Lincoln & Herndon

[LincolnToddFan]

Hi Roger-

You make a great point. I have never questioned the veracity of that statement-it kind of sounds like something AL would have said. But on the other hand it's also possible that it's one of Herndon's many embellishments. The problem with Herndon is that he prided himself on what he called his "insight" and had no problem making his assumptions about things and then sort of running with the ball, in a manner of speaking.

I guess you can tell at this point that I am not a fan. And unlike so many historians and Lincoln scholars over the years I am not willing to accept his every utterance on AL as holy writ just because he shared a law office with the man, and because AL liked him.

ETA: Herndon met Sarah Bush Lincoln after AL was murdered. They hit it off and liked one another from his description of the meeting. She gave him personal items that had belonged to AL. Was Herndon claiming that Lincoln said he owed all he was to his biological mother Nancy, or to Sarah?

As for Mary's influence on AL, even her enemies concede that it was considerable. She gave him polish, a lovely home befitting an up and coming politician, and she matched and stimulated him intellectually. She encouraged him and believed in his greatness from beginning to end. Whether or not Billy Herndon acknowledged her for it is pointless, imo.