I Mary

[Susan Higginbotham]

(08-22-2020 08:20 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Regarding Herndon's drinking, p. 124........

Before daybreak, a messenger from the sheriff came pounding on Lincoln's door and woke him up. Herndon and two other men had been drinking, smashed the entire front of a grocery store and committed other acts of vandalism. Unless Lincoln could raise $100 right away, Herndon would be thrown in jail. (Not a good thing for the law partner of an up and coming politician) Mr Lincoln didn't have the funds and had to go to the home of a well to do business man to borrow the money. The money paid for the damages and Herndon was saved from going to jail.

This was just more evidence for Mary that Herndon was unfit to be her husbands law partner. He could not be trusted.

Unfortunately. there is no footnote for this incident. I looked through Lincoln's Herndon, by David Donald.
While he has several comments about Herndon's drinking problems, this story is not specifically mentioned.
Any one else heard of it?

The story certainly seems fishy to me. I have a hard time believing that Lincoln would tolerate a partner who went around drunkenly destroying his neighbors' property.