Gibson W. Harris

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Scott for sending a .pdf file of the Gibson W. Harris' articles in the Woman's Home Companion (1903-1904). Harris was a young law clerk in the Lincoln-Herndon office 1845-1847.

CLICK HERE

I found the articles fascinating. Here are just a few of Harris' recollections and observations that I thought were interesting:

"Mr. Lincoln's mind was logical to the last degree, but his heart was more a woman's than a man’s."

"As a frequent visitor I was made welcome at the Lincoln home, and on two different occasions, at the instance of Mr. Lincoln, he being unable to attend, I became Mrs. Lincoln's escort to a ball, where I danced with her. I always found her most pleasant-mannered. She was a bright, witty and accomplished young woman, naturally fond of fun and frolic, but very staid and proper when it was in order to be so."

"In walking his step was such that his foot came down flat on the ground. I can see him now, in memory, as he daily appeared on the streets of Springfield, his arms slowly swinging, his head and body bent slightly forward, his whole aspect that of a man in deep thought, from which, however, he was easily roused, never failing to make hearty acknowledgment of a salutation, whether from friend or stranger. He was slow, or more properly, deliberate, in his movements. I cannot recall ever having seen him walk briskly, much less run, though his long limbs carried him over the ground with more speed than one was apt to realize at first."

"Mr. Lincoln showed great consideration for his wife, which I noticed the more, perhaps, because, for some reason, Mr. Herndon cherished a strong dislike for her, and of this fact made no secret to the office clerk. She was unusually timid and nervous during a thunder-storm, and whenever one threatened, her husband made it a point to leave whatever he was engaged upon, if it was a possible thing, and go home, to stay with her until it passed over."

"I believe it literally true that by his counsel more cases were settled without trial than through litigation. He never asked a fee for bringing about such a termination, and when I took the liberty once of saying it would be no more than fair for him to make some charge, he laughed good-naturedly, and said, “They won’t care to pay me; they don’t think I have earned a fee unless I take the case into court and make a speech or two."

"He read but little at the office, and I have never imagined there was much burning of the midnight oil at his home. The truth is, unless I am greatly mistaken, Abraham Lincoln never studied hard at any period of his life. He did not need to study hard. With him a single reading was sufficient to afford a clear insight into any ordinary subject. It almost seemed as if, in a previous existence, he had acquired a knowledge of things, and in this life needed only to refresh his memory, now by reading and now by colloquy with others."

"Mr. Lincoln sometimes told at the office the sayings or doings of his children. One such account I remember as well as if I had heard it last week. He came in. an hour or so after dinner, smiling beyond even his wont, and said he was lying down at home, having left his boots in the second-story hallway, when all at once he heard a tremendous clatter on the stairs. He jumped up. hurried to the head of the stairs, and looking down, saw Bob (Robert Todd Lincoln! aged three) getting up on all fours from the floor of the hallway below, unhurt but sadly bewildered. "The youngster had got into my boots," he said, "and in trying to walk around in them had fallen down-stairs. You ought to have seen him. Gibson—he looked so comical with the boot-legs reaching clear up to his little body."

"When telling a story, he had a mannerism peculiarly his own. If he was seated in a chair or on a dry-goods box (it was generally one or the other), his feet would be planted fiat upon the floor or ground, until near the story’s end, at which juncture his eyes would begin to sparkle and his right leg be seen to raise slowly; suddenly, at the instant the climax was reached, the right leg would be thrown across the left, back would go his head, and lie would laugh as unrestrainedly as any of his auditors. There was never any straining for effect; the heartiness and spontaneity of it all delightfully enhanced the story’s effectiveness."

"In his intercourse with others his simplicity and unaffectedness were most engaging. I never heard him use an oath or make a vulgar remark, and never knew of his doing an improper thing. He was the purest man, both in speech and action—I make the statement deliberately—of all the men I have known on intimate terms. He made one feel that it was good to be with him."

"In one of Miss Tarbell's Lincoln articles, published a few years ago in a current magazine, I noticed a portrait of Lincoln with the statement annexed that it was from a daguerreotype, but giving the reader to understand that it could not be ascertained when and by whom the likeness was taken. Later, the same portrait appeared in the Century Magazine, but still unidentified. I feel confident I am not mistaken in recognizing the portrait as the work of my friend Shephard, before whose camera I know Mr Lincoln sat once or oftener. The claim repeatedly made for it of being the earliest portrait of Abraham Lincoln remains, as far as I know, an undisputed fact."

[kerry]

I've been trying to figure out the credibility of a few Springfield witnesses in talking about Mary Lincoln, since Henry B. Rankin has apparently been discredited, but it seems like Gibson was the real deal/ His statements are definitely interesting, and illuminating about Lincoln's family life. The Herndon-Mary Lincoln debate has gotten old, but it is interesting that Herndon apparently was so open about it with a law clerk. The story about Robert is cute (although it could have ended badly).

[RJNorton]

(12-28-2017 05:26 PM)kerry Wrote:  but it seems like Gibson was the real deal/ His statements are definitely interesting, and illuminating about Lincoln's family life.

I sure agree, Kerry. What I find a little odd is that Herndon did not interview him. I do not think there is any mention of him whatsoever in Herndon's Informants. It would seem to me that Gibson would have been a perfect person to seek out after the assassination for an interview about Lincoln's office habits, etc. Also, Herndon does not mention him at all in Herndon's Life of Lincoln.

[kerry]

(12-28-2017 05:59 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(12-28-2017 05:26 PM)kerry Wrote:  but it seems like Gibson was the real deal/ His statements are definitely interesting, and illuminating about Lincoln's family life.

I sure agree, Kerry. What I find a little odd is that Herndon did not interview him. I do not think there is any mention of him whatsoever in Herndon's Informants. It would seem to me that Gibson would have been a perfect person to seek out after the assassination for an interview about Lincoln's office habits, etc. Also, Herndon does not mention him at all in Herndon's Life of Lincoln.

Herndon seems to have largely ignored Springfield accounts about Lincoln's personal life. While I agree with the general consensus that Herndon was not a liar and was after the truth, though prone to wild speculation, I feel that there is something deliberate in that. His comments about Mary and even Lincoln's kids are weirdly reckless and speculative, even compared to his regular stuff. I find Herndon quite entertaining and think his information is quite valuable and impressive, but I think too much benefit of the doubt has been given him with regard to Lincoln's family life. He seemed to be stuck to a narrative there, which he kept promising to explain but never did. It also seems very possible be obtained interviews from these people and later destroyed them, as stuff about his personal life that is discussed in some of his letters is missing. It's like he meant to eventually put them into perspective, but running out of time, got rid of them. From various things I've read, he was clearly in contact with Mary after Lincoln's death, beyond that one interview. I don't know what the situation was there. He had insight into so many things, but there is a giant blind spot when it comes to Lincoln's domestic situation. He probably considered Gibson's take irrelevant. He didn't seem to have any appreciation for cute stories of Lincoln as a father, which would seem highly relevant.

[ELCore]

(12-28-2017 01:57 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Many thanks to Scott for sending a .pdf file of the Gibson W. Harris' articles in the Woman's Home Companion (1903-1904). Harris was a young law clerk in the Lincoln-Herndon office 1845-1847.

CLICK HERE

I found the articles fascinating. Here are just a few of Harris' recollections and observations that I thought were interesting:

"Mr. Lincoln's mind was logical to the last degree, but his heart was more a woman's than a man’s." ....

Thanks, Roger. That quote reminds me of another description I've read of Lincoln: He had the mind of a scientist but the heart of a poet.

I don't remember where I read that. Does it sound familiar to anybody else?

[David Lockmiller]

(12-28-2017 01:57 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Many thanks to Scott for sending a .pdf file of the Gibson W. Harris' articles in the Woman's Home Companion (1903-1904). Harris was a young law clerk in the Lincoln-Herndon office 1845-1847.

CLICK HERE

It was with some difficulty that I read some of the PDF. I thought that others might have had the same problem as did I, and so, I copied over into a Word file the narrative of the first two meetings of these two individuals from Gibson Harris' perspective.

MY RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN By Gibson William Harris

A Law Student in Lincoln and Herndon’s Office From 1845 to 1847

The First Time I Saw Abraham Lincoln:

The presidential campaign of 1840 was in full blast, the famous campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." Abraham Lincoln was on the Whig ticket as a district presidential elector, and for the fourth time was elected that year to the state legislature. The Democratic nominee for presidential elector for the same district was Isaac Walker, an able man, who afterward removed to Iowa, and from that state went to the United States Senate. Both nominees were actively stumping a considerable part of Illinois, and at Albion, on a certain afternoon in mid-autumn, they were to hold a joint debate.

Mr. Walker in his early days had lived in our village, and Lincoln, who had the opening speech, was naturally desirous of circumventing what he felt sure would be Ins opponent's endeavor to make capital of the fact. The opening lines of Byron's “Lara" occurred to him as suitable for his purpose but he could recall only a portion of them. So, about the middle of the forenoon on the day of the debate, there came into the log schoolhouse, where I sat among other pupils in their early teens, a remarkably tall young man, ungainly and plain-appearing, dressed in a full suit of blue jeans.

Approaching the master, he gave his name, apologized for the intrusion, and said: “I am told you have a copy of Byron’s works. If you could oblige me, I would like to borrow it for a few hours." But the book was at the master’s house, and would have to be sent for. It so happened that the teacher's wife was present and she offered to fetch it. The distance being considerable, the visitor demurred to her return on this sole errand and insisted on going with her. With thanks and a good-day to the master, and a smile such as I have never seen on any other face a smile that was flashed over the room to take in all of us lads and lassies, the tall, gaunt presence passed out.

We boys had previously given little thought to the political meeting, but there was something about the visitor that aroused in me, as I found it had in my chums, a strong desire to see him again and hear him speak. Several of us petitioned for and were granted a half-holiday. Mr. Lincoln was at this time thirty-one years old, and had begun to attract attention as a lawyer. His style of speaking even then was remarkably direct and forcible.

At the meeting in question almost the first thing we heard, when the debate opened, were these lines:

"He, their unhoped but unforgotten lord,
The long self-exiled chieftain, is restored;
There be bright faces in the busy hall.
Bowls on the board, and banners on the wall.
He comes at last, in sudden loneliness.
And whence they know not, why they need not guess;
They more might marvel, when the greetings o'er,
Not that he came, but why came not before."

In vain did Mr. Walker's rejoinder ring the changes on auld lang syne.

Lincoln's sallies on “why came not before" had taken the wind out of his opponent's sails completely, while his command of pure, sententious English and the correctness of his diction were, I distinctly remember, favorably commented on by some of our best citizens. Albion's large proportion of educated men gave this appraisal real significance.

A New Friend:

In September, 1845, through the kindness of our then state senator, Mr. Charles Constable, it was arranged that I should enter the law office of Lincoln and Herndon, at Springfield, as student and clerk. From Albion it took me three days to reach Springfield by stage, the only means of transportation available other than private conveyance, though the distance can now be covered by rail in four hours.

Repairing to the law-firm's office, I met Mr. Herndon, and learned from him that the senior partner was traveling the circuit, and would not be home for several days. I left without disclosing my identity, preferring to await the return of Mr. Lincoln.

Learning in due time that Mr. Lincoln had returned, I again went to the law office, and this time he was in. He rose from his chair and gave me a cordial handshake. "You are the young man Mr. Constable spoke to me about?” he asked, and then introduced me to Mr. Herndon. Next, motioning toward the office bookcase, he remarked, "You will need what that contains. Make yourself at home," which I proceeded to do by taking a chair, he resuming his at the same time.

Elevating his feet to a level with his head, literally sitting on his backbone, he began making inquiries about different persons in and around Albion. The extent of his acquaintance with them surprised me, but the surprise wore off when I found, as I did in time, there was not a county in Illinois in which he did not know a number of the leading citizens, men whose voice had weight in public affairs. He seemed not only to know just how much influence each had politically, but likewise their noted peculiarities, their whims and fancies.

I did no reading that day. Mr. Lincoln was taking a rest after his tour of the circuit, and was in a chatty mood; above all, I was a new subject for his mental apparatus to investigate. If any mind was ever governed in its activities by the maxim, "The proper study of mankind is man,” it was Abraham Lincoln’s.

During my stay in his office I was the only student and only clerk in it. I can truthfully say I gave to my duties of both kinds the most diligent attention of which I was capable, and was soon made to feel the senior partner's kindly interest in me personally.

Simultaneously the less pleasing fact dawned upon me that Mr. Lincoln was not an assiduous instructor in the technics of law (which, indeed, were always more or less irksome to him, his mind dwelling rather on its principles), and reluctantly I began to turn to Mr. Herndon for such explanations as I needed, or, as opportunity offered, discussed what to me were knotty points with various younger members of the local bar.

But, while these developments could not but be a damper to the ardent youth unsatisfied till he could enter Mr. Lincoln's office, I never thought of admiring him less.

[RJNorton]

(12-28-2017 07:23 PM)ELCore Wrote:  "Mr. Lincoln's mind was logical to the last degree, but his heart was more a woman's than a man’s." ....

Thanks, Roger. That quote reminds me of another description I've read of Lincoln: He had the mind of a scientist but the heart of a poet.

I don't remember where I read that. Does it sound familiar to anybody else?

Lane, I am afraid that is a new one, at least to me. I do not think I have ever come across it. I'll keep thinking on it!

[Gene C]

Lane, I have read that before, but I can't remember where, possibly Herndon.