The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-02-10

n
OMo gins at his mothers knee. Be-
Ia hind every great endeavor and
~ 81 N unselish deed, every noble ca
reer of every illustrious man
q :: :; ! ! ::
,W # WA and gentle creature whose name.
rs E M perhaps, remains obscured be-
NAk&eLD hind the glory of her son, but
~ who began to teach him high
thoughts and ideals and to lisp
tho words of "Our Father which art in heaven.
Abraham Lincoln's career began at the
knee of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, his mother. IL
was she who taught him to read from an old
Bible ne came to know so well, who told MIN
the stories in Aesop's fables and helped him
to study the Kentucky Perceptor"
It was she who taught him the letters OF
the alphabet and first trained his hand 10
scrawl them 1t was she who instilled In MIN
a hatred of slavery and by her own gentle
loneliness inspired regard and esteem 1or
women which lasted throughout his life.
Nancy Hanks Lincoln one or the great
presidents historians declares, was "stoop-
shouldered thin breasted, sad-at times mis-
erable;" a gentle, kind, accomplishing wom-
an. whose life had been one Of hard labor,
with few enjoyments, and who died before her
prime. This was Nancy Hanks Lincoln, VINO
lay on her deathbed, tired and worn, her race
wan, her thin bony hands clasping those OF a
NSSP SNA>A>
filled with tears, and who. when he later be-
came "a liberator of race of men," declared:
Cali that am or ever hope to be owe
to my mother. Blessings on her memory
From his mother Lincoln once told his
friend and law partner, William H. Herndon,
he believed he inherited his power OF analy-
sis, his logic, his mental activity and his am
hilton. Her memory remained with him, one
of the dearest things of his life-"a noble type
of good, heroic womanhood."
Nancy Hanks was nve years old when her
parerts sold their farm in Virginia and went
pioneering westward toward Kentucky. Nancy
was the youngest of family of eight chill
dren. Her father was Joseph Hanks and her
mother Nancy Shipley, a daughter Of Robert
Shipley. Nancy was born February s. 1884.
The Journey westward was perilous one,
and it is said Nancy was stolen by Indians
while her parents were on the way. Roads
were bad; in fact, there was only footpath
through the wilderness, where passed the long
procession of women and children on horse
hack. men trudging behind driving the cara
vans.
Picture to yourself the procession, de-
scribed by Justice Robertson through pri-
vations incredible and perils thick, thousands
of men, women and children came In success
siye caravans, forming continuous streams OF
human beings, horses, cattle and other domes-
tic animals, moving onward dloHS ioHeiy
and homeless path to a wild and cherries
Land.
Cast your eyes back" he continues, ION
that long procession of missionaries In the
cause of civilization; behold the men on foot
with their trusty guns on their shoulders, driv
ing stock and leading pack horses; and the
women some walking with pals on their
heads, others riding with children IN their
laps and other children swung In baskets on
horses fastened to the tails of others going
before. see them encamped at night, expect
ing to be massacred by Indians; behold them
in the month of December, in that memorable
season of unprecedented cold called the hard
winter travelling two three miles day"
And imagine little Nancy Hanks. spindly-
legged and golden-haired, shivering as she
snuggled under blankets, pursuing the road
of the pioneers. In the child who was to
become the mother Of Abraham Lincoln was
now developed courage and perseverance
which was to be inherited and which after
ward marked one of the greatest of men.
The family settled in Washington county,
XIV. in winter. Hard work confronted them.
even priyation. Trees had be be felled, log
cabin built, and shelter erected for the stock.
Little Nancy, with her sisters, Elizabeth
and Polly, helped their mother, cooking and
sewing and preparing the rude home, while
the brothers, Charles, Joshua, William, Thorn
as and Joseph, went about with the father,
clearing the land for cultivation In the spring.
They hunted animals and fshed in the cold