The Handwriting Style of Abraham Lincoln

[RJNorton]

I remember a "Lincoln and spelling" story that dates to his Indiana years. He once helped a girl who was having trouble with the word "defied." In a spelling bee, Katy Roby began spelling the word...d-e-f and then was stuck on the next letter. Was it an "i" or a "y?" Lincoln was standing nearby and pointed to his eye when the teacher (Andrew Crawford, I think) was not looking. Katy took the hint, said "i" and completed the word correctly.

(I have seen other versions of this story; this is the one I see most frequently)