My dear Sir: Herewith is a little sketch, as
you requested. There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that
there is not much of me. If anything be made out of it, I wish it to be
modest, and not to go beyond the material. If it were thought necessary
to incorporate anything from any of my speeches, I suppose there would
be no objection. Of course it must not appear to have been written by
myself.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County,
Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished
familiessecond families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died
in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now
reside in Adams, and others in Macon County, Illinois. My paternal
grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County,
Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where a year or two later he
was killed by the Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was
laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers,
went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify
them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more
definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as
Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.
My father, at the death of his father, was but six
years of age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed
from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year.
We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union. It
was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the
woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no
qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond "readin', writin',
and cipherin'" to the rule of three. If a straggler supposed to
understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked
upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for
education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still,
somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rule of three, but that
was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have
upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under
the pressure of necessity.
I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I
was twenty-two. At twenty-two I came to Illinois, Macon County. Then I
got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard County, where
I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came the Black
Hawk war; and I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which
gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went the campaign,
was elated, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was
beatenthe only time I ever have been beaten by the people. The
next and three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the
legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During this legislative
period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practise it. In
1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Congress. Was not a
candidate for reelection. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practised
law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics: and
generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was
losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri compromise
aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.
If any personal description of me is thought
desirable, it may be said I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly;
lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and eighty pounds;
dark complexion, with coarse black hair and grey eyes. No other marks or
brands recollected.
LINCOLN TO J. W. FELL, DECEMBER 20, 1859.