Nancy Hanks (click here) was born on February 5, 1784 in Hampshire County,
Virginia (now Mineral County, West Virginia). Her mother Lucy, being a
single mother, sent Nancy to live with her Aunt Elizabeth and husband
Thomas Sparrow. As Nancy grew into womanhood she was employed as a
seamstress by the Richard Berry family. It was while at the Berry's
that she came to know Thomas Lincoln who was employed by the Berry's as a
carpenter.
While Nancy Hanks was sorting out her life, Thomas Lincoln has lost his father and with it the farmland he knew to his older brother due to Kentucky law that conferred property to the oldest son.
Thomas worked and saved money to purchase a 234 acre farm in Kentucky. He would eventually sell the farm and move to Indiana with his young family. I see Thomas as a survivor of very difficult and harsh inheritance laws. He went on to be successful and no doubt had little time to offer education or guidance to his son, Abraham.
Over the years, their friendship grew into something more and on June 12, 1806, the two were married. Their first child, Sarah, was born on February 10, 1807. On February 12, 1809, a son named Abraham was born. A third child, Thomas Jr., died in infancy.
During the first ten years of their marriage, the Lincolns occupied three different farms in Kentucky, but boundary disputes caused them to lose all three. Thomas finally decided to move his family to Indiana where he could establish a clear claim to his property under the provisions of the Northwest Land Ordinance. In the winter of 1816, they settled in present-day Spencer County in what became known as the Little Pigeon community.
Carving a new life out of the Indiana wilderness was not an easy task for the pioneer family. After spending the winter in a temporary shelter, Thomas and young Abraham built a sturdy log cabin, utilizing the plentiful hardwood forest for building materials. As was customary on the frontier, Nancy helped with the work of clearing the land and tending the crops, as well as caring for her two young children. It was a demanding life for all of them and it was necessary for everyone to make their contribution in order for the family to succeed....
When Thomas Lincoln left Indiana for Illinois it might have been to put space and time between the family he lost and the family he continued to have.
While Nancy Hanks was sorting out her life, Thomas Lincoln has lost his father and with it the farmland he knew to his older brother due to Kentucky law that conferred property to the oldest son.
Thomas worked and saved money to purchase a 234 acre farm in Kentucky. He would eventually sell the farm and move to Indiana with his young family. I see Thomas as a survivor of very difficult and harsh inheritance laws. He went on to be successful and no doubt had little time to offer education or guidance to his son, Abraham.
Over the years, their friendship grew into something more and on June 12, 1806, the two were married. Their first child, Sarah, was born on February 10, 1807. On February 12, 1809, a son named Abraham was born. A third child, Thomas Jr., died in infancy.
During the first ten years of their marriage, the Lincolns occupied three different farms in Kentucky, but boundary disputes caused them to lose all three. Thomas finally decided to move his family to Indiana where he could establish a clear claim to his property under the provisions of the Northwest Land Ordinance. In the winter of 1816, they settled in present-day Spencer County in what became known as the Little Pigeon community.
Carving a new life out of the Indiana wilderness was not an easy task for the pioneer family. After spending the winter in a temporary shelter, Thomas and young Abraham built a sturdy log cabin, utilizing the plentiful hardwood forest for building materials. As was customary on the frontier, Nancy helped with the work of clearing the land and tending the crops, as well as caring for her two young children. It was a demanding life for all of them and it was necessary for everyone to make their contribution in order for the family to succeed....
When Thomas Lincoln left Indiana for Illinois it might have been to put space and time between the family he lost and the family he continued to have.
