He Served in Place of Abraham Lincoln

[RJNorton]

RE: When asked to recall his impression of the young man who served as President Lincoln’s representative recruit, Larner is quoted as saying:

“There lived in our ward the son of a clergyman, who bore the usual reputation given a minister’s son. He was naturally a ne’re do well and it is generally believed he was killed during the Wilderness Campaign.”

There is no footnote for Larner's quote. And there are no footnotes for the article as a whole. I do not know what is true and what isn't.

Can you give another source for Larner's alleged quote? Thanks.

You refer to Larner as "Lincoln's crony." The definition of crony is given as:

"a close friend of someone; especially: a friend of someone powerful (such as a politician) who is unfairly given special treatment or favors"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crony

I cannot find that Lincoln and Larner were friends. Leaving out the Staples' story I do not think Larner would be mentioned in Lincoln literature at all. And, as Joe mentioned, I think Sandburg is the only well-known Lincoln biographer who even mentions him in a book. Certainly the overwhelming majority of Lincoln books do not mention Larner; this would not be the case if the two were friends. From what I can tell Lincoln and Larner met only one time: October 1, 1864.

Can you give specific examples of what you seem to regard as the close friendship of Lincoln and Larner? Thanks.