Learning about Lincoln through his Poetry

On Sunday, September 6, 1846, Abraham Lincoln sent his friend Andrew Johnston a poem. It was the second canto of work he started a couple years before when visiting his old home in Indiana during the 1844 campaign.

Lincoln was living in Springfield at the time with his wife Mary, his young son Robert and baby Eddie who had been born earlier the same year. The young family appeared happy, settled in a larger home with their two healthy sons.

Sad times of course were in Lincoln's future, including the deaths of three of his children and the struggles of our country during the Civil War. But sad times were in his past as well. Lincoln lost his mother when he was only nine and his sister died young in childbirth.

Much has also been speculated about Ann Rutledge, the young woman with whom Lincoln had an "understanding." She died of fever before they could marry and Lincoln was said to have mourned deeply.

Many reports exist of Abraham Lincoln's melancholy nature and he was fearful that the bouts of depression would overcome him one day. Reading this poem gives a little insight to this fear.

In the cover letter to the poem Lincoln writes: "The subject of the present [poem] is an insane man. His name is Matthew Gentry. He is three years older than I, and when we were boys we went to school together. He was rather a bright lad, and the son of the rich man of our very poor neighbourhood.

"At the age of nineteen he unaccountably became furiously mad, from which condition he gradually settled down into harmless insanity. When, as I told you in my other letter I visited my old home in the fall of 1844, I found him still lingering in this wretched condition. In my poetizing mood I could not forget the impressions his case made upon me."


The poem's last lines read:

"O death! Thou awe-inspiring prince,
That keepst the world in fear;
Why dost thou tear more blest ones hence.
And leave him ling'ring here?"

Treatment for insanity lacked much in the nineteenth century. Imagine the dread he must have felt seeing his friend literally go crazy when they were youths together and then suffer from depression himself for the rest of his life.

You can read the poem in its entirety for yourself at the Lincoln Boyhood National Park website.

Champagne Lincoln Could Have Sipped?

While this story comes from the Baltic Sea and not Illinois, the time period is right for Abraham Lincoln.

Divers in July found the wreckage of a ship that may have sunk in the early 1800's. On board, they discovered bottle of champagne that were still intact and have been bringing them to the surface in secrecy.

Because of the cold temperature of the Baltic Sea, experts expect the champagne may still be drinkable and hope to sell the recovered bottles for $68,000 each.

Wouldn't it be interesting to sip bubbly that President Lincoln may have had the opportunity to drink? That experience could be yours if you have an extra $68,000 in your pocket!

 

Where History Is Happening

Granville Cemetery Walk
Sunday, September 12
1 pm - 3 pm
Learn about local characters of the past at the Putnam County Historical Society's annual cemetery walk 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12 at the Granville Cemetery.
Cemetery walks offer a glimpse into the past and a closer look at those who helped shape local history. During this free program, groups will be escorted through the cemetery to visit historic grave sites including those of Hawthorne, Whitaker, Ware, Hopkins, Kessler, Hartman and Naumann.

Boy Scout Exhibit in Aurora
Until September 11
12 pm - 4 pm
On My Honor: Celebrating 100 Years of Boy Scouting is now open until September 11! Come visit it at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place, Wednesday - Friday 12-4pm. Open Saturday, September 4 and 11th as well. Admission is FREE!

Rockford's Tinker Swiss Cottage Recruitment Fair
Thursday, September 23
5:00 pm -7:00 pm
Come and visit Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens and learn about the variety of volunteer opportunities that are available, from leading tours, to helping in the gift shop, to helping plan and create Tinker's Heirloom gardens.

Garfield Farm Museum's Archeology Program
September 22 -26
Registrations are now being taken for individuals who wish to help with the historic archaeology excavation. September's two week session will begin September 22 - 26 and 29 through October 4. Volunteers will be working alongside college and graduate school archaeology students. Volunteers 14 - 17 years of age may participate with parent permission. Younger students accompanied by a parent or guardian may also participate.

Who's That Tall Fellow in the Stovepipe Hat?

During the summer of 1941, the Ottawa Daily Republican-Times ran a grainy photograph showing a Civil War-era crowd standing in front of a house which they claimed was the only photograph known to exist of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas from their debate series.

Since then, every reference to this photo has included the newspaper clipping, but the photograph has never been authenticated since the original disappeared and the newspaper reproduction isn't clear enough for study.

This summer, three Civil War researchers reported that they found the original in Somonauk.

Bevin Wold, Chet Wold and Gerard Brouwer were looking for information on volunteer soldiers from Leland. Their search led them to the Marie Louise Olmstead Memorial Museum. There, displayed in a period frame on the wall, was the "lost" photograph, exactly where it had been for decades.

Attached to the frame was a small note indicating that the photo was of Lincoln on the day of the debate. The house has been identified as that of Henry F. Eames, a local banker, and the carriage is similar to one preserved bythe La Salle County Historical Museum in Utica. Tradition says that carriage transported Lincoln to the debate in Ottawa.

The photograph was removed from the Marie Louise Olmstead museum and taken to a photographer's to be reproduced and enlarged for further study. The three researchers are clearly thrilled to have found this important bit of history, hidden in plain sight, and they are busy trying to put names to the faces in the crowd.

New Marketing Piece for Kate's First Book

Illinois elementary schools often teach early American history between now and Thanksgiving, so now is the perfect time to remind teachers that Ruth by Lake and Prairie, the factual story of an 1831 girl who settled in Naperville, Illinois, is available to supplement their textbooks.

To help spread the word, a new book trailer has been created. Please feel free to take a look and pass it on to parents or teachers who may be looking for new material to catch the interest of their elementary students during westward expansion studies.