Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1866-01-06
Mr.. L,ne.ln'. narly LIr..

Happening 10 be In the eastern oortion
Of Madison Co., III few duys iaeod 4
called 10 see Mrs. w WiIcox, formerly Mrs.
Armstrong Years ago, when this goodIy
State Of ours was comparatively new there
came 10 the little village Of Salem, Menard
county, a tall plain and rather awk%a ord
young man TO help 10 the mill, tend store
apdsnake himself generally useful. p9 Alter,
serving in tbis capacity for some time and
making frieudsfof alt who came 10 contact
wi b him III mill or grocery, he was ap
pointed County Sarveyor, aud went to live
will farmer named Armstrong. residing
in the ueighbUrhood. This Mrs Wilcox
whom / wentt 10 see was The wife of this
Armstrong, and the slender, raw-boued
shop tender and surveyor was Abraham
Lincoln. =, ~ ,t'-v I,. got.rfiseN
The first lime ever saw him, said Mrs
W., went trading. Itold Armstrong as
soon as / got home there was new clerk
at The store and l liked him FIRST rate, he
was so kind and pleasant "A few days
after. Armstrong went to mill, aud when
he cvme home he told noe he adseens The
new clerk Dragged SO much about. and he
liked him 90. They had got to lifting in
the mill, a parcel Of them. and the clerk
QUILTED every man there, ....
Wei, sdys |, be lived with you, did be
not, afterward A9i.' "dl '''I''
Yes as soon as he got TO surveying be
came to orr house aud made il, bis home
/ made Two pairs Of deer4skin breeches for
bim--shor,s. too. Armstrong used to carry
chain for him. They were great, cronies.
Wherever Armstrong went Lincolh .wonld
20 too. He was poor and had no horse
we had several, and he alweys rode one of
our creatures. Sometimes they would be
gone week at time 10 Jacksonville.
Springfield, or somewhere else. They lied
about him when be was nominated for
President said he used to drink but he
never did, 1 never saw or heard of his
drinking The young folks thought him
kind Of queer. When tbeIe was q Fl olc,
or any dongs, among them, he would al
ways go, but never danced and Gu, up He
amused himself by playing with the chill
dren. or telling some funny sioEy TO the old
folks. Yes; be siaid with. US till We moved
to Missouri, aRd / never saw him angry the
whole time. He used 70 say be would never
marry until he could support wife Gem
fortably - and he didn't. we lived in
Missouri Eve years, aud when we came buck
he had gone 10 Springfield. Invent down
there trading pretty soon, and was standing
10 store looking at the folks, when I-saw
him coming down The street. A lady was
With him, his wife, and every body was bow,
ing and shaking hands with him. | stood
up straight in the door, little back like,
thinking may be he would not want to see
me, with his wife and oil those people
around never could put on any airs, aud
be knew it. He saw me, though, before
be got TO me, aud came up laughing and
shaki ing hands, real glad 10 see me asked
after A mstrong aud all the rest, just as if
he was one of the family. tell you, Mr..
F., he was a kind, good hearted man, and
a true gentleman He defended my sou
her son was tried for homicide, aud ac.
quilted and after the trial, when | told
him had no money to pay him, he laughed
at me, and told me whenever l was in ary
trouble TO come 10 him. Everybody told
me l was foolish 10 write to him about my
son, who was sick in the army that he had
enough else 10 attend 10 now, beside look
ing after me and my family. But when q
telegraphic dispatch dischargng my sun,
aud letter 10 me too, came, they found
out that he bad not forgotten his old home
down in Menard. Chicago Rep.