Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-03-28

AN interesting and valuable manuscript
OF President Lincoln is in the possession
of Mr.. Jesse W, Fell, of Normal. The
circumstances under which it was writ
ten were these: 1t was suggested to Mr..
Lincoln in the latter part of 1870, by Mr..
Fell and others, that he might become an
available Republican candidate for the
Presidency in 1860, but it was a long
while before Lincoln would believe that
he could come prominently before the
Convention, inasmuch as Seward,
Cameron, Banks and others, who had
been prominent party leaders, were all
mentioned in connection with the office.
Mr.. Fell wished to present Lincoln's
name in Pennsylvania in the event of
Cameron's withdrawal, and requested Mr..
Lincoln to write a brief sketch of who he
was, so that an accurate statement of his
points as candidate might be placed
before the people of that State. 1t was
not until after repeated solicitations that
Lincoln responded to the request, and
when he did in December, 1860, he sent
to Mr.. Fell the manuscript referred to,
which is brief statement of his ancestry
and his early life, and a characteristic de-
scription of his personal appearance.
Mr.. Fell sent the document to Hon. Jo-
seph J. Lewis, of Pennsylvania, late Com
missioner of Internal Revenue, who, from
it, prepared sketch of Mr.. Lincoln's life
and services, and his strong points as a
candidate for President. The article thus
prepared appeared originally, we believe,
in the North american, of Philadelphia,
in January, 1860, and was the most accu-
rate and comprehensive paper on the sub,
ject that appeared. 1t was Immediately
copied into all the leading journals OF
ay,ia nd oth
and indeed, the Illinois press either
generally copied it or obtained their lead
ing facts and arguments from it. The
manuscript has been in Mr. Lewis pos,
session until recently, when he returned
it to Mr.. Fell. Of course, it was never
imagined by the writer that the paper
would ever either be published or be seen
by any person except Mr.. Fell. 1t was
evidently written off-hand, as it has fire
quent interlineations and erasures. The
language is, therefore, his own natural
expressions, such as he would use to 6
friend in private conversation. For in
stance, he says his parents "were botf
born in Virginia of undistinguisheG
families-second families perhaps
should say" Further ON he says that his
father moved to what is now Spencer
county, Ind, in Lincoln's eighth year
where he grew up. There were some
schools, so-called; but no qualification
was ever required of a teacher beyond
readin', writin' and cipherin' to the rult
of three. If straggler, supposed t.
understand Latin, happened to sojourn il
the neighborhood, he was looked upon a
wizard
He goes on to say that he was raised tc
farm work, which he continued until h,
was %. His last year in Illinois he spen
in Macon County: then he was at New
Salem (now Menard County,, "as sor
of clerk in store" He then refers t,
the Black Hawk war; and to his election
to the Legislature and to Congress, wind
ing up with the following sentence: 81
any personal description of me is though
desirable, it may be said-I am, in height
six feet four inches, nearly; lean in flesh
weighing, on an average, 1S0 pounds
dark complexion, with coarse black hai1
and gray eyes; no other marks or brand
recollected"
The manuscript has been neatly framed
and for day or two past has been O.
exhibition. 1t is one of themost valuabl
souvenirs of Mr.. Lincoln in existence
and the only thing of the kind he eve
Bloomington III. Pdntagraph.