Visiting Lincoln’s boyhood home

I’ve lived in Indiana for more than 11 years and didn’t realize that Lincoln’s boyhood home was a few hours south of me. I’ve heard all about the memorial in Illinois and plan to visit it in the future but I hadn’t heard about our own historical jewel. My friend and her husband let me tag along on their trip.

Lincoln spent his formative years in Indiana, having moved with his family from Kentucky when he was 7 years old. He lived in Indiana for 14 years, until he was 21, when the family moved to Illinois.

We enjoyed the Memorial Visitor Center, the introductory film, bookstore and museum exhibits. Abraham’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died of the milk sickness and was buried on a nearby hill, although the exact location is unknown. Milk sickness is caused by consuming cow’s milk or meat, tainted by the cow grazing on white snake root which contains a poisonous substance to humans.

There is a Cabin Site Memorial across from the Living Historical Farm, to mark the spot where the Lincolns began building a cabin in 1829. Although not original to Lincoln’s time, the farm gave us a good idea of what conditions were like during the time Lincoln lived. It’s a relatively small living space compared to today’s accommodations with wooden logs as steps leading to the upstairs.

Visiting Lincoln’s early boyhood home was like looking through a window at the transformative experiences that shaped young Abe’s life. He had a strong work ethic, working side by side with his father, and although he spent less than a year in school, he was well-read. His stepmother brought lots of books with her and encouraged Lincoln to learn all that he could.

In 1828 Abe was hired by James Gentry (one of the richest men in the community) to accompany his son, Allen, on a flatboat carrying produce down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to New Orleans. He witnessed a slave auction and it was a disturbing event that he never forgot.

A bonus of our visit was meeting Mark Gentry, a descendant of the Gentry’s who owned the general store where Lincoln occasionally worked and joined in political discussions. He also got many of his books at Gentry’s store.

Mark talked to us about how to handspin flax into fiber, what life was like for his relatives and a bit more about Lincoln. He was amiable and we could have talked with him for hours. He walked us out of the cabin and down the road a bit, showing us the plant that killed Abe’s mother, still growing wild in the shade.