Abraham Lincoln’s Father and Mother

Written by Helena Jackson

Abraham Lincoln‘s relationship with his father and mother was fascinating, though it was poorly documented.

Abraham Lincoln’s Father and Mother

On June 12th, 1806, Thomas Lincoln married Nancy Hanks. The pair of them had three children, Sarah, Thomas, and, of course, Abraham. Sarah was two years older than Abraham (born in 1809), and sadly, Thomas, who was born three years after, would die in his infancy.

Nancy Hanks’ Death

In 1816, this family of four crossed the Ohio River to what is now Spencer, Indiana, where they purchased a farm. Just two years later, though, Nancy passed away. She left behind a nine-year-old Abraham, who helped his father make her coffin. Abraham loved her deeply, later going on to say “[all] that I am or hope ever to be, I get from my mother.”

Thomas Lincoln’s Second Marriage

Sarah would help care for her brother as their father left to Kentucky to find a bride. Thomas would end up courting the widow Sarah Bush Johnson, whom he had initially met some years before. The following year the pair would marry, and Sarah and her three children would join them in Indiana.

Abraham Lincoln’s Relationship with Sarah

While Abraham Lincoln had a fraught relationship with his father, he seemed fond of his new mother. He called her “a good and kind mother”, and even addressed her as “Mother” in his letters to her. She, meanwhile, would call him “diligent for knowledge,” never needing a “cross word.”

Abraham Lincoln’s Relationship with his Father

Abraham’s relationship with his father was harder to define. While people often described Thomas as a respectable, well-liked carpenter, Abraham claimed that his father lacked a proper education. Abraham likely felt some resentment towards this deficient education, as well as towards his own lack of schooling, stating: “There were schools, so called, but little qualification was ever required of a teacher… There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education.” Upon learning of this father’s illness in 1851, Lincoln wrote: “…if we could meet now, it is doubtful whether it would not be more painful than pleasant.” When his father did pass away, Abraham did not attend his funeral, leaving many to speculate on if the two of them were on good terms.