The National tribune., 1902-08-28
MRS. FRANCES HENNING SPEED.
Influenced Marriage Of Abraham Lincoln

| Influenced Marriage Of Abraham Lincoln.
louisville Courier-Journal, Aug. 12)
| Mrs. Frances Henning Speed, the widow
OF Joshua +. Speed, who was one of Abra-
ham Lincoln's closest personal friends, is
dead, at the age Of SO years, at her home
| on the Cherokee road. Her early life and
the life of her husband were closely con-
nccted with that of Lincoln. and Lincoln
was Mr.. Speeds confidant throughout his
courtship of Miss fleming, who after
ward became his wife, and that ~, the
| testimony of his friend to the happiness
which he had found in his marriage was
due LinScln's union to Miss Mary Todd,
of Lexington, NY, to whom he had been
| engaged for several years and from whom
he had been estranged by the broodins
| fear that their mutual feelings were not
| such as to pledge welded life of happi-
ness.
Those who knew Mr.. Lincoln make the
statement that 1T is hardly too much to
say that Joshua Speed was the only-as
he was certainly the last-intimate friend
| that Lincoln ever had"
| The story OF their first meeting, when
| Mr.. Speed was Il merchant i'll Spring
field, ILL.,, in the late 30's and Lincoln came
into his store to buy bedding is familiar
| one.
| The merchant faced the gaunt, angular,
| aIiIioSt uHtOUiH-IOOkIHS youth, "ho Dui-
gained with lin over the small trade that
amounted ut the most to but few dol
lars. In the course of it Lincoln declared
frankly that he had no place to sleep, and
that he would be unable to pay for his
| bed unless it were sold him on credit.
Mr.. Speeds reply was: Take the bed.
There is n large room over the store in
which I sleep. II you want to share it
with me, you're welcome"
HOW LINCOLN WORRIED.
Lincoln went up to it and returned in
| about two minutes with drolly quizzical
look on his face.
"Well." he said, "I've moved" The
deep friendship between the men lasted
from that time until the death of Lincoln,
and when he was first elected to the Presi-
dency it was to Joshua Speed that he
offered the Secretaryship of the Treas
ury, an Office which he declined. His
brother, James, however, was Lincoln's
Attorney-General.
In 1910 Lincoln became engaged to
Mary Todd while she was on a visit to her
sister in Springfield. But possessed of an
exquisitely exaggerated spirit Of introspec-
ton, he was haunted with a dread that
their love for each other might not al
ways continue on the highest plane. On
this account he : became afflicted. with
melancholy, which had n marked influence
on all that part of his life, and from
which he did not begin to recover until
he came with Joshua Speed to visit his
parents, who were living in the old home
stead of Judge James Speed on the Bards-
town road
Twenty years later. when Mr.. Lincoln
was President, he wrote to Mrs. Speed,
Joshua's mother, sending her a photo
graph of himself, on which was written:
For Mrs. Lucy G. Speed, from whose
pious hand | accepted the present of an
Oxford Bible 20 years ago.
1t was on this visit that Joshua Speed
net and fell in love with Miss Frances
Heuning. The two friends returned to
Springfield, and in the cOurtship that fol-
lowed Mr.. Speed told Of his hopes and
fears to Lincoln. He. in turn, entered
into all of them, and when Mr.. Speed was
married. in the early part of 1912, he
wrote that the day hadobeen fraught with
almost as much moment to him as to the
bridegroom. Later in the. same year he
wrote: Il believe God made me an in
strument in bringing you together
ASKED MR.. SPEEDS ADVICE.
Afterward came this remarkable re-
quest:
Il know that between other men this
might be misunderstood, but, knowing me
as sou do, am certain that you will feel
what your answer means when | ask you
if ever in feeling or judgment you have
had cause to regret that you are married
as you .reT
Doubtless the tribute to the young wife
was one of husbandly devotion, for, on
Nov. 4, 1874, a marriage license was is
sued to Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd
and they were married on the same day.
With their marriages the lives of the
two friends drifted somewhat apart. Lin
coin going forward in the field of politics
and Speed remaining on his Kentucky
plantation. The closeness of the tie, how
ever, was never broken.
After the death of her husband Mrs.
Speed devoted herself to religious and
charitable work, giving freely of the large
property which had been left her by her
husband. She was always deeply inter-
ested in the mountain work of the Metho-
dist Church. and her contributions were
instrumental in carrying ON the Kentucky
conference and in the maintenance Of the
Union College, at Barbourville.
Founders Of the Grand Army Of the Republic.