Abraham vs. Thomas

[Rob Wick]

Gene,

I think the easiest answer is that he simply didn't want anything to do with his way of life. I'm not sure how much he disliked his father, although that probably played into it because of the fact that up to the legal age, Lincoln had to give him any money he earned after Thomas rented him out. I think Lincoln had had his fill of hard labor and knew he wanted better for himself. Michael Burlingame probably said it best when he wrote:

Fleeing that drudgery and what he called “parental tyranny,” Lincoln strove to distance himself from the world of his father, who embodied the indolence, ignorance, and backwardness that his son disliked. His adult life represented a flight from the frontier. Once he left the paternal home, Lincoln would never invite Thomas to visit him. Never would he give Thomas the satisfaction of knowing that his name would be carried on by a grandson. Never would Thomas see his grandchildren or his daughter-in-law. Never would Lincoln perform Thomas’s work as a farmer and carpenter. Never would he pursue Thomas’s favorite forms of recreation, hunting and fishing.

Best
Rob