The following autobiography was written by Mr. Lincoln's own hand at
the request of J. W. Fell of Springfield, Ill., December 20, 1859. In
the note which accompanied it the writer says: "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."
"I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin Co., Ky. My parents were both
born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second 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 Co., and
others in Mason Co., Ill. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln,
emigrated from Rockingham Co., Va., to Kentucky, about 1781 or 1782,
where, a year or two later, he was killed by 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 Co., Pa. 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
grew up literally without any education. He removed from Kentucky to
what is now Spencer Co., Ind., 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, at which I continued till I was
twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, and passed the first
year in Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in
Sangamon, now 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 into the campaign, was elected, ran for the
Legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten--the only time I have
ever 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 the legislative period I had studied law,
and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was elected to
the Lower House of Congress. Was not a candidate for re-election. From
1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever
before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on the Whig electoral
ticket, 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 gray eyes--no other marks or
brands recollected.
"Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN."