Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1860-10-19

stances than those under which he
was ushcrct into life. His parent-
were poor and uncducatcd. They
were under the social ban which the
presence Of slavery always entails
upon poverty. Their very limited
means. and the low grade of the neigh
boring schools. prccluicd the eXPecta-
tion Of comforting upon their children
the advantages Of even a common
English education. The present in
habi;ants Of the Western states can
have but faint idea of the schools,
which, fifty years ago, were the only
means Of education accessible 10 the
uoorcr CLASSES. Tie teachers were,
Tor the most part, ignorant, uhcu.ti-
ystcd men, rough OF speech, uncouth
in manners, and rarely competent 70
teach beyond the SIMPLEST rudimeh's
Of learning, spelling, reading. wrI-
ting and sometimes a very Little AZ
itnmctic. The boons o. study, then
in vogue, would not now hc tolerated
IN schools OF the lowest grade. lAc
school-hou,c, constructed O:Io9s, .oor-
less, window less, and without !HC.o--
ure, was in admirable harmony with
teacher, textbooks, and tue mode oil
impartlns instruction.
In his seventh wear, Abraham was
cent for short periods 70 two oi these
erhool-, and while Attending them
proSrtssc,. 50 far a. 70 learn 10 write.
For ihi, requirement he manifested a
great fonInce.. 1t was his cu.iom 10
form letters. 10 write words aud sen
tcncc-. wherever he found suitable
maternal. lie ,crawIcd them with
charcoal. he scored them IN the dust,
in the sand. in the suow-aEyw where
aud everywhere, that lines could bc
drawn, there he improved his caplci-
y ior Writing.
/ Mcauv h,.c. the worldly condition
OF the elder Lincoln did not improve.
lie realized, i'll hi- daily experience
aud observation, now slavery opprcss
g. the poorer classes, making their
poverty and social di<rcpute 4 Pcrma-
n.n, condition through the dcgrada
ton which II aiiiNco 10 labor. lie
vo.yiug this matter in his mind. he
wisely resolved To remove his young
family from is presence. According
iy, in the autumn o. 1916, h. cIn.-!a-
ted 10 Spencer county. lnGiana-onc
of the States cOn-surat.d Tor ever to
freedom and Tree labor ~ the J.ier-
Suu.an Ordinance Ot l.S,. and wH!ch.
with the States nov comprising the
territory included in that memorable
instrument. ha, allorucn an open held
ami fair play 10 thousand, upon thou
sands no nave, III Ike IndGucr, been
driven from their homes Uy that great
social scourgc ol IAc poor whites OF
the South.
Young Lincoln was in his eighth
year when the family removed to In
diana. They settled n an unbrokcn
forest, gladly taking upon themselves
all the priystions aud nardshIp- Of Il
pioneer life, In view of what thcy hat
left behind them. The erection OF a
house and the telling of the forest,
wa. the first work TO be uoHc. ADra-
ham was Young To engage III such la
Dor, but he Was large Oi his age, stal-
wart, and willing to work. An axe
was at once placed in hi, hands, and,
from that time until he attained hl>
twenty-thlrd year, when not employed
III labor on the farm, he was almost
constantly welding that most Useful
implement.
! [ pon the arrival of the family in
Indiana, the friends who were lett be-
hind were TO be written to. The cId-
CT Lincoln could do nothing more IN
the way OF writing than TO oungi!n--
ly sign his name. The mother, though
ready reader. had not been taught
the accomplishment Of writing. In
this emergency, Abrahams skill a. a
pcnman was pat into requisition, and
with mig hIy satisfactory results. From
that time onward, he conducted the
family correspondence. Tins Tact
soon becoming pubiic, little Abraham
was considered marvel OF learning
and wisdom by the supplemented set
tiers and ever aitcrward, 20 long a.
he remained in Indiana. he was the
lcttCr-wlilcr for the nciShbors gcncr-
ally. as we'll as for his father family.
That he was selected tOr this purpose
was doubtless owing not more 10 his
proficiency III writing. than to his
ability to cypress the wishes and iecl-
inyS Of those for whom he wrote, in
clear and torcibic language, and TO
that ohl'ginx disposition that has al
ways distinguished h;m in subsequent
life. ltcan not be doubted that some
thing of Mr. LincOlns style and Ia
cilty Of composition in later years,
both a, a writer and speaker, Is to bc
traced back to these earlier efforts az
an amanuen-is for the ncighborhood.
Ia the autumn Of ISIS, Abraham,
in the lo-. Of his mother, experienced
the first great sorrow OF his llie.
Facts in the possession Of the writer
have impressed him with the belief,
that. although Of but limited educa-
ton. sic was woman OF great ma
tive strength Of intellect, and force OF
I . l.,f h.,