Chasing Abraham Lincoln – Page 4

Everyone knows about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, but there is another Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum. This one is in Harrogate, Tennessee in the campus of Lincoln Memorial University. And I spent the day there. It was an incredible experience.

Generally the visitors pay a very reasonable entrance fee, but I was met at the door by the Director, Michael Lynch, and the Assistant Director/Curator, Steven Wilson. After a quick tour around the museum (which is undergoing both short and long term remodeling) they led me into the vault. Yes, the vault. This is where the original letters, books, and other original materials are kept. If that isn’t enough, there is a second vault upstairs.

I was lucky enough to hold a small see-through container holding a lock of Abraham Lincoln’s hair, as well as a necklace holding the hair of Mary Lincoln and a locket holding young Willie Lincoln’s hair. I also got to touch letters to and from other major players in the Civil War.

Then it was time for work. Michael brought in a large binder holding many original documents related to John Worden, commander of the USS Monitor ironclad famous for the battle with the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack). Among the many treasures was a handwritten letter by Worden discussing Lincoln’s visit to him as he recuperated following the injuries he sustained in the Monitor/Merrimack battle. Perfect for my next book.

I also got to go through several volumes of an incredible set of scrapbooks put together by John Brown. They include thousands of original photographs, tickets, CDVs, advertisements, and so much more. Oh, and in order to find any particular one I used a prehistoric Google device once known as a “card catalogue.” Yes, these things still exist.

Thanks again to Michael Lynch and Steven Wilson (who was also kind enough to give me a copy of his recent presentation on Lincoln and Technology). It will take me a while to go through all the photos I took and the data I collected. Something for me to do once I finish my trip. As you read this I’ve already moved on to the next piece of my adventure.

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

I’ll soon be off chasing Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is everywhere it seems – Cuba, Norway, Scotland, the UK – but he spent most of his life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. And that’s where I’m going on my Chasing Abraham Lincoln Tour of 2018.

Like rock star tours, this one will highlight Lincoln’s greatest hits. I’ll be splitting it into two major parts, though the overall tour consists of many smaller parts as well.

Part 1 this spring takes me to Lincoln’s early life…and the end of it. I’ll be speaking at West Virginia Wesleyan College on my book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. Taking advantage of the location, I’ll then drive down to Harrogate, Tennessee to visit the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University. From there I turn north and head for Lincoln’s Birthplace National Park, Lincoln’s Boyhood Home, and Lincoln Homestead National Park, all in Kentucky. Then I’ll track his family’s move across the Ohio River at Grandview and Rockport, Indiana before heading up to the exhibits at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis and the documents at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. This will get me through the major Indiana stops, but not all my stops.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS

A three hour drive north of Fort Wayne gets me into Michigan and Henry Ford’s famous museum. At Ford’s Greenfield Village I’ll find the original Logan County Courthouse where Lincoln practiced law from 1840-1847. And then there is the end of Lincoln’s life – the original high-backed rocking chair in which Lincoln was sitting when he was tragically struck down by John Wilkes Booth.

While I’m at Greenfield Village I’ll also check out the recreated Menlo Park Laboratory of Thomas Edison, star of my second book, Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World. The lab site includes Edison’s original glass house, carbon shed, and even truckloads of Menlo Park (now Edison), New Jersey dirt. Another part of the Village has the Edison Illuminating Company’s Station A, where a young Henry Ford worked as a steam engineer in the 1890s.

Edison at Work, Greenfield Village

From Michigan I’ll pass through Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio to gawk at some famous Lincoln statues before working my way towards home

Keep in mind this is just Part 1 of my Chasing Abraham Lincoln Tour. Part 2 will take me this summer into Illinois to follow Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas around their famous debate sites, plus check out the remnant of the Illinois and Michigan Canal that Lincoln helped create. Of course, these 2018 trips come after my 2016 trip Visiting Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois, which I documented in Part I and Part II and this special post on How Bloomington, IL made Lincoln Great (click on the links).

Eventually I’ll have covered all of Abraham Lincoln’s life (I’ve already lived for three months in Edinburgh, Scotland, which boasts the only Lincoln and Civil War statue outside the U.S.). I’ve also hit most of the Washington, D.C. area sites and was recently down in Newport News and City Point. A bit inefficient to spread this over the years, but it’s slowly coming together. I’ll have plenty of photos and stories from the 2018 tours so keep checking back here for more info.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!