House, and other exhibitions (I've been to D.C. before, but it's been many years).

Anyway, this is what I'm really getting to, and I'm not sure if it belongs in this sub (my apologies if it doesn't) - what is your favorite Lincoln story? Or, most likely, what is your top 3 or 5 or maybe even 10 Lincoln stories? It can be a story he told or a story someone told on him; it can be a snippet or what amounts to a glance as to who he was as a man. I'm just curious as to what you would all think of to remind you what made you admire him in the first place or what made you laugh when you first realized that this man had a great sense of humor.

I'm asking this because though we are both currently in our very early 30s, my friend and I are "old" Lincoln fans and have been very interested in him for many years. We view this trip as a wonderful pilgrimage of sorts. That said, we both understand this will also be a sad trip. And so we are both trying to come up with our favorite Lincoln anecdotes, stories, and even just snippets that remind us of who he was as a man - a husband, father, neighbor, friend, and colleague - to tell while we walk between exhibits and landmarks.

I understand there will be differing views on all of these, but I was curious as to what people here might present as their favorite stories.

The man laughed, loved, cried, and dreamed. Let's take a moment to remember and celebrate him accordingly.

What is your favorite "Lincoln" story that makes him so uniquely Lincoln?

[Angela]

Hi Katie and welcome to the forum! While I myself am very new to the whole thing, a foreigner and more of a lurker than contributor here, I just had to reply to your wonderful post. What a great idea to collect favorite anecdotes!

You said it yourself – your trip to Washington this year will be a sad one and I find it such a lovely idea to collect some joyful stories amidst the currently gloomy mood. I still have so much learning to do and have probably not even read half of all the “good stuff” but my favorite so far would be the pillow fight between Lincoln and David Davis. Not only was it funny but it also helped me understand his character and personality a little better. I’m sure the others have much cooler stories to share and am curious to read them!

As for your trip to D.C. – there is another thread (http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...2245.html) where people can arrange a get-together during that time and I hope to meet a lot of the wonderful people who frequent this board next month. It would be really fun to know everybody here personally.

[RJNorton]

Hi Katie and I second Angela in welcoming you to our forum. I am an insane lover of animals, so my favorite Lincoln story involves a pig. (Actually cats are my absolute favorite so I also like the story of Tabby eating off Buchanan's fork.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

This story comes from an old book titled Abraham Lincoln's Stories and Speeches by J. B. McClure:

"An amusing incident occurred in connection with 'riding the circuit,' which gives a pleasant glimpse into the good lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with such faint efforts that it was evident that he could not extricate himself from the mud. Mr. Lincoln looked at the pig and the mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped himself. Deciding against the claims of the pig, he rode on, but he could not get rid of the vision of the poor brute, and, at last, after riding two miles, he turned back, determined to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. Arrived at the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and dragged him out, but not without serious damage to the clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, and wiping them on on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him back to the release of the pig. At the first thought, it seemed to be pure benevolence, but, at length, he came to the conclusion that it was selfishness, for he certainly went to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom he related the incident) to "take a pain out of his mind." This is certainly a new view of the nature of sympathy, and one which it will be well for the casuist to examine."

[Eva Elisabeth]

I, too, love all the animal stories the most, and then come the ones with children. Of the first category I especially like the one where he saved the little birds and "returned" them to their mother (i.e. put them back into the nest), and the one with the poor little kittens at City Point he wanted to be well taken care of.

[Rogerm]

My favorite Lincoln "story" is his letter to Fannie McCulloch where he attempts to encourage the daughter of a friend who was recently killed in the Civil War to overcome her grief for her dead father.

[RJNorton]

(03-20-2015 08:34 AM)Rogerm Wrote:  My favorite Lincoln "story" is his letter to Fannie McCulloch where he attempts to encourage the daughter of a friend who was recently killed in the Civil War to overcome her grief for her dead father.

Roger, I compliment you on such an incredibly thoughtful reply.

Over the years I have received several letters from people grieving over the loss of a loved one. They write and ask if there is anything Lincoln ever said that might help. I always recommend the Fanny McCullough letter. The Bixby letter seems to get all the attention, but the McCullough letter is my personal favorite.

[Thomas Kearney]

I think the best story is the Grace Bedall beard letter.

[Gene C]

I've always been partial to the story of young Abraham Lincoln rescuing his dog in the icy Wabash River - Fido

[RJNorton]

(03-20-2015 04:46 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I've always been partial to the story of young Abraham Lincoln rescuing his dog in the icy Wabash River - Fido

Gene, I agree - that is a good one.

There is another story that I like but do not know whether or not it's apocryphal. If anyone knows of a primary source for this story please post! I have seen the story in quite a few books. If true it took place as Lincoln was leaving the White House for his last carriage ride with Mary. The story goes:

As he was coming down the stairway a one-armed soldier said: "I would almost give my other hand if I could shake that of Abraham Lincoln."

"You shall do that and it shall cost you nothing, my boy! " said the President.

"He grasped my hand and held it," said the soldier, "while he asked my name and regiment and where I lost my arm; and said I was a brave soldier, and a lot of pleasant things."

[LincolnMan]

Purposely creating footprints on the freshly cleaned ceiling of his home by holding a boy upside down to walk across.

[LincolnToddFan]

KatieH., I have been a slowpoke about welcoming you to the Board. Please forgive me! And thank you for this great topic because it's just the kind I enjoy most.

I am quite a bit older than you, and the problem is that I've been reading about Lincoln and his life since I was a child. I can't always remember where I read things. But there are a LOT of wonderful anecdotes and stories and I remember them:

First, all of the animal stories warm my heart because I am kind of a fanatic animal lover. The stories about AL laying on the floor of his home in Springfield cuddling and playing with his pet cats until they purred...the poignant and famous story of the orphan kittens at City Point that he was so concerned for.. the incident shortly before his death when he was on the train with Tad and ordered it stopped because he and his son saw a turtle on the tracks and they wanted to play with it...the story that Eva mentioned where he got off his horse to find the nest of some baby birds that had been misplaced, and finally the one where he helped a stuck pig out of some mud because it gave him a sad look as he was riding by. That one makes me tear up, because I understood exactly what made him stop and help that poor creature.

I also love reading about the delight he took in his pet goats at the WH, and how he used to sometimes take them around in his carriage.

I LOVE Roger's story.

But there are two anecdotes in particular that, for me, demonstrate the true essence of what he was like in his dealings with people close to him...affectionate and patient almost beyond belief. Shortly after he became President he was in his office at the WH, in an extremely intense meeting with some of his generals. As we know the war was not going well for the North in those early days. There was thumping and noise outside the door and then the sound of a child wailing. It was little Halsey "Holly" Taft, the buddy of his son Tad. Holly had gotten his finger caught in a door. Everyone would have understood if the exasperated, stressed out president had called for a servant or someone else to deal with the child but AL stopped the meeting and went into the hall to console the little boy until he stopped crying...then he returned to his meeting with the generals. I think this story comes from Julia Taft Bayne, older sister of Halsey, but I can't be certain.

And the last one concerns Mary, and how he dealt with his high strung wife....."One day, Mary came home from shopping to discover that their children, Robert and Eddie, had made a mess in the parlor. She was scolding them when Abraham came in and intervened on the boys' behalf. Mary angrily turned on him "but he only laughed", recalled a neighbor, "picked her up in his arms, and kissed the [i]daylights out of her. And she clung to him like a girl[/i]".
("The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary"...source Katherine Helm.."Mary, Wife of Lincoln" pg#106

I think there is no better illustration of his emotional intelligence or his skill in handling Mary!

[LincolnMan]

The "Almanac" defense.

[Donna McCreary]

One of my favorite stories took place when Abraham and Mary were courting.

He came to call upon her at the home of Ninian and Elizabeth and sometime during the visit, Mary offered Lincoln a piece of cake. She claimed that it was not as light as usual, for she had baked it on a Friday, and therefore, the cake was sad. She went on to say, "One should never commence anything on that unlucky day." When Lincoln asked her who had proclaimed Friday to be a day of ill-luck, Mary responded "the fairies." She explained that being part Scottish, she believed in the fate, the furies, and the fairies, had hunted for the magic circle where they dance, and had heard the faint elusive music of fairy bells.
Lincoln, entranced by her story, fell into a loving poetical mood himself and interrupted her tale by adding: . . . "and the elfin horns faintly blowing? I am sure that one of them must have been your godmother. She fell in love with you in your cradle and showered you with all her choicest gifts. You must have been a prime favorite of that generous lady."

I always find this story to be filled with all the traits of romance -- a fairy godmother, music, poetry, mystery, flirting, dessert, and most importantly, Mary's prince charming.

[LincolnToddFan]

Donna, I've read that story too and I've always been enchanted by it. It's a story that is never referred to by certain historians who claim AL never loved his wife and was somehow tricked, seduced, or bound by his "honor" to marry her.

Do we know the source for it?

[Eva Elisabeth]

(03-27-2015 10:05 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  KatieH., I have been a slowpoke about welcoming you to the Board. Please forgive me! And thank you for this great topic because it's just the kind I enjoy most.

I am quite a bit older than you, and the problem is that I've been reading about Lincoln and his life since I was a child. I can't always remember where I read things. But there are a LOT of wonderful anecdotes and stories and I remember them:

First, all of the animal stories warm my heart because I am kind of a fanatic animal lover. The stories about AL laying on the floor of his home in Springfield cuddling and playing with his pet cats until they purred...the poignant and famous story of the orphan kittens at City Point that he was so concerned for.. the incident shortly before his death when he was on the train with Tad and ordered it stopped because he and his son saw a turtle on the tracks and they wanted to play with it...the story that Eva mentioned where he got off his horse to find the nest of some baby birds that had been misplaced, and finally the one where he helped a stuck pig out of some mud because it gave him a sad look as he was riding by. That one makes me tear up, because I understood exactly what made him stop and help that poor creature.

I also love reading about the delight he took in his pet goats at the WH, and how he used to sometimes take them around in his carriage.

I LOVE Roger's story.

But there are two anecdotes in particular that, for me, demonstrate the true essence of what he was like in his dealings with people close to him...affectionate and patient almost beyond belief. Shortly after he became President he was in his office at the WH, in an extremely intense meeting with some of his generals. As we know the war was not going well for the North in those early days. There was thumping and noise outside the door and then the sound of a child wailing. It was little Halsey "Holly" Taft, the buddy of his son Tad. Holly had gotten his finger caught in a door. Everyone would have understood if the exasperated, stressed out president had called for a servant or someone else to deal with the child but AL stopped the meeting and went into the hall to console the little boy until he stopped crying...then he returned to his meeting with the generals. I think this story comes from Julia Taft Bayne, older sister of Halsey, but I can't be certain.

And the last one concerns Mary, and how he dealt with his high strung wife....."One day, Mary came home from shopping to discover that their children, Robert and Eddie, had made a mess in the parlor. She was scolding them when Abraham came in and intervened on the boys' behalf. Mary angrily turned on him "but he only laughed", recalled a neighbor, "picked her up in his arms, and kissed the [i]daylights out of her. And she clung to him like a girl[/i]".
("The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary"...source Katherine Helm.."Mary, Wife of Lincoln" pg#106

I think there is no better illustration of his emotional intelligence or his skill in handling Mary!

Toia, I love your last example and agree on your last sentence!!!