Abraham Lincoln was born February 12th of 1809. Abraham’s father was Thomas Lincoln. Thomas married Nancy Hanks. The two settled in the state of Kentucky. Over time Thomas acquired wealth in the form of lands such as two farms and several town lots in addition to livestock. In 1816, the Lincoln family’s wealth in the form of lands was stripped from their possession over court cases over a faulty title. By this time in his life, Abraham was 7 years old.
After the loss of land in Kentucky, the Lincoln family crossed the Ohio River and settled in free territory in the state of Indiana. In 1818 while residing in Indiana, Abraham’s mother as well as an aunt and uncle succumbed to milk sickness. Milk sickness is otherwise known as tremetol vomiting which today we know is caused by humans ingesting dairy products of a cow who has eaten white snakeroot which then passed into its milk.
In 1830, Thomas Lincoln, now married to Sarah Bush Johnston, relocated the family to Illinois to avoid another outbreak of milk sickness. In Illinois in 1832, Abraham Lincoln now 22 years of age started his own life independently. Frequently in the life of the Lincoln family new starts were often as was the loss of land.
Throughout the process of losing land and starting over, Abraham Lincoln learned valuable skills such as perseverance, courage, and self-reliance. It took determination to start over. It took courage to move to new places and maintain one’s own beliefs despite disagreements with publicly different moral and ethical standards. It took self-reliance to support himself as well as assist his father with keeping the family safely supported. All of these qualities Abraham practiced and developed by learning to deal with the loss of land and a new start.Can’t get enough? There’s more: Risky Business