Lincoln's Parentage: The Myth Which Will Not Die

Back on April 11, I published a post titled "Bad Lincoln 'History'" in which I told about a new Lincoln museum in North Carolina which was established to perpetuate the myth that Abraham Lincoln was really the illegitimate son of one Abraham Enloe. This myth has persisted in some circles for more than 100 years. It claims that Lincoln was actually born in North Carolina (not Kentucky) and that his son Robert Todd Lincoln basically paid off Lincoln historians to cover up his illegitimate heritage.

This myth continues into modern times without a single shred of evidence to back up the claim. Now, an article from the Terra Haute (Indiana) Tribune-Star published just yesterday trumpets the fact that a "stunning new document" found on Genealogy Today (an online guide) presents "proof" about Lincoln's illegitimate heritage.

Well, no. The story on that site is just more regurgitation from a gentleman by the name of R. Vincent Enlow, a descendant of the Enloes from North Carolina. He has done "research" for the past decade or so, which he claims proves the myth about Lincoln really being an Enloe. One of the pieces of evidence these revisionist "historians" love to use in their claims is the image I've included here. It's a photo of a gentleman named Wesley Enloe, the supposed "half-brother" of Abraham Lincoln. Wesley was the son of Abraham Enloe, the "real" father of Lincoln. The "historians" point out the obvious height and lankiness of Wesley as strong evidence that he was related to Lincoln.

On the Genealogy Today site, you can download an essay from Mr. Enlow detailing his evidence, etc. What I don't like about this article from this genealogy site and the article from the Tribune-Star is that this claim about Lincoln's parentage is presented as FACT. It is bad history. It misleads readers into believing this myth and I believe is an attempt to denigrate Lincoln.

As my post from April 11 stated, Dr. Edward Steers, Junior, one of the leading Abraham Lincoln scholars of our day, carefully examined all the claims in his book "Lincoln Legends, Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated With Our Greatest President." His conclusion is that there is not one bit of evidence to prove that Lincoln was born in North Carolina to a father named Abraham Enloe.

We all must always be aware of attempts by revisionists who try to disparage the titans of American history for their own gains, be it in the form of mindless newspaper articles, false claims of historians on obscure websites, or books written by kooks trying to make a fast buck.

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Lincoln's Flatboat Journey To Be Re-Enacted

In 1828, when Abraham Lincoln was only 19 years old, he journeyed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans on a flatboat, then popular with pioneers for transportation of various kinds of cargo. Legend has it that Lincoln was deeply affected by the scenes of slavery all around him in New Orleans and that he then resolved to try to eradicate the "peculiar institution." No writings have been discovered that actually proves what Lincoln felt for sure while in New Orleans, but the large and decadent city must have made quite an impression on the young man.

An organization based in Spencer County, Indiana is undertaking a project to re-create Lincoln's journey down the rivers. Titled "Lincoln's Journey of Remembrance," the project includes a replica of the type of flatboat used by Lincoln on his trip. A departure date of September 9, 2008 from Rockport, Indiana is scheduled, with the final destination being New Orleans.

About 8 or 10 residents of Spencer County will be aboard the 60-foot replica. They're planning on stopping at various towns along the way, telling visitors about Lincoln's life in Spencer County, which includes the location of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Not only will the journey serve to educate people about Lincoln's youth spent in Indiana, it hopefully will attract more tourism to the county as well.

Some concessions to modern times will have to be made. As this article explains, the replica flatboat will be equipped with two 150-h.p. Mercury outboard motors due to the much-greater river traffic of our time.

This is one of the more interesting projects being undertaken for the celebration of the Lincoln Bicentennial. Stops along the way planned for now include Mt. Vernon, Indiana and Metropolis, Illinois. More information about the journey is provided in the first link in this post.

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Lincoln Leadership And Success

What qualities in Abraham Lincoln made him such an outstanding leader? Why did this man with less than one year of formal education and practically no political experience become such an excellent writer, politician, and president?

Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the best-selling "Team Of Rivals" book about Lincoln and his cabinet, has identified ten characteristics of Lincoln's personality which in her opinion made him such a brilliant leader. She encourages us today to look for these same qualities when trying to decide who we will elect as our next president.

• The capacity to listen to differing points of view - this was the concept behind Lincoln appointing former political rivals to his cabinet.

• Ability to learn on the job - Lincoln learned as he grew into the job. Experience doesn't mean everything as my previous post explains

• Willingness to share credit for success - Lincoln shared credit for successes with his cabinet and generals.

• Willingness to share blame for failures - like Harry Truman, Lincoln took equal credit for failures when necessary. Compare this to recent presidents who hang their cabinet members out to dry.

• Awareness of own weaknesses - Lincoln realized he gave people too many chances. Think how much better we'd be off in our country today if Bill Clinton and George W. Bush would admit their weaknesses.

• Ability to control emotions - Lincoln often would write a letter to someone who had aggrieved him, but then would never send it.

• Know how to relax - Lincoln's sense of humor saw him through some of the darkest days of the Civil War. Not that he found the war to be funny, but he tried to combat his grief over it through funny stories.

• Manage directly by "walking around" - Lincoln often visited with soldiers and tried to meet with ordinary people to get a handle on public opinion.

• Strength to adhere to goals - Lincoln never wavered in his goals to see the Union restored.

• Ability to communicate goals and vision - the one quality which escapes nearly every politician of our time.

This list was found at HR.BLR.com, a Human Resources website. It reported on Ms. Goodwin's lecture at the 2008 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) convention in Chicago, where she identified these ten qualities of a great leader.

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Does Obama's Lack Of Experience Matter?

Back on January 11, 2008 I published a post about how much discussion occurs during every presidential election cycle about the various candidates' experience or lack thereof. Each candidate positions himself or herself as having the best experience. If the candidate happens to be inexperienced, then the person runs as an "outsider."

I've been laughing recently at the attacks on Barack Obama for his lack of experience. As that rabid bulldog of conservatism (that would be Rush Limbaugh) put it the other day, Obama had only 143 work days of experience in the U.S. senate before he formed a presidential exploration committee. The bull...er...Limbaugh compared this to the 26 years in the Senate served by John McCain along with the years of military service that McCain had as well.

So just because Obama had only 143 days of experience as a senator, does this mean he is not a leader? If my memory serves me well, Abraham Lincoln had just one term, only two years, of experience as a U.S. Congressman. He lost a senate race in 1858 to Stephen Douglas, was involved in failed businesses (just like George W. Bush, by the way), and had very limited time in the Illinois state government. Yet he went on to become a brilliant leader who saw our nation through its greatest crisis.

As I posted back in January, political experience is no predictor of presidential success or failure. Some of our most experienced politicians have been failures as presidents (John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan) while some of the least experienced have gone on to greatness.

Don't fall for false arguments!

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Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin??

Through one of those quirks in history which can never be understood, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the very same day, February 12, 1809. It must have been a slow week at Newsweek magazine when it ran an article asking who is more important to society today, Abe or Chuck?

Talk about comparing apples to oranges. Lincoln was not a scientist (although he did have an invention patented) and Darwin was not a politician. About the only thing they had in common that I can think of (other than their birth date) is that Lincoln was called the "original gorilla" and Darwin stated that humans and apes share common ancestry. Please, Darwin NEVER stated that humans evolved from apes, by the way!

Newsweek's article is interesting on the surface, I guess, but you have to wonder about the reasoning behind this article. There doesn't even seem to be much of a conclusion, although the author seemingly leans towards Lincoln being more important than Darwin.

There apparently was no news during that week of publication.

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Buy Your Own Statue Of Lincoln

Would you like to buy your own statue of Old Abe? Here is your chance. On July 19, 2008, an auction of statues of presidents and other Americans is being held in the hamlet of Frazeysburg, Ohio in the southeastern portion of the state.

According to the Coshocton Tribune (Ohio), the statues are part of the Baughman Memorial Park, which will also be auctioned off (about 62 acres). The statues, including that of Mr. Lincoln, were sculpted by a Mr. Brice Baughman between the late 1800's and 1930. Mr. Baughman's hobby was carving in sandstone, the bulk of which came from the property.

The statues are in various states of repair. This link provides more information about the auction, including photos and a map of the property, along with photos of the other statues up for auction. Other presidents represented by the statues include William McKinley, Warren Harding, and George Washington. Famous military figures carved in stone include Grant and Sherman.

I cannot begin to imagine what these statues might bring at auction. I especially cannot imagine what it would take to haul one of these statues and install it on your own property.

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Rarest Lincoln Signature To Be Displayed In Philadelphia

The rarest Abraham Lincoln signature of them all is to be displayed for the next decade at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The only known signature of Lincoln he made in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863 is a national treasure.

The autograph of Lincoln is in a book which contains the signatures of other dignitaries who were gathered in Gettysburg that day for the dedication of the national cemetery, the scene of Lincoln's immortal Gettysburg Address.

According to this article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, the autograph book was purchased for a staggering $937,000 at a Sotheby's (New York) auction by Lewis Katz, a philanthropist who is part owner of the New York Yankees and New York Nets. He in turn decided to loan it to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Among the other signatures in the book are those of William H. Seward, Lincoln's Secretary of State who was nearly killed on the night of Lincoln's assassination; and Abner Doubleday, credited by some experts as the inventor of modern baseball.

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