The Jefferson Lemen Compact - Was it True

[maharba]

Does Abraham Lincoln mention Lemen in any of his papers I wonder. The Lemens were definitely philosophical antecedents of Lincoln in Illinois. Lincoln had to know of their existence and anti-slavery actions in the past in the State...I would think? As I look at James Lemen's genealogy, he is about a 4th cousin to Ward Lamon. I wonder if Ward ever mentioned his Lemen cousins to Abe. It may have been so far back from his personal family records, he did know of the common ancestry. The Lemen's were grounded early and very active especially working through the Christian churches to remove slavery. Because they weren't unhinged abolitionist or bizarrely radical in their approach (like John Brown etc), the Lemens avoided the otherwise 'warm reception' that Lovejoy and others received.