The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-04-12
SKETCHES cr LINCOLN.
The Hanks Girls at a Camp
Meeting.
THOMAS LINCOLN AS A FARMER.
Abraham's First school Days Dennis
Hanks Remembrance of the Oiden Days.
The Lincoln Family Cabin-An Uninvit-
ing Frontier Structure.

Hanks RENE brance Of the Oiden Days.
The Lincoln Family Cabin-An Uninvit-
ing Frontier structure.
From The Life OF Lincoln" by William Fl
Herndon and Jesse n M,& Copyright 1898
by Jesse Weik CopyrisRp. lS9a. by d. APP
pleton & Co.
As "a family the HankSes were pecul.
lar 20 the civilization Ol early Ken
lucky lllterate aud super titiOus, they
correspond 10 that nomadic class still TO
be met with throughout the south and
known rs poor whites - They are hap
PLY and wildly depicted in the descrip-
tion of a camp meeting held at Eliza
BEETHOVEN. KY. in 1906, which was fur
nished me in August. 1865, by an eye
witness.
1.-THE TANKS girls, narrates the latter.
Were great at camp meetings. re-
member one IN 1906. will give you
scene, and if you will then read the
books written on the subject you may
find some apology for the superstitions
that were said 10 be IN Abe Lincoln's
character 1t was at a camp meeting, as
before said, when "A general shout was
about to commence. Preparations Were
being made. a young lady invited me
TO stand on "a bench by her side where
we could sec all over the altar To the
right strong, athletic young man,
about 20 years Old was being put in
trim for the occasion, which was done
by divestlng him Of all apparel except
shirt and pants. On the left young
lady was being put in trim IN much the
same manner, so that her clothes would
not be in the way and so that when her
combs flew out her hair would go into
graceful braids. She, too was Young, not
more than 20 perhaps. The performance
commenced about the same time by the
young man on the right and the young
lady un the left. Slowly and gracefully
they worked their way toward the cen
ter, singing, shouting, hugSing and
kissing, generally their own sex, until
at last nearer and nearer they came.
The center Of the altar was reached, and
the two closed, with their arms around
each other, the man singing and shout
ing at the top of his voice:
- have Jesus in my arms
Sweet "a honey, strong As bacon ham.
Just at this moment the young lady
holding to my arm whispered: They
are to be married next week. Her name
is Hanks. There were very few who did
not believe this true religion, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, and the man who could
not believe it did we'll to keep it to him
self The Hankses were the finest sing
ers and shouters in our country.
Here my informant stops, and on &C.
count of his death several years ago |
failed to learn whether the young lady
shouter who had figured in the fOiego-
ing scene was the president s mother or
not The fact that Nancy Hanks did
marry that year gives color TO the belief
that it was she As to the probability
of the young man being Thomas Lincoln
it is difficult TO say. Such perform
ance As the one described must have re-
quired "a little more emotion and en-
thusiasm than the tardy and inert car
penter was III the habit of manifesting.
The Roy at school.
Sarah, the sister of Abraham Lincoln,
though in some respects like her broth
er, lacked his stature. She was thick
set, had dark brown hair, deep gray
eyes and an even disposition. She was
married to Aaron Grigsby. III Spencer
county, Ind, in the month of August,
1926, and died Jan. 20, 1928. Her
brother accompanied her TO school while
they lived in Kentucky, but as he was
only Z, and as she had not yet finished
her ninth year when their father remov-
ed with them TO Indiana, it il 10 he pre-
sumcd that neither made much progress
in the matter Of school education. Still
it is authoritatively stated that they ut.
tended two schools during this short
period One of these was kept by Zach
ariah Riney, TIE other by Caleb Hazel.
1t is difficult at this late day to
learn much of thu boy Abraham
life during those seven years of res