The Elbert County tribune., 1919-02-07

oxford printed copy Of II letter Lincoln wrcte
70 mother who Ind given five that the
Union might he preserved A label beneath this
copy If the letter bears The simple comment that
this is .one of the finest specimens ofpure English
extnt."
And TINT eomment by of the greatest uni
vcrsitcs in the world is on the work of man
who never had years schooling IN his life.
it Is small wonder thai I.ncoln's life is upheld
TO the poor boy shining example of what de-
termination to learn and succeed Will do.
Lincons grandfather. like many others fol-
lowed the mn-ne;lc Daniel Boone into the wilder
ness of Kentucky. The I.ncolps at that time
not poor folks. many have believed for
the grandfather. whose name also Mas Abraham,
sold his property for $1,000 before he out for
the unclaimed lands where some say the mann
moths still existed.
But when later he died. Thomas the father of
the future president did not inherit much. II any
thing and had to start out for himself Mt an eurly
ngc. lie married Nancy Hunks, the niece OF the
man he worked for, and she became the mother
of Abraham Lincoln. the president.
Little Chance for Education.
Kentucky then (1S09) Ind been II state for seven
teen years, but it WAS wild wilderness of land.
There were few books. no. schools in the modern
sense, and little hope FOR anything but hard work
II was exactly the kind of country for great
man 10 make start In for unless he had some
elements of greatness he never would achieve his
goal.
II was a country of hard knocks. MS we'll MS hard
work, and it all made for economy of time and
srdy. Lncons mother, who bright. deli
care woman. taught her son much she could.
4 visiting schoolmaster gave him some lessons in
the ordinary Three RS" The country was so
sparsey settled and distant from civilization
TINT at the little church the services thnt
held were conducted by itinerant clergymen.
The boy Lincoln grew up here in small log
cabin that was without Windows and whose wide
chimney was built the outside of the cabin
At night log In the fireplace gave all the Hum
nation the place afforded. By this freight TO
the music of the cracking burning logs young
Lincoln. extended fiat the floor. studied and
worked out little problems in arithmetic which
In that section was regarded of greater i'm
portance than deep knowledge of English liter
Iincolns mother died when he was nine years
of age about a year after his father moved to
Indiana. and the following year his father married
Mrs Sally Bush Johnston. Contrary to the i'm
pression mainly created by the old fairy tales the
second Mrs Lincoln was model stepmother.
Studied While Working.
AT the time young Lincoln was working
as farm hand. He borrowed books from neigh
bors and greedy devouI ed them. The one book
that Impressed him most was Weems' Life of
Washington" He receive d his exalted idea of the
Father of His Country from that book, which
deiied the first president rather than told his
life But Lincoln believed in it and it influenced
his life
He read "Robinson Crusoe" and Bunynn's "pn.
grim's Progress and history of the United
States. and it was these that he founded all his
knowledge of biography. history and literature
But he knew those hooks by heart, for he had To
memories them as they all borrowed He
walked miles to a store where st. Louis news.
paper taken to borrow 1t, and thus he re-
ceived his news OF current events
And all the while he was working and working
hard. Now ferryng. powing, bur always in
this backwoods country. for he was quite young
man when his father removed to Illinois.
Lincoln was about twents-two Mt the time whan