Random Thoughts On Blogging About Lincoln

In this famous painting by artist George A.P. Healy, Abraham Lincoln appears to be thinking about what to do next. I can relate as I'm pondering in recent months about what to do with The Abraham Lincoln Blog.

Readership of the blog has been declining for a few months now. There aren't nearly as many comments coming from what readers remain. I don't know how to interpret this. I'm not sure if readers are bored by my posts, if interest in Lincoln is waning now that the era of his birth bicentennial is over, or if it's something else entirely. Whatever it is, it's distressing to have declining interest in something I put a lot of time into.

Something which has bothered me for a long while now is that I can write in-depth about Lincoln's speeches, his presidency, and his assassination, but all people seem to be interested in are his dog and his favorite meals. I wrote a three-week series of posts about the 145th anniversary of his assassination and thirteen funerals, a series which required a lot of work and received almost no notice at all. But people keep finding my blog by searching about his dog, Fido, and Lincoln's favorite food. I don't understand the interest in those topics. Perhaps I should write about Lincoln's dog's favorite food? I have posted about those two topics previously, but I sorely wish the more serious things I write about Lincoln would attract attention as well.

About the only "recognition" this blog has received in recent months is numerous contacts by publishers wanting me to read their books and then review them in this forum. While I'm thrilled to receive free books about Lincoln, I don't want this blog to become commercial in any way. I'm now receiving requests to publicize Lincoln t-shirts, websites, and the like. The purpose of this blog is to educate people about Lincoln, not to sell merchandise with his image on it.

So there you have it. I'm pondering my next steps about writing about Lincoln. I don't know if I should keep the effort going, stop writing any new posts and leave the blog as is, or simply delete the blog entirely.

At the very least, I believe I need to step away and take a break from blogging on all things related to Abraham Lincoln. I hope the break won't be long or permanent. But for now, it makes no sense to spend a lot of time writing when it seems that fewer people are dropping by.

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Book Review: Call Me Kate: Meeting The Molly Maguires

I was recently contacted by Tribute Books a small publishing firm based in Archbald, Pennsylvania to ask me to review a short novel written for young teens (and older) set in 1860's coal mining country in the eastern part of that state.

Call Me Kate: Meeting The Molly Maguires is the story of 14-year-old Katie McCafferty, a young Irish immigrant, who lives in a coal mining town called "The Patch" at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. The town has sprung up around the local underground coal mine and is a true company town. Most of the houses are owned by the coal company, as is the main store. The mine itself is dangerous and deadly and true to history, has boys as young as 7 or 8 years old working it. Many boys and men are injured or killed at the mine in "The Patch" because the mine owner refuses to install basic safety controls or even adequate ventilation in order to save money.

When Katie's dad is seriously injured in the mine, she has to quit school where she was doing quite well and go to work as a domestic. This eventually leads to her employment in another town working for a wealthy owner of the very mine where her father and friends have been toiling.

Through a friend, Katie is drawn to involvement with the Molly Maguires, a secret group made up of Irish coal miners and formed to combat the brutal working and living conditions. The group was a very early attempt at forming a miner's union to demand better safety conditions and higher pay. The Molly Maguires also strongly opposed the military draft imposed by Abraham Lincoln while the Civil War raged. Their main point of contention was that wealthy men could pay $300 and avoid serving in the war, while the poor Irish and other immigrants were forced to serve in combat.

This group was of course opposed strongly by the mine owners and operators. Both sides resorted to violence and other dirty tricks to advance their cause. Eventually in the 1870's, ten of the Molly Maguires were hanged in Pennsylvania for their involvement in the movement.

Call Me Kate is authored by Mary Roe, a native of the anthracite coal region in Pennsylvania. It is targeted mostly to young teens, but I found it a very enjoyable read. It's descriptive of the horrors of coal mining and the injuries and deaths which result even today, as we unfortunately saw a few months ago in West Virginia. The characters ring true, especially Katie herself and her friends who begin trying to fight the conditions they are forced to toil in.

If I might be permitted a personal note, I have many ancestors and relatives who labored in the coal mines and coal fields of southeastern Ohio. My grandfather quit school in the 8th grade in the 1920's in order to support his family by working the mines beginning at age 13. He and my grandmother lived in a real coal company town and had to buy their items at the company store for exorbitant prices. Other more distant relatives of mine were seriously injured in mining accidents, including a great-uncle who was partially paralyzed by a cave-in. While I've never had to work in a mine, I am proud to be the grandson and nephew of men who have. Please note the below photo taken in 1911 in Pennsylvania of child coal miners. Be grateful that we live in a society which would never permit our own children to work like they and my grandfather had to.

Call Me Kate: Meeting The Molly Maguires brought me closer to the experiences of my family. I could almost feel the grime and coal dust the author describes. The heartache which Katie feels when her father is severely injured is felt by the reader. The struggles that the other families face are felt as well.

I recommend this book highly. It helps the reader understand what coal country was like back in the 1860's (and to some extent, even today). It chronicles what terrible conditions workers dealt with in helping to make America great, a story which is unfortunately often overlooked.

The book is available from the publisher or at amazon.com.

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Of Lincoln And His Favorite Meals

Since I began this blog about Abraham Lincoln 2 1/2 years ago, I've written in-depth posts about his parents and childhood, political career, presidency, speeches, and assassination. I've also written numerous book and exhibit reviews. None of this seems to matter, because most of the searches which "hit" on this blog are for one thing and one thing only: Lincoln's favorite meals!

I have to admit I'm puzzled by this. Lincoln is considered by most historians to be the greatest president we've ever had. He epitomizes the American "rags to riches" story. He led our nation through the deadliest war we've had. While he was not a great speaker, he was one of the most gifted writers of the English language ever. He redefined America and what it stands for in 271 words when he gave the Gettysburg Address.

And yet what people want to know most is what he ate for dinner. Or breakfast. Or lunch.

Why?? Does knowing this information make him seem more real to us somehow? Does it make us feel closer to him? Does it humanize a man who is surrounded by so many legends and myths? Is our national obsession with food and The Food Network to blame?

What does it matter if we know that he seldom ate more than a hardboiled egg and apple for breakfast? Or that his favorite meals tended towards wild game and chicken fricassee? Or that he didn't have much of a sweet tooth? Obviously, I'm fascinated by Abraham Lincoln and try to share this fascination with my readers. Personally, though, I couldn't care less about what the man ate. There are far too many more important things to learn about Abraham Lincoln than what he nibbled on. For those of you who do care, though, I've included a photo of the china pattern used by the Lincolns during their stay in The White House.

Sorry for the rant. It's just something which has been bothering me for a while now.

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Book Review: "My Name Is Mary Sutter"

One of my greatest joys in life is reading. My personal tastes in books lean more toward works of non-fiction, primarily history, and especially anything to do with Abraham Lincoln. Of course, that's probably obvious to those of you who have previously visited this blog. I rarely read novels because for me, historical or current events are far more fascinating than anything most authors can dream up. So when I was contacted by the publisher Viking Press and asked to review a new historical novel, I was a bit reluctant to do so. I will forever be grateful that I agreed.

My Name Is Mary Sutter is the debut novel of writer Robin Oliveira. It is the sweeping story of a midwife living in Albany, NY at the cusp of the Civil War. Mary Sutter is a strong-willed and brilliant woman who wants more out of life than midwifery; she wants to become a surgeon. Because of her gender and the era in which she lives, medical schools and physicians refuse to accept her as a student.

Heartbreak and the onset of the war lead Mary to Washington City (as Washington, D.C. was then called) where she volunteers her services as a nurse. After the First Battle of Bull Run, she is thrown into the horrors of the primitive care and medical treatment the wounded, sick, and dying soldiers receive in that time. The reader follows Mary through the war as she is confronted with having to choose between soldiers who can be saved and those who cannot in the aftermath of The Wilderness Campaign, and after Antietam. Along the way, Mary learns more about nursing and, eventually, about medicine as the shortage of doctors during the war necessitate her being trained "on the job."

The fictional Mary Sutter has interactions with real figures from history in this novel. She meets Dorothea Dix, who became the Union's Superintendent of Nurses during the Civil War, who at first refuses Mary's request to become a nurse. A chance encounter with John Hay, one of Abraham Lincoln's two secretaries leads to a meeting with the president, who is mourning the loss of his dear son Willie.

My Name Is Mary Sutter is, in a word, magnificent. It is sweeping in scope, impeccably researched, and beautifully written. Ms. Oliveira's character development is outstanding and makes the reader care deeply about what will happen to Mary, her family, and the men who vie for her love.

It's not a book for the faint of heart. The author's description of childbirth and battlefield amputations are quite graphic, but only to further develop the characters and story. (The author's husband is a physician, and she credits him for helping her when she wrote about the various medical events in the novel.) Her descriptions of the conditions the soldiers live and fight in are so vivid and detailed that one can almost experience the stench of the camps and the terror of the soldiers who are grievously wounded. Rather than turn the reader's stomach, these scenes make the book gripping. I had a difficult time putting the book down. Above all, it's made me want to learn more about the "Angels Of The Battlefield" as the real Civil War nurses were called.

My Name Is Mary Sutter deserves to make a "splash" for Robin Oliveira like Cold Mountain did for Charles Frazier. I cannot begin to recommend this debut novel enough to my readers and fellow lovers of history.

My rating:

5.0 out of 5.0 Clara Bartons, a Civil War nurse and founder of The American Red Cross

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Lincoln Never Said These Life Lessons

There is no doubt that Abraham Lincoln wrote or said some of the greatest quotes in American history. His entire Second Inaugural Address, for example, is one of the finest speeches ever given. The Gettysburg Address is of course immortal. And his "House Divided" speech stands as a brilliant summary of the slavery struggles facing our nation in the years leading up to the Civil War.

Unfortunately, there are also numerous "quotes" which have been attributed to Lincoln for many years, "quotes" which he surely did not say. Currently there is a popular web page called "7 Must Read Life Lessons From Abraham Lincoln." It's being "tweeted" on Twitter, linked to by many other sites, and even mentioned on a museum's Facebook page.

The trouble is, that Abraham Lincoln said only two of the seven "quotes" given on the website. Some of these "quotes" attributed to Lincoln didn't quite "ring true" with me, so I checked the most indispensable source available for things which Lincoln said or wrote.

The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln consists of all the known writings, speeches, and quotes of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Association published this 8-volume collection in 1953. Mr. Roy P. Basler and his staff spent five years transcribing Lincoln's letters, notes, and other writings to produce this work. I own a set of the Collected Works but the website I linked to at the beginning of this paragraph provides excellent search capability on single words or phrases Lincoln wrote or spoke.

For example, one so-called "quote" presented on the "7 Must Read" site which Lincoln supposedly said is: "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend four hours sharpening the axe." Great advice, right? Preparation is key to success. Problem is, Abraham Lincoln never said any such thing. A simple search for "sharpening the axe" on the website of the Collected Works comes up empty.

I don't mean this post to be an attack on the site which provides great life lessons, because they are indeed wonderful lessons for success in life. It's just that Abraham Lincoln never said most of the quotes. (For the record, quotes #5 and #7 on the "7 Must Read" site are accurate)

Those of us who love history, be we professional scholars or amateur ones, need to guard against inaccuracies presented as "facts." I feel it's my job as an amateur Lincoln historian to alert the readers of this blog when bad Lincoln history shows up.

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America The Story Of Us On History

If you've been watching the American history series called America The Story of Us on History in recent weeks, you'll understand why so many people consider it to be excellent. A combination of CGI and live action has told the story of the past 400 years of our history, warts and all. While twelve hours of television can't possibly tell the story in great depth, the ambitious reach of the effort is impressive.

Some of you may not realize that you can download previous episodes of the series onto your iPod from iTunes, Apple's proprietary source for music and videos. You'll need iTunes installed on your computer to be able to do this. You can also get a sneak peek of the upcoming episodes as well on iTunes.

The episode which covered the Civil War and Lincoln was well done, as were the other episodes. I'll be adding the DVD set to my collection once it's available. In the meantime, be sure to catch the remaining episodes on History.

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Talking About Lincoln's Assassination

Two nights ago, I gave a lecture about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. I hesitate to include anything in this blog about myself, because after all, it's The Abraham Lincoln Blog and not the "Lincoln and Geoff Elliott Blog."

I was surprised this past February when a church group asked me to give a presentation about Lincoln at their monthly gathering. The group didn't give me any specific guidelines so I was stumped about what to present. I couldn't decide whether to talk about his life in general, his religious beliefs (or lack thereof), his presidency, his actions in war time, or about the man behind the myths. Then a series of snowstorms here on the Ohio tundra hit right around the presentation date and my talk was postponed until May.

I suppose it was fate, somehow, which led to my Lincoln lecture being held May 18, 2010. That day just happened to be the 150th anniversary of Lincoln receiving the Republican nomination for President Of The United States, May 18, 1860. Pretty remarkable, at least to me.

As regular readers of this blog know, I recently completed an ambitious series of posts commemorating the 145th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination and long funeral train journey back to Springfield. So I thought those two topics would be perfect for my talk.

I covered all the highlights in the lecture: the assassination; Booth; the conspirators and their fates; and then information about each of the thirteen funerals held for Lincoln. I spoke for around an hour and then opened the floor to questions.

I was amazed at how many questions I received, and not just about the assassination or funerals. People asked questions such as: why Lincoln grew his beard; if Mary and Abraham were Christians; what Lincoln might think of today's political situation in the U.S.; how old he was when he died; and so on. By the time the questions were asked (and answered), nearly another hour had gone by.

It was heartening to me to see the avid interest in Mr. Lincoln. He still matters to us today.

Thank you to the Dover Alliance church in Dover, Ohio for the warm welcome the folks there gave me. It was a thrill to be asked to speak about Lincoln, especially considering that I am only an "amateur historian." I hope this wasn't the last opportunity to share my passion with others about our country's greatest president. Only time will tell.

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