Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

[David Lockmiller]

I have two additions to add to this topic.

1) Abraham Lincoln: A Life, by Professor Michael Burlingame, Vol. One, page 49:

Henry C. Whitney, to whom Lincoln described his year in Macon County, called that period one of the "three eras of unusual hardship and misery" in Lincoln's "melancholy journey of life." (The other two unusually painful periods, Whitney asserted, were those following the deaths of Nancy Hanks Lincoln in 1818 and his sweetheart Ann Rutledge in 1835.)

The material in parantheses was followed by a footnote reference which reads as follows: "Whitney, Lincoln the Citizen, p. 86, manuscript at Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee. This passage does not appear in the published version of Whitney's biography."

2) The Hidden Lincoln, from the Letters and Papers of William H. Herndon, by Emanuel Hertz, Blue Ribbon Books, 1949, p. 317.

Letter from John Jones, Winterset, Iowa, October 22, 1866:

Having seen the statements made by R. B. Rutledge in reference to the early life of Abraham Lincoln and having known Mr. Lincoln and been an eye-witness to the events as narrated, from my boyhood, I take pleasure in saying they are literally true.

As to the relation existing between Mr. Lincoln and Ann Rutledge, I have every reason to believe that it was of the tenderest character, as I know of my own knowledge that he made regular visits to her. During her last illness he visited her sick chamber and on his return stopped at my house. It was very evident that he was much distressed, and I was not surprised when it was rumored subsequently that his reason was in danger. It was generally understood that Mr. Lincoln and Ann Rutledge were engaged to be married. She was a very amiable and lovable woman and it was deemed a very suitable match--one in which the parties were in every way worthy of each other. (Signed) John Jones