Extra Credit Questions

[Rogerm]

Then, did Robert Lincoln play the harp?

[Gene C]

I'll go with Mary, she could speak French, and had a pretty good education

[Eva Elisabeth]

Sorry, Roger, it wasn't Robert either. (When Abraham Lincoln visited him in Exter he unsuccessfully tried to encourage Robert to learn playing the banjo.)

Gene, WHICH Mary?

[RJNorton]

Eva, your last clue jogged my memory. In a book I have called Tad Lincoln's Father, Julia Taft Bayne writes that it was Mary Harlan. It's on p. 64 of the edition I own.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Excellent memory, Roger! This was exactly my source, too, and Julia Taft only mentioned it BTW.

[L Verge]

If asked the question, "What event in American history resulted in the largest amount of U.S. deaths?" Most of us would probably answer, "The Civil War." However, there was one other event that occurred in the U.S. that had a higher death toll in a much shorter period of time than the four-year Civil War. What was that event?

[Rob Wick]

How many couples in Sangamon County were married before Abraham and Mary were in 1842? The only clue you'll get for this question is that the answer is on the back of the Lincoln marriage license.

NOTE: I didn't notice another question had been asked before I posted this. Sorry.

Best
Rob

[Rogerm]

Was there a flu epidemic around 1918 that killed several hundred thousand people in the United States?

[L Verge]

Very good, Roger. I thought it would take longer to guess! Yes, the Spanish flu hit the U.S. in 1918 and wiped out at least 675,000 people. Even though it is named the Spanish flu, it actually originated in Kansas and spread throughout the U.S. and then to Europe. It was kept quiet in most newspapers for fear of panic, except for the Spanish ones - hence the moniker "Spanish Flu."

[RJNorton]

Rob, I have no idea, but I can tell you that the divorce rate in Springfield was 1.3% between 1850 and 1860.

SOURCE. P. 230 of Kenneth Winkle's The Young Eagle.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Rob, I, too, have no idea, but just to clarify: Do you want to know how many couples had married before in the same year or in general (since the formation of the county in 1821)?

Laurie, wasn't there also a cholera epidemic with a high death toll (especially amongst slaves) in the first half of the 19th century that (besides tuberculosis) inspired Poe to write "The mask of the read death"?

[Rob Wick]

Eva,

The answer is how many couples were married in the county prior to the Lincoln's marriage. Like I said in the only clue I can give, it's located on the back of the Lincoln marriage certificate.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

I have decided to provide one more clue. The answer can be found in Tarbell's papers.

Best
Rob

[L Verge]

Eva - you may be right about the huge cholera epidemic. I don't remember seeing figures, but I suspect they would not be as high as the 1918 flu epidemic, largely because our population was a great deal smaller then.

[RJNorton]

Rob, would it be 2787 prior marriages?