From Wit & Humor Of Abraham Lincoln, Gathered from Authentic Sources by Carleton B., Case, Chicago: Shrewesbury Publishing Co., 1916; pp. 1-7.
SHREWESBURY PUBLISHING CO.
CHICAGO
Copyright, 1916,
By
SHREWESBURY PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1806 — Marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks,
June 12th, Washington County, Kentucky.
1809 — Born February 12th, Hardin (now La Rue
County), Kentucky.
1816 — Family Removed to Perry County, Indiana.
1818 — Death of Abraham’s Mother, Nancy Hanks
Lincoln.
1819 — Second Marriage Thomas Lincoln; Married
Sally Bush Johnston, December 2d, at Eliza-
bethtown, Kentucky.
1830 — Lincoln Family Removed to Illinois, Locating
in Macon County.
1831 — Abraham Located at New Salem.
1832 — Abraham a Captain in the Black Hawk War.
1833 — Appointed Postmaster at New Salem.
1834 — Abraham as a Surveyor. First Election to the
Legislature.
1835 — Love Romance with Anne Rutledge.
1836 — Second Election to the Legislature.
1837 — Licensed to Practice Law.
1838 — Third Election to the Legislature.
1840 — Presidential Elector on Harrison Ticket.
Fourth Election to the Legislature.
1842 — Married November 4th, to Mary Todd.
“Duel” with General Shields.
1843 — Birth of Robert Todd Lincoln, August 1st.
1846 — Elected to Congress. Birth of Edward Baker
Lincoln, March 10th.
1848 — Delegate to the Philadelphia National Conven-
tion.
1850 — Birth of William Wallace Lincoln, December 2d.
1853 — Birth of Thomas Lincoln, April 4th.
1856 — Assists in Formation Republican Party.
1858 — Joint Debater with Stephen A. Douglas. De-
feated for the United States Senate.
1860 — Nominated and Elected to the Presidency.
1861 — Inaugurated as President, March 4th.
1863 — Issued Emancipation Proclamation.
1864 — Reëlected to the Presidency.
1865 — Assassinated by J. Wilkes Booth, April 14th.
Died April 15th. Remains Interred at
Springfield, Illinois, May 4th.
Whenever Abraham Lincoln wanted to make a strong point he usually began by saying, “Now, that reminds me of a story.” And when he had told the story every one saw the point and was put into a good humor.
Before Lincoln was ever heard of as a lawyer or politician, he was famous as a story teller. As a politician, he always had a story to fit the other side; as a lawyer, he won many cases by telling the jury a story which showed them the justice of his side better than any argument could have done.
While nearly all of Lincoln’s stories have a humorous side, they also contain a moral, which every good story should have.
They contain lessons that could be taught so well in no other way. Every one of them is a sermon. Lincoln, like the Man of Galilee, spoke to the people in parables.
Nothing that can be written about Lincoln can show his character in such a true light as the yarns and stories he was so fond of telling, and at which he would laugh as heartily as anyone.
For a man whose life was so full of great responsibilities, 7 Lincoln had many hours of laughter when the humorous, fun-loving side of his great nature asserted itself.
Every person to keep healthy ought to have one good hearty laugh every day. Lincoln did, and the stories at which he laughed will continue to furnish laughter to all who appreciate good humor, with a moral point and spiced with that true philosophy bred in those who live close to nature and to the people around them.
Of all the Presidents of the United States, and indeed of all the great statesmen who have made their indelible impress upon the policy of the Republic, Abraham Lincoln stands out single and alone in his individual qualities. He had little experience in statesmanship when he was called to the Presidency. He had only a few years of service in the State Legislature of Illinois, and a single term in Congress ending twelve years before he became President, but he had to grapple with the gravest problems ever presented to the statesmanship of the nation for solution, and he met each and all of them in turn with the most consistent mastery, and settled them so successfully that all have stood unquestioned until the present time, and are certain to endure while the Republic lives.
In this he surprised not only his own cabinet and the leaders of his party who had little confidence in him when he first became President, but equally surprised the country and the world.
He was patient, tireless and usually silent when great conflicts raged about him to solve the appalling problems which were presented at various stages of the war for determination, and when he reached his conclusion 7 he was inexorable. The wrangles of faction and the jostling of ambition were compelled to bow when Lincoln had determined upon his line of duty.
He was much more than a statesman; he was one of the most sagacious politicians, although he was entirely unschooled in the machinery by which political results are achieved. His judgment of men was next to unerring, and when results were to be attained he knew the men who should be assigned to the task, and he rarely made a mistake.
Lincoln’s public acts are familiar to every school boy of the nation, but his personal attributes, which are so strangely distinguished from the attributes of other great men, are now the most interesting study of young and old throughout our land, and there can be no more acceptable presentation to the public than a compilation of anecdotes and incidents pertaining to the life of the greatest of all our Presidents.