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(THE NALL-LINCOLN SUBDIVISION)

The only farm President Lincoln's father ever owned in Kentucky and had a clear title,

MARVIN LEE NALL, Route 4, ELIZABETHTOWN, KY.

Thomas Lincoln, the father of the Sixteenth President of the United States purchased this plot of land from Dr. John F. Slater on September 2, 1803. The original farm consisted of approximately 238 acres. The purchase price was the sum of one hundred and eighteen pounds. The original deed indicates that on this land there were numerous buildings and conveniences. This Nail-Lincoln Subdivision is of particular interest because this portion of the original Lincoln farm contains the old cabin site.

This was Thomas Lincoln's first Kentucky farm and he resided on this Mill Creek land with his mother and other relatives for a period of time before his marriage to Nancy Hanks. When the President's father married Nancy Hanks on June 12, 1806, in Washington County, Kentucky, he immediately returned to Hardin County with his bride. It is believed the couple may have visited the Mill Creek place until he could build a cabin in ElizabethtoAvn, the county seat.

On October 27, 1814, the pioneer Lincoln sold his Mill Creek property to Charles Melton. In closing the transaction he signed the deed of conveyance by in- scribing his signature, but his wife made her mark in the execution of the instrument. Because of a mistake by the court clerk in copying the deed calls Lincoln lost

more than one-seventh of his total acreage and eighteen pounds of his original investment.

Did young Abraham Lincoln ever visit this Mill Creek farm? It would seem probable that Thomas Lincoln with his wife, daughter, and small son residing on Koiob Creek (now Larue County) would occasionally travel as far as Mill Creek to visit the childrens paternal grand- mother, Bathsheba Lincoln and their aunt and uncle, Nancy and William Brumfield, who lived on the farm until 1814.

Perhaps young Abraham traveled through the Mill Creek section of Hardin County late in the year 1816 when the family of Thomas migrated to Indiana. Surely along the way they must have stopped and inquired of Charles Melton and his wife, Sibba, of the extent of their crops, of old friends, of the weather and Indiana.

If they deviated from their direct route to Indiana the Lincolns would travel on a distance of about five more miles to visit the Brumfield farm, where Bathsheba and the Brumfields resided. Then the caravan would move on to Indiana where Thomas would do some more pioneering and where young Abraham would tread the path of destiny.

R. GERALD McMURTRY

Director. Lincoln National Life Foundation

The fact that Thomas Lincoln bought land on Mill Creek in Hardin County is well affirmed by the public records. While purchase does not necessarily prove oc- cupancy, it has been accepted generally that Thomas resided there with his mother, sister and brother-in-law from 1803 to 1806. Now we are able, by the use of private records which are in this case just as authentic as public records, to confirm the supposition that Thomas Lincoln actually worked his Mill Creek farm.

Bleakley and Montgomery, leading merchants at Elizabethtown, kept some day books which have been preserved and under the date of February 18, 1806, we find that Thomas Lincoln sold to this store 2400 pounds of pork and 494 pounds of beef, for which he received a credit of 21 pounds, 14 shillings and 1% pence. This entry in the ledger clearly indicates that Thomas was operating a farm with sufficient pasturage and forage for cattle and hogs.

Inasmuch as there lived on this farm for a period of time, the father, grandmother and other relatives of Abraham Lincoln, one of the world's outstanding figures, it seems proper to call attention to the historical sig- nificance of the place.

LOUIS A. WARREN

Director Emeritus, Lincoln National Life Foundation

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