Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Nancy and Thomas Lincoln's Wedding Anniversary


Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married 201 years ago today.

We know very little about the wedding itself. We know Jesse Head, a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, married the couple in Richard Berry’s cabin, close to Beechland in Washington County, Kentucky.

The new couple settled in Elizabethtown in Hardin County. Eight months later, Nancy gave birth to Sarah Lincoln (b. February 10, 1807). Two years and two days later, they welcomed Abraham into the world. Another child, named Thomas, died shortly after being born.

Abraham Lincoln never knew which county his parents were married in. For years, historians searched Hardin County records for a record of the Lincoln marriage, but never found one, leading to widespread speculation that the Lincolns were never legally married. However, in 1878 R. M. Thompson followed a lead from an old settler and eventually tracked down the marriage bond in Washington County, Kentucky.

I just recently came across the interesting picture at the top of this article. The bronze sculpture depicts the Lincoln family about a year after Abraham’s birth.

CLICK HERE to visit the Lincoln Birthplace website.

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