ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BEARD: THE IDEA OF AN 11 YEAR OLD GIRL!

When she was 17, Grace married George Billings, and the couple moved to Delphos, Kansas. Billings was a former Civil War sergeant. The couple had one child, Harlow Drake Billings, who was born on September 16, 1872. Grace passed away on Monday, November 2, 1936, two days prior to what would have been her 88th birthday. Both she and her husband are buried in the Delphos cemetery. The text of her letter and Mr. Lincoln's reply are on a memorial that was dedicated in the town square on August 8, 1966. The Governor of Kansas, William H. Avery, presided over the dedication ceremonies. The text of the monument reads: "Delphos: the Home of Lincoln's Little Correspondent."

For more on Grace Bedell see Fred Trump's "Lincoln's Little Girl: A True Story" or "Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers" by Karen B. Winnick (for younger readers). They are both excellent books. The photographs of Grace as a young girl and in her later years came from Trump's book. The photograph of the middle aged Grace came from "Life of Abraham Lincoln" by Clifton M. Nichols.

In 1999 Westfield erected this statue to honor Abraham and Grace. The photographs were taken by Kieran McAuliffe and sent to me by Ed Steers. Thank you, Kieran and Ed!

Stories, Legends and Myths

No. “I have always hated slavery,” he wrote in 1858. He lived his entire adult life to the time he was elected president in Indiana or Illinois, both free states.

Did Lincoln write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope?

No. Lincoln worked on the address both before and after his trip to Gettysburg from Washington, D.C. using official stationery for part of the speech. The train ride would have been too bumpy to do any writing.

Do the hands on the Lincoln Memorial spell out a message?

Not intentionally, although the hands do appear to be forming the signs for “A” and “L” in American Sign Language. According to the daughter of sculptor Daniel Chester French, this was a coincidence and not French’s intent. French modeled the hands from Leonard Volk’s casts of Lincoln’s hands, as well as casts of his own hands.

While French did not intend to use the hands to form letters, he was at least familiar with the concept of sign language, having previously sculpted a memorial to Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, the founder of the nation’s first permanent public school for deaf students. Gallaudet’s son Edward Miner Gallaudet founded the college for deaf students now called Gallaudet University, for which President Lincoln signed the charter in 1864.

Did scientists raise Lincoln from the dead?

The Weekly World News of October 5, 1993 featured a headline story, “He’s kept alive for 95 seconds! Abraham Lincoln’s Corpse Revived.” After being injected with the miracle drug Revivitol, according to the story, Lincoln stirred and said “Gentlemen, where am I?” before again losing consciousness.

Of course, as those who follow the supermarket tabloids know, the Weekly World News make the National Enquirer look like The New York Times. It’s so silly that no one takes it seriously. The real significance of this story, for Lincoln students, is that it marks Lincoln’s significance as continuing icon in American popular culture, like Elvis or JFK.

Did Lincoln ever walk miles to return change to a store customer?

Probably. Most of what is known about Lincoln’s early life, including the brief time when he kept a store in New Salem, Illinois, is based on unreliable reminiscences written down many years later. Lincoln’s scrupulous honesty is beyond question, however, and if he ever accidentally overcharged one of his few customers, he would certainly have made every effort to pay the money back.

Did the young Lincoln do his homework writing with coal on the back of a shovel?

Yes, but not often. He usually had paper and pen for his schoolwork.

Was Lincoln’s corpse ever stolen?

Almost. From 1865 to 1871, his body lay first in a public receiving vault and then in a temporary vault in Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery. After the construction of the Lincoln Tomb in 1871, his remains were transferred there. In 1876, however, an attempt was made to steal the body and hold it for ransom. The plot was not successful, and when the tomb was rebuilt thirty years later Lincoln's body was buried under many feet of concrete.

Did Lincoln ever fight a duel?

Almost. In 1842, Lincoln wrote a series of anonymous letters published in the Sangamo Journal, mocking prominent Democrat James Shields, the Illinois State Auditor. After Mary Todd (to whom Lincoln had been engaged the year before) and Julia Payne wrote a similar letter, Shields demanded that the editor reveal the identity of the author. Upon learning that Lincoln had written the letters, Shields challenged him to a duel. Lincoln, who was always awkward with women, mustered a rare show of gallantry and made no mention of Mary’s involvement in writing one of the letters.

Since Shields was the challenger, Lincoln had the privilege of naming the conditions for the contest. He proposed the ludicrous spectacle of a fight with “Cavalry broad swords of the largest size” while standing in a square ten feet wide and about twelve feet deep, which would put the much shorter Shields at a serious disadvantage. Lincoln may have hoped that the silliness (as well as the danger) of the proposed contest would bring Shields to his senses, but both men went ahead with their preparations for the duel until their seconds managed to arrange a peaceable settlement. Lincoln afterwards was embarrassed by the incident and rarely spoke of it.

Was “Dixie” really his favorite song?

Lincoln was not particularly musical, but when a band serenaded him in the White House at the end of the Civil War, he asked it to play “Dixie,” saying, “I have always thought ‘Dixie’ one of the best tunes I have ever heard. Our adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate it, but I insisted yesterday that we fairly captured it... I now request the band to favor me with its performance.” (April 10, 1865)

The Compelling Story of Abraham Lincoln...

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a one-room log cabin, located on a farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky (a state that permitted slavery at the time).

When he was only nine years old, his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died. A year later, his father, Thomas Lincoln, remarried a woman named Sarah Bush, who had a tremendous influence on the young Abraham Lincoln.

To support his family, Abraham had to work at a neighboring farm. Working denied him the opportunity to go to school, so the total amount of formal education he received was less than one year.

Although his formal education ended very quickly, his self-education was just beginning. An avid reader, he read everything he could get his hands on, studying a variety of subjects, such as mathematics, literature and law. Eventually this self-educated man became a lawyer.

Lincoln had a very strong desire to make a difference, so he entered politics. In August, 1832, he finished eighth out of 13 in a race for the Illinois House of Representatives.

Abraham believed that the government should be a positive force, whose goal was to serve the people. He reasoned that in order for him to have significant influence and impact on the government, he must achieve a high position in government -- preferably the position of the President of the United States. This goal eventually became his burning desire.

In 1834, while practicing law in a firm he had established with several partners, Lincoln ran for and won a seat in the Illinois Legislature. He served a four-year term, and he soon developed a reputation as a capable and honest politician.

Unfortunately, over the next decade he experienced numerous business and political setbacks. But unlike most people, Lincoln did not let any of these challenges -- including a business and personal bankruptcy -- discourage him from going after his dreams.

On November 4, 1842, he married Mary Todd Edwards, and they had four children over the next 12 years. In 1836, Lincoln won an election to Congress. It was during this time that he took an unpopular stand against President James K. Polk regarding the Mexican War. Abraham thought the war was unjust.

Because Lincoln's viewpoints were so different from many other government officials, he became unpopular among them.

After his term ended in 1849, Lincoln took the next five years off from politics and focused on his law practice. Again, he encountered more business setbacks. But again, he persisted, and did not let "so-called" failures discourage him.

In 1854, he returned to the political arena. One of the first things he did was to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which threatened to extend slavery to other states.

In 1855, he ran for the Senate but was defeated. The next year he went after the Vice Presidency position, and was also defeated.

With so many failures, a lot of people, in Lincoln's position, probably would have given up. But because he was determined and committed to make his political dreams come true, he would get up each time he was knocked down. He knew the only way to gain ground, to move forward, to march on, and to turn his goals into reality, was to learn from his setbacks and failures.

Sadly, at this time the states were no longer united. The South depended on slavery for its prosperity, so when the North opposed the extension of slavery into the new western states, the southern states broke away and formed their own union.

As the newly elected president, Lincoln decided that the original Union must be saved at all costs -- even if it meant a civil war. In 1861, the Civil War began.

On November 19, 1863, on a battle field near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Lincoln presented to the people his vision for a nation conceived in liberty, where everyone is created equal. This speech became known as the Gettysburg Address and it has shaped the destiny of the United States of America.

By the time the Civil War ended in 1865, after four long years, it had cost the lives of half a million Americans. But the Union was saved, the slaves were freed, and President Lincoln's lifelong dream was realized.

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln went with his wife to the Ford Theater in Washington, DC, to celebrate the end of the Civil War. Halfway through the play, John Wilkes Booth, an actor who resented the northern victory and the liberation of North America's slaves, shot and killed President Lincoln.

Following Lincoln's death, the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, declared: "Now he belongs to the ages."

Today, the spirit of President Lincoln still lives in our memories and it continues to guide us toward creating a nation, and a world, where everyone is treated equally... regardless of our unique differences.