Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-04-24


Nancy Hanks and nine or ten months
after the solemnities conducted by Ell
kin, Thomas Lincoln appeared at Eliza
bethtown, KY. in search Of another
| wife. Sally Bush had married John
ston, the jailer, but was now a widow.
Both parties being free again, Lincoln
came back, very Unexpectedly to Mrs.
Johnston, and opened his suit in an ex
ceedingly abrupt manner.
"Well, Miss Johnston" said he, Il
| have no wife, and you have no hus-
band. / came purpose to marry you.
I knowed you from gal. and you
knowed me from boy. I have no time
| to lose, and, if you are willin'. let it be
done straight Off"
To this she replied. Tommy, know
| you well and have no objection to mar
rying you, but I cannot do it straight
! off, as owe some debts that must first
| be paid.''
Thomas Lincoln Marries Again.
''The next morning. says Hon. Sam
uel Haycraft, the clerk of the courts
duu lAC SC1IACulah WIZ 1SpoA 10 Ills
quaint courtship, 81 issued his license.
| and they were married straight off on
| that day and left, and l never saw her
| or Tom Lincoln since"
From the death of her husband to
| that day she had been living IAN hon.
est, poor widow ''in a round log cab
| in which stood in an alley just be-
low Mr. Haycraft's house.
Dennis Hanks says that it was only
ION the earnest solicitation of her
| friends that Mrs. Johnston consented
| to marry Lincoln. They all liked Lin
! coin, and it was with member of her
| family that he had made several voy
ages to New Orleans.
Mr.. Helm, who at that time was do
| ing business in his uncle's store at
Eliza bethtown, says that life among
| the Hankses, the Lincolns and the En-
lows was a long ways below life among
the Bushes. Sally was the best and the
proudest of the Bushes, but, neverthe
less, she appears to have maintained
Rome intercourse with the LincolnS as
| long as they remained in Kentucky.
She had particular kindness for little
occasions at Helms store where,
strange to say, he sat on nail keg
| and ate lump of sugar, 'Just like any
other boy.
| Mrs. Johnston has been denominated
poor widow" but she possessed
! goods, which, in the eyes of Tom Lin
coin, were Of almost unparalleled mag
! nificence. Among other things she had
bureau that cost $40, and he inform
ed her on their arrival in Indiana that,
| in his deliberate opinion, it was little
less than sinful to be the owner of
such a thing. He demanded that she
should turn it into cash, which she pos
! itively refused to do. She had quite
| lot Of other articles, however, which he
| thought well enough in their way and
some Of which were sadly needed in his
| miserable cabin in the wilds Of Indi-
! ana Dennis Hanks speaks with great
rapture Of the ''large supply of house
| hold goods which she brought out with
| her. There were zone fine bureau, one
| table, one set Of chairs, one large
clothes chest, cooking utensils, knives,
| forks, bedding and other articles"
| IL was q ody lOA lltlS AUG
| and Sarah and Dennis when this won
| drous collection Of rich furniture ar
| rived in the Pigeon Creek settlement.
But all this wealth required extraordi-
nary means of transportation, and Lin
coin had recourse to his brother-in-law,
Ralph Krume, who came with four
| horse team and moved Mrs. Johnston,
now Mrs. Lincoln, with her family and
effects, to the home Of her new hus-
band in Indiana.
When she got there Mrs. Lincoln was
tween the glowing representations
| which her husband had made to her be-
| fore leaving Kentucky and the real
| poverty and meanness of the place;
but, though sadly overreached in bad
| bargain, her lofty pride and her high
sense Of Christian duty saved her from
hopeless and useless rcpinirgG. On tho
contrary, she set about mending what
| was amiss with all her strength and
| energy. Her own goods furnished the
cabin with tolerable decency. She made
| Lincoln put down a floor and hang
| windows and doors. 1t was in the
uepln OF winter, anu Cne Cn1ldren, as
| they nestled in the warm beds she pro-
vided them, enjoying the strange luxu-
ry of security from the cold winds of
December, must have thanked her from
the bottoms of their newly comforted
hearts.
"A Little More Human"
She had brought a son and two
daughters of her own-John, Sarah and
Matilda-but Abe and his sister Nancy,
whose name was speedily changed to
Sarah, the ragged and hapless little
strangers to her blood, were given an
equal place in her affections. They
We're half naked, and she clad them
from the stores of clothing she had laid
up for her own. They We're dirty, and
L .i> I I.