Who was Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln On the morning of Sunday, Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born to Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Abe Lincoln was conceived and lived his first years in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. Abe was the second child to be born with two siblings, an older sister who died at a fairly young age and a younger brother that died during infancy. In 1817, Abe’s family was forced to move from Kentucky to Perry County Indiana. Here the family found unoccupied land and settled on it to make a living hunting game and farming on a small plot, eventually Lincolns father was able to buy the land. Lincoln's mother died when Abe was only 9 years old, her death was devastating to him and caused him to grow more alienated to his father along with causing him to hate the hard work given to him and an early age. Months after Nancy had passed away, Thomas remarried to a Kentucky widow by the name of Sarah Bush Johnson who also had 3 children of her own. Abraham got along with her and the two quickly bonded. It was Sarah that encouraged Abraham to read, even if his parents were most likely illiterate. I think Sarah encouraging Abraham to read was critical to his success later in life because it may of sparked his interest in reading. Abe loved reading and because Indiana was in short supply of books, he would often walk miles to barrow a book. Abraham didn’t receive a formal education until he was growing into his manhood, and only received an estimated total of 18 months of his education. As a child, Abe didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up, It was when Lincoln was 22 years old and grew to be 6 feet four inches tall, that he left the house and went to earn a living for himself in manual labor. He worked many jobs before he went on his road to presidency like splitting wood for fire, rail fencing, shopkeeper, postmaster, and eventually a general shop owner. It was here that Lincoln acquired his social skills and developed his story-telling