The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-04-23
The Story of How He Fell
in Love
ANNE RUTLEDGE THE ONE
Young Men WHO Laid Siege to the Heart of
This Attractive MniGen-Cnsc OF John
McNamar-Thc Death of Anne.
Effect on Lincoin's Mind
From The Life OF Lincoln. by william H.
Herndon and Jesse w. Weik. Copyright,
1883, by Jesse W. Weis. Copyright, 1892.
by D. Appleton & Col
VIII


VIII
e1rcc the days when in Indiana ,Inn-
colin set on tho rivers bank with little
Kate Roby, dangling his baro feet in tho
water, there has been no hint in these
pages of tender relations with any one,of
The opposite Sex. Now wo approach in
timely order tho ''grand passion" Of his
life--0 romance Of much reality, the men,
DRY of which throw a melancholy shade
over the remainder of his days For tho
first timo our hero falls in love. The
courtship with Ammo Rutledge and her
untimely death form tho saddest page in
Nh. Linooln's history.
james Rutledge, the father of this in
teresting girl, was one of the founders Of
New Salem, having come there from Ken
tuoky In 1899. Besides his business inter-
ests In the store and mill at New Salem
he kept the tavern whore Lincoln came to
board in 1888. His family, besides him.
self and wife, consisted of nine children,
three Of when wore born in kentucky, the
remaining six in Illinois. Anne, the sub
jcct of this chapter, was the third child.
Bio was beautiful girl, and by her win
ming ways attached people to her so firm
ly that she soon became the most popular
young lady in tho village. She was quick
bf apprehension, Industrious and an ex-
cellent housekeoper. She had moderate
education, but was not cultured except by
contrast with those around her. At every
'tquilting" Anne was a necessary adjunct,
and her nimble fingers drove the needle
more swiftly than any one else. Lincoln
used to escort her to and from these quilt
ing bees, and on one occasion even went
4. xx,IA xrTnro Il
cred out of place-and sat by her side as
she worked on the quilt.
He whispered into her ear the old, old
story. Her heart throbbed, and her soul
was thrilled with joy as old as the world
itself. Her fingers momentarily lost their
skill. In her ecstasy she made such irreg-
ular and uneven stitches that the older
and more sedate women noted it, and the
owner of the quilt, until few years ago
still retaining it as q precious souvenir,
pointed out the memorable stitches to such
persons as visited her.
Handsome and Good.
"Miss Rutledge," says a lady who knew
her, chad auburn hair, blue eyes, fair
complexion. She was pretty, slightly
slender, but in everything good hearted
young woman. She was about 5 feet
inches high and weighed in the neighbor-
hood of 1870 pounds. She was beloved by
all who knew her. She died, as it were, of
grief. In speaking of her death and her
grave Lincoln once said to me, My heart
lies buried there. +"
Before narrating the details of Lincoln's
courtship with Miss Rutledge it is proper
to mention briefly few facts that occur
red before their attachment began.
About the same time that Lincoln drift
cd into Now Salem there came in from
the eastern states John Mcneil, young
man Of enterprise and great activity, seek
ing his fortune in the west. He went to
work at once and within short time
had accumulated by oommendable effort
q comfortable amount of property. With
in three years he owned farm and half
interest with Samuel Hill in the leading
store. He had good capacity fer business
and was valuable addition to that al
ready pretentious village-New Salem. 1t
was while living at James Cameron's
house that this plucky and Industrious
young business man first saw Anne Rut-
ledge. Mcneil fell deeply in love with
the schoolgirl-she was then only 17-and
paid her the usual unremitting attentions
Young lovers Of that age had done before
him and are still doing today. His part
man of equal force of character, who aft
erward amassed comfortable fortune and
also welded no little influence as a local
politician, laid siege to the heart of this
same attractive maiden, but he yielded up
tho contest early. Anne rejected him,
and be dropped from the race. Mcneil had
clear sailing from this time forward.
After several years Mcneil, having dis
posed Of his interest in the store to Hill,
determined to return to New York, his
pative state, for visit. He had accumu-
lated up to this time, as near as we can
learn, $40, or possibly $12, 900. Before
leaving he made to Anne singular reve-
lation. He told her the name Mcneil was
an assumed one; that his real name was
McNamar.
MoNamar, after much vexatious delay,
finally reached his birthplace in New
York, finding his father in the decline of
years and health. He provided for his i'm
mediate needs, and by his assiduous at
tentions undertook to atone for the years
ofhis neglect but all to no purpose. The
old gentleman gradually faded from the
world and early one winter morning
crossed tho great river. McNamar was
thus left to settle up the few unfinished
details of his fathers estate and to provide
for the pressing needs of the family. His
detention necessitated a lotter to Anne
explaining tho nature and cause of the de-
lay. Other letters followed, but each sue
ceeding one growing less ardent in tone
and more formal in phrascology than Its
predecessor Anne began to loso faith. Had
his love gradually died away like the
morning wirdP was question she often
sskod herself Sho had stood firm under
fro before, but now her heart grew sick
with hope deferred. At last the corre-
spondenco ceased altogether
At. this point we are favored with tho
Introduction Of the ungainly Lincoln as f.
ss;tor for tho hand of Miss Rutlcdge. Lin
coin Lad learned CT MoNaInar's strange
c,,nduot, and no doubt when 10 began to
pay her at.enticns she was tho most at
lrdctiva young lady whom up TO that time
10 hcG cvor met. She was rot only modest
GIt: winning in her ways and full Of good,
wcIacnly cc:nE,on sense, but withal refln-
ed In contrast with tho unoultu7cd people
who surrounded both herself ard Lincoln.
"Eho had secret, tee, and q scr-ow-tho
unexplained and painful absence OF Mo
Eamnr-y :hich no doubt made her all tho
p'n-e interesting to him whose spirit was
elton even moro melancholy than her
own"
McNamar sccr,s to have ccEh.dcrcd Lin