Ida Tarbell Lincoln Papers Online

[Rob Wick]

In searching for some other things, I stumbled across a website from Allegheny College which has a large amount of Ida M. Tarbell's Lincoln collection, including correspondence, articles and research materials. There are some empty links on the site, but what I've attached here is rich with material.

Happy hunting!

Best
Rob

[RJNorton]

Rob, I was just looking at my copy of Ida Tarbell's Abraham Lincoln and His Ancestors this morning. Craig H. and I were exchanging emails trying to get the correct birth year for Samuel Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln's great, great, great, great, grandfather - I think I said that right). Tarbell has it in 1619, Barton says 1619?, but other sources have it in 1622. It gets sort of confusing trying to sort through all the details.

[Rob Wick]

I just got an e-mail from Allegheny College's library. Many more of the Tarbell papers will be available within the next week and a much larger selection will be available by the end of August. I wish the money was available for more projects like this. The amount of money I will save with this is going to be massive.

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

What's in Ms Tarbell's collection that makes it so special?

[L Verge]

What does Ed Steers have to say about the year for Samuel Lincoln? Ed's done quite a bit of genealogical work on the Lincoln family.

[Rob Wick]

Gene,

Tarbell was one of the early "realist" biographers of Lincoln along with William E. Barton, Albert J. Beveridge and Carl Sandburg. The first chapter of my book deals with these four and how they influenced Lincoln scholarship from the late 1890s up through 1926. Plus, I like that I can sit in my office in my shorts and t-shirt and read her mail.

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

Rob,

I'm sure that's a thrill for her too!
On a serious note, how is the book coming?

[Rob Wick]

Gene,

I'm still in the research stage, although I've been working on a narrative outline. I had hoped to get a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend grant to help me cover research costs, but that fell through, in spite of some solid support from Ed Steers and another historian named R.B. Bernstein, who wrote The Founding Fathers Reconsidered and a short biography of Thomas Jefferson.

I've been collecting Sandburg books over the past couple of years and I've already made one trip to the University of Illinois where Sandburg's papers are located. I need to spend another week there and then try to figure out how the heck I'm going to pay for researchers in various parts of the country to get other things I need.

With Tarbell's papers online, that removes a major expense and headache.

Best
Rob

[Gene C]

Thanks, I'm sure a lot of us Lincoln hobyist have little idea of all the work and effort that goes into writing something on that scale. Thanks in advance for your work.

[Ed Steers]

Concerning the dates for Samuel Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's American progenitor; Samuel's dates are 1619-1690. I believe the best evidence, and the date I accept for his landing in Hingham is 1637. The ship records are extant. Samuel came over at age 18 as an indentured servant to Richard Lawes, a weaver, who quickly released Samuel for reasons unknown. We know he purchased a piece of land in 1649, 12 years after landing. His house is still standing in Hingham. Rather impressive. He became a wealthy citizen. Please let me know if anyone has contradictory evidence. By the way, Ida Tarbell has difficulties with some of her facts. She definitely got the wrong Nancy Hanks. There are other errors in her otherwise outstanding four-volume history. Ed Steers

[Rob Wick]

(07-12-2012 07:14 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Thanks, I'm sure a lot of us Lincoln hobyist have little idea of all the work and effort that goes into writing something on that scale. Thanks in advance for your work.

Thanks, Gene. It has its moments, but there's nothing I like more than doing research. The writing part...not so much.

Best
Rob

[Craig Hipkins]

(07-11-2012 01:02 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Rob, I was just looking at my copy of Ida Tarbell's Abraham Lincoln and His Ancestors this morning. Craig H. and I were exchanging emails trying to get the correct birth year for Samuel Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln's great, great, great, great, grandfather - I think I said that right). Tarbell has it in 1619, Barton says 1619?, but other sources have it in 1622. It gets sort of confusing trying to sort through all the details.

This is an interesting thread Roger! Is anyone familiar with the work of Lea & Hutchison? Included in this book is a Register from Hingham in Norfolk County, England. It lists a baptismal date for a Samuel Lincoln of 24 August, 1622. He is listed as the son of Edward. A brother Daniel (son of Edward) baptised 28 March, 1619. It appears that Samuel was three when he was baptised. This would fit his age of 18 years when he docked at Salem in 1637.

The History of the Town of Hingham Massachusetts lists eight early colonists by the name of Lincoln.
1.) Daniel Lincoln (The Husbandman) (died 1644 without issue)
2.) Samuel Lincoln
3.) Thomas Lincoln (The Weaver) (died 1675)
(Daniel, Samuel, & Thomas are listed as brothers.)
4.) Daniel Lincoln (The Sergeant & Boatman)
5.) Stephen Lincoln
6.) Thomas Lincoln (The Husbandman)
(Stephen & Thomas were brothers)
7.) Thomas Lincoln (The Cooper)
8.) Thomas Lincoln (The Miller)

Something that is interesting to note is the spelling of Lincoln as listed in a passenger list from England in 1637. It is spelled "Samuel Lincorne." I believe that this is how German immigrants tried to claim at the turn of the last century that Abraham Lincoln was of German heritage.

Craig

[Rob Wick]

I've found some real gems in the Tarbell papers. I'm at work now, but I'll share some things over the weekend.

Best
Rob

[LincolnMan]

Rob: I was checking Youtube for Ida Tarbell videos. There are a few. It seems Tarbell is a hero to many-even young students. But not for her work on Lincoln so much but for her Standard Oil thing.

[Rob Wick]

Thanks, Bill. I never thought to look her up there. I'm heading for bed now, but next time I sit down here I'll take a look at them.

Best
Rob