To paraphrase the King in Alice in Wonderland, it is best to begin with the beginning.  The legacy of Abraham Lincoln began far from the Kentucky frontier of 1809.  One of the best-known characters in American history knew very little about his family history.  Today, we know more about Lincoln’s family than he could ever have imagined.

Haunted by the fear that he may have been illegitimate, Lincoln often seemed ill at ease when questions arose about his family background. For the first years of his life the questions surrounding his ancestry seemed pointless.  Few records existed on the frontier, and a man’s worth came from his ability to survive.  Many families could relate to his lack of knowledge regarding his ancestry.  However, this situation radically changed when Lincoln entered public life.

Abraham Lincoln’s parentage remained a point of debate for many years.  For the most part, he suffered the innuendoes regarding his legitimacy with characteristic humor, and humility.   

After entering the political area, and serving a less than stellar tenure as an Illinois congressman, Lincoln began to seek higher office.  He wanted to be a United States Senator, but his ambition was definitely for “bigger game.”  He wanted to be president. 

With senatorial and presidential ambitions, Lincoln had to present himself to the public in a new light.  Political spin-doctors have existed in some form since the invention of politics.  Voters wanted to know about Abe Lincoln. 

Supporters decided to create a political biography of their candidate.  In 1858, 1859, and again in 1860, Lincoln issued a history of his background.  Again, the fear of having his questionable past resurrected in a political campaign remained a factor in how freely he talked about his family.

In June 1858, Lincoln responded to a request of Charles Lanman, who was compiling the Dictionary of Congress.  According to Lincoln’s official biography, he was born on February 12, 1809, in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.  In his brief, but humorous description of himself, he stated that his education was “defective.”  He practiced law, and served as postmaster “at a very small office.”  He did not mention his parents.

On December 29, 1859, Lincoln’s second autobiographical sketch included information on his family.  Again, he stated that he was born in Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.  He goes on to say that his parents came from Virginia, and were of “undistinguished” lineage.  He mentions that his mother’s surname was Hanks, and that his grandfather, Lincoln had emigrated to Kentucky from Rockingham County, Virginia in “1781 or 2, where a year or two later he was killed by Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when was laboring to open a farm in the forest.”

Lincoln noted that his ancestors were Quakers who came to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania.  Any attempt at connecting them with the New England family of the same name “had ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.”

Little did Lincoln know that his great, great, great, great grandfather, Samuel Lincoln had arrived in America from England in the 1630s, and settled in Massachusetts.  In the 1867, Reminiscence of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Frank Moore, Lincoln gives an interview to a “gentleman” from Massachusetts, who asks him if he is related to the Lincolns of New England, especially General Benjamin Lincoln of Revolutionary War fame.  Lincoln replied that he “could not say that he had ever had an ancestor older than his father, and therefore had it not in his power to trace his genealogy to so patriotic a source as Old General Lincoln of the Revolution—though he wished he could.”

At times Lincoln seemed to have selective memory of his antecedents.  When another interviewer asked him about his family he remarked, “I don’t know who my grandfather was, and I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.”

We now know that Lincoln is descended of the Massachusetts Lincolns, and his ancestors came from the small village of Hingham in Norfolk, England.  In the next installment of “Learning the Life of Lincoln” the sixteenth president’s ancestors will be discussed.

Remember! Mark your calendar for June 3, 2006, when the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration will begin with the wedding of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks at Lincoln Homestead Park.  The Lincoln legacy begins in Washington County, so be prepared to come and help celebrate the commemoration of this historic event.