Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

One Man’s Search for Abraham Lincoln

My Rendezvous with History

I – Lincoln Lore – lesser-known stories about Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln Lore 1: The birthplace of presidents

Lincoln Lore 2: Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud?

Lincoln Lore 3: Teenager Lincoln, Esq.

Lincoln Lore 4: Attorney at Law Sui Generis! (in a class by himself)

Lincoln Lore 5: Captain Lincoln, it runs in the family

Lincoln Lore 6: A duel, but no pistols!

Lincoln Lore 7: Move over Thomas Edison, but not on Dumbo

Lincoln Lore 8: Ah, those Kentucky Belles

Lincoln Lore 9: Sprechen sie Deutsch, Herr Abraham?

Lincoln Lore 10: Lincoln, a winner or a loser?

Lincoln Lore 11: His Team of Rivals

Lincoln Lore 12: Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin

Lincoln Lore 13: William H. Johnson, barber, valet, and friend

Lincoln Lore 14: Commander-in-Chief, literally

Lincoln Lore 15: A state that seceded, with Lincoln’s blessing!

Lincoln Lore 16: Dr. Abraham Lincoln, the Ivy Leaguer

Lincoln Lore 17: Ages or angels?

Lincoln Lore 18: Mary Todd Lincoln’s friend and confidante

Lincoln Lore 19: Contents of Lincoln’s pockets at Ford’s Theatre

Lincoln Lore 20: The John Wilkes Booth family connection

Lincoln Lore 21: A silent assassin not named Booth?

Lincoln Lore 22: The watch with a message

Lincoln Lore 23: Robert Lincoln sees his father for the last time

Lincoln Lore 24: A future president views the passing of another

Lincoln Lore 25: Witness to history, or a JINX?

Lincoln Lore 26: The magnificent Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Lore 27: Secret Service, too little, too late

Lincoln Lore 28: The pitchman, did he say it, or not?

Lincoln Lore 29: No Adonis, he

Lincoln Lore 30: Don’t call me Abe

Lincoln Lore 31: Illinois, Land of Lincoln – or is it?

Lincoln Lore 32: A penny, or maybe a fin, for your thoughts

Lincoln Lore 33: Lincoln Logs and Log Cabin quilts

Lincoln Lore 34: No steno pool for Mr. L.

Lincoln Lore 35: Lincoln’s branchless family tree

Lincoln Lore 36: Lincoln FIRSTS

Lincoln Lore 37: Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, coincidences

Lincoln Lore 38: Iconic speeches, a century apart

Lincoln Lore 39: No rush to judgment, let justice prevail

Lincoln Lore 40: Star of stage, screen, and TV

Lincoln Lore 41: My best friend is the person who will give me a book I have not read.

Lincoln Lore 42: An enlightened statesman, or a racist despot?

Lincoln Lore 43: President Lafayette Sabine Foster, or maybe, Schuyler Colfax

Lincoln Lore 44: That reminds me of a story…

Lincoln Lore 45: A natural athlete

Lincoln Lore 46: Patron of the arts

Lincoln Lore 47: He would have won the animal vote too

Lincoln Lore 48: Till death do us part

Lincoln Lore 49: How a veto from a mediocre U.S. president helped create the First American University

Lincoln Lore 50: Caring for him who shall have borne the battle…

Lincoln Lore 51: Solomon-like statesman, shrewd politician – or both?

Lincoln Lore 52: George and Abraham, two towering presidents

Lincoln Lore 53: Quotable Gems

Lincoln Lore 54: Classic Poetic Tributes

II – Lincoln, Orator Extraordinaire

1. First political speech given at Pappsville, Illinois, 1832

2. House Divided speech, June 16, 1858

3. Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858

4. Cooper Institute (Union), New York, February 27, 1860

5. Farewell Address, Springfield, Illinois, February 11, 1861

6. First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

7. Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863

8. Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

9. His final speech, April 11, 1865

III – Lessons from Lincoln

IV – Worldwide Tributes to Lincoln

V – The Life of Abraham Lincoln – a Chronology

VI – Lincoln on the Web

Epilogue

Author Bio

Index

Copyright

Acknowledgments

I never met my hero Abraham Lincoln (but I did shake hands with a man who had shaken hands with a woman who had shaken hands with Lincoln. Does that count?)

Nevertheless, I am fortunate to know another great man, one who is indirectly responsible for my getting into this whole Lincoln business. Without his involvement in getting me to leave New York City for upstate New York I am confident I would never have gotten into History and Lincoln as I did.

Charles F. Chuck Feeney has revolutionized philanthropy. His Giving While Living philosophy, and decision to give away his eight-billion-dollar fortune during his lifetime, has motivated many of the world’s wealthiest individuals to sign a pact to do the same.

Chuck and I were contemporary undergraduates at Cornell; we all knew Chuck as the Sandwich Man. An Air Force veteran, he put himself through school on the G.I. Bill, and by selling sandwiches door to door in the dorms and fraternities. We were both enrolled in the university’s renowned School of Hotel Administration (now part of SC Johnson School of Business). 

Our careers took different paths but we remained in touch. His Duty Free Shops made him extremely wealthy, a story wonderfully told in the book, The Billionaire Who Wasn’t, by Conor O’Clery (so titled because while Chuck was listed on all the Billionaire lists in the 1980s he had already turned over his stock to his Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation. So, while it was worth billions, he wasn’t).

When called by O’Clery, asking to interview me for the book he was writing about Chuck, I replied that his friends didn’t talk about him. He assured me that this was an authorized biography. After verifying this I shared some stories for the book. 

One of those anecdotes had to do with an exchange of notes between us. Chuck had decided to sell his company and the press began to write about how this anonymous philanthropist had been secretly giving away billions of dollars over the years. They wrote stories describing some of his major contributions. I dropped Chuck a note joking that the press had it all wrong. I said that his having approached me with an attractive offer to return to Cornell as a special assistant to Jack Clark, the dynamic new dean of the hotel school, topped all his other acts. Jack became a good friend as did his wife Pat. It was Pat who introduced me, a divorced man, to her best friend Ann, a widow with six, mostly grown, children. We married and thus meeting her was, as I explained to Chuck, certainly his most important contribution to mankind.

Going along with my lame humor, and always the businessman, he wrote, I am pleased for you, but I don’t think you read the small print, ‘Matrimonial Introductions, 10% of lifetime earnings. P.S. if it doesn’t work out, 10% rebate.’

One of Ann’s grandchildren, Carolyn, was the first of my many grandchildren to invite me to speak to her class. Without Chuck’s fortuitous intervention in my life, my Lincoln career would probably have never happened. Thanks Chuck (and thanks, Carolyn!).

Thanks too, to my two extended, and extensive, families. To Ann, Jane; Torie, Abigail, James I.; Fred Bif Jr.; Michelle, Chris, Andrew L., Nick; Cathy N., Bob, David, Anna, Dan, Lindsey, Mallory, Meredith, Paul, Amy, Finn, Rose; Marie, Jim M., Carolyn, Julia, Steve; Tom C., Janice, Brian, Catherine C., Natalie, Sam, Leo; Jim C., Elaine, Andrew C., Jackie, Peter, Charles; Rob; Joanne, Jake, Matt, Grace. They helped me make Lincoln come alive.

Finally, thanks to fellow Ann’s Choice residents, Bob and Bernice Chast, for introducing me to their daughter, Linda Franklin, a gifted editor and wordsmith. Her assistance was invaluable, and I am grateful that she introduced me to the talented team at Inkwater Press.

Prologue

One Man’s Search for Abraham Lincoln

"…and so did Abraham Lincoln." Thus ended a long forgotten speech delivered by a nervous high school student in an oratorical contest decades ago. It not only helped me win the contest – it indicated my early interest in Lincoln.

Many years later, some 25 years ago, I was invited by a granddaughter to read to her class on grandparents’ day. My Lincoln interest kicked in and I brought Lincoln books to read to the children. Soon other grandchildren began making the same request. After a few such readings I figured that since I was about Lincoln’s size, and about as handsome, why not dress up like him and try to make it a little more real for the children. A costume shop provided the top hat, vest, long black coat, bow tie, and fake beard.

It wasn’t long before I began to get invitations from adult audiences. I knew that while my makeshift costume and limited Lincoln knowledge might work with the children, both had to change dramatically if I were to properly serve adult audiences. I got an authentic period suit and hat. I also grow, and darken, my own beard when asked to perform. To finalize my transformation I add a prominent mole (the tip of an eraser) to my right cheek. Once, in a fourth grade class, an excited young girl looked up and asked, Can I touch your mole? Knowing it was my last event that day I replied, You can do better than that, you can have it. I pulled it off and handed it to her. She was startled but took it. Later, when the class sent a thank you note she signed it, Your friend, the mole girl.

More important than the physical transformation, my study of Lincoln began in earnest. I’ve accumulated an extensive Lincoln library, collecting and reading everything possible about this remarkable man. I also have visited every place that Lincoln lived or spent much time, and many Civil War battle sites. Traveling light, but never without my journal in which I take notes, I’ve visited his two homes in Kentucky; the farm in Indiana where he spent his teen years; New Salem, Illinois, where he spent his twenties; and Springfield, Illinois, where he spent much of his adult life. Visiting his home, his third law office, the Legislative building in which he served, the Depot where he gave his farewell on his departure for DC, the family burial site, and, of course, the wonderful Lincoln Museum, make Springfield a Lincoln treasure trove. But no study of Lincoln would be complete without a visit to Washington, DC. The White House; the Soldiers’ Home, where the family spent summers; Ford’s Theatre, where he was shot; and the Petersen Boarding House, where he died – all are moving and memorable. Also unforgettable is the Lincoln Memorial, a fitting tribute to an outstanding man.

While my focus was on Lincoln I also try to learn as much about the Civil War as possible. Visits to Fort Sumter, South Carolina, where it started, and to Appomattox, Virginia, where it essentially ended, and many of the major battlefields in between – Manassas, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, Atlanta, Richmond, Antietam, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Fort Donelson, New Orleans, and Nashville – provided graphic reminders of the bloody and terrible price paid to preserve the Union.

I tailor each talk to the audience I will be addressing so am constantly researching different aspects of Lincoln history to meet the interest of each particular audience.

At one Lincoln Day dinner in upstate New York I was to introduce the main speaker, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. I said, Mr. Mayor, you represent one of my favorite cities. My hero, George Washington, was sworn into office and gave his farewell address there. That makes your city special for me, but in addition I once gave a speech there that some say won me the election. Tell me, sir, is the Cooper Institute still there? Looking up at me he bellowed, Mr. President, it is not only still there but I was there last week and they still talk about your speech!

When invited to introduce the main speaker at a major Cornell University event I was asked, You only have five minutes, is that sufficient? I replied, I gave the Gettysburg Address in under three minutes, I can do wonders in five minutes.

One of my most moving moments as Lincoln came after a presentation to a class in Andover, Massachusetts. I wrap up each session with children by telling them the history of the Lincoln penny – first minted in 1909, the centennial celebration of his birth, and the first American coin with an image of a real person on its face. I then distribute a penny to each student as my calling card. The day after this presentation I got a call from the teacher telling me of a tearful call she had received from a student’s mother. It seems her daughter suffered from what is called Selective Mutism; though she could speak, she chose not to. That afternoon this young girl went home clutching her penny, and wouldn’t stop talking about meeting Mr. Lincoln. Her mother was ecstatic.

After giving many hundreds of Lincoln presentations I only can say that the more I learn about Abraham Lincoln the more I