The Thomas Lincoln Mill Creek farm : the Nall-Lincoln subdivision

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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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