Chapter 1 Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life Early Life T he 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln not only ranks among the greatest of all American statesmen many historians also place him among the greatest men of all time Lincoln came to the presidency at a time of extreme crisis with the country at the brink of a civil war that threatened to split North from South Combining his roles as states man and commander in chief Lincoln led the federal armies to victory and held the Union together Along the way he brought about the end of slavery in the United States Childhood Abraham Lincoln was born on Feb 12 1809 in a one-room log cabin on a farm near 12
Early Life Abraham Lincoln Library of Congress Washington D C 13
Abraham Lincoln Hodgenville Ky His parents were Thomas and Nancy Lincoln He had an older sis ter Sarah and a younger brother Thomas who died in infancy In 1811 Thomas Lincoln moved the family to a farm in the neigh boring valley of Knob Creek In later years Abraham Lincoln said that the Knob Creek farm was the first home he remembered and that he loved it One of Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood homes was a log cabin at Knob Creek in central Kentucky The cabin was originally built in the early 19th century Wettach Shostal Associates 14
Early Life In December 1816 the family moved across the Ohio River to the backwoods of southwestern Indiana The Lincolns settled on Little Pigeon Creek in Spencer County about 16 miles 26 kilometers from the Ohio River Abe and Sarah helped their father build a half-faced camp This was a shed of poles and bark with one side left open toward a roaring log fire While the rest of the family huddled in their lean-to through the freezing winter Thomas and Abe worked every day building a log cabin Abe was only eight years old but very large for his age and he quickly learned to swing an ax Once in a while the boy shot a wild turkey for the family lived mostly on wild game with a little corn He never became much of a hunter however as he did not like to shoot to kill With Sarah he picked berries nuts and wild fruits for the family and trudged a mile to a spring for water In 1818 Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of the frontier disease called milk sickness that is drinking milk from cows that had grazed on the toxic plant called white snakeroot Sarah only 11 years old took over the cooking and cabin chores while Thomas and Abe cut tim ber to clear farmland 15
