The Early Life of Abraham Lincoln (Illustrated Edition). Ida M. Tarbell
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Abraham Lincoln felt; and in 1780, soon after selling his Virginia estate, he visited Kentucky, and entered two large tracts of land. Some months later he moved with his family from Virginia into Kentucky.
Abraham Lincoln was ambitious to become a landed proprietor in the new country, and he entered a generous amount of land—four hundred acres on Long Run, in Jefferson County; eight hundred acres on Green River, near Green River Lick; five hundred acres in Campbell County. He settled near the first tract, where he undertook to clear a farm. It was a dangerous task, for the Indians were still troublesome, and the settlers, for protection, were forced to live in or near forts or stations. In 1784, when John Filson published his “History of Kentucky,” though there was a population of thirty thousand in the territory, there were but eighteen houses outside of the stations. Of these stations, or stockades, there were but fifty-two. According to the tradition in the Lincoln family, Abraham Lincoln lived in one of these stockades.
LONG RUN BAPTIST MEETING-HOUSE.
From the original drawing, owned by R. T. Durrett, LL.D., of Louisville, Kentucky. This meeting-house was built on the land Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of the President, was clearing when killed by Indians. It was erected about 1797.
All went well with him and his family until 1788. Then, one day, while he and his three sons were at work in their clearing, an unexpected Indian shot killed the father. His death was a terrible blow to the family. The large tracts of land which he had entered were still wild, and his personal property was necessarily small. The difficulty of reaching the country at that date, as well as its wild condition, made it impracticable for even a wealthy pioneer to own more stock or household furniture than was absolutely essential. Abraham Lincoln was probably as well provided with personal property as most of his neighbors, and much better than many. He had, for a pioneer, an unusual amount of stock, of farming implements, and of tools; and his cabin contained comforts which were rare at that date. The inventory of his estate, recently found at Bardstown, Kentucky, and here published for the first time, gives a clearer idea of the life of the pioneer Lincoln, and of the condition in which his wife and children were left, than any description could do:
Inventory of Abraham Lincoln’s Estate.2—Now First Published.
“At the meeting of the Nelson County Court, October 10, 1788, present Benjamin Pope, James Rogers, Gabriel Cox, and James Baird, on the motion of John Coldwell, he was appointed administrator of the goods and chattels of Abraham Lincoln, and gave bond in one thousand pounds, with Richard Parker security.
“At the same time John Alvary, Peter Syburt, Christopher Boston, and William [John (?)] Stuck, or any three of them, were appointed appraisers.
“March 10, 1789, the appraisers made the following return:
| £. | s. | d. | ||
| 1 | Sorrel horse | 8 | ||
| 1 | Black horse | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 | Red cow and calf | 4 | 10 | |
| 1 | Brindle cow and calf | 4 | 10 | |
| 1 | Red cow and calf | 5 | ||
| 1 | Brindle bull yearling | 1 | ||
| 1 | Brindle heifer yearling | 1 | ||
| Bar spear-plough and tackling | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | Weeding hoes | 7 | 6 | |
| Flax wheel | 6 | |||
| Pair smoothing-irons | 15 | |||
| 1 | Dozen pewter plates | 1 | 10 | |
| 2 | Pewter dishes | 17 | 6 | |
| Dutch oven and cule, weighing 15 pounds | 15 | |||
| Small iron kettle and cule, weighing 12 pounds | 12 | |||
| Tool adds | 10 | |||
| Handsaw | 5 | |||
| One-inch auger | 6 | |||
| Three-quarter auger | 4 | 6 | ||
| Half-inch auger | 3 | |||
| Drawing-knife | 3 | |||
| Currying-knife | 10 | |||
| Currier’s knife and barking-iron | 6 |
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