melancholy of his disposition, he no doubt inherited from his mother.
Amid the toil and struggle of her busy life she found time not only to
teach him to read and write but to impress upon him ineffaceably that
love of truth and justice, that perfect integrity and reverence for God,
for which he was noted all his life. Lincoln always looked upon his
mother with unspeakable affection, and never ceased to cherish the
memory of her life and teaching.

A spirit of restlessness, a love of adventure, a longing for new scenes,
and possibly the hope of improving his condition, led Thomas Lincoln to
abandon the Rock Spring farm, in the fall of 1816, and begin life over
again in the wilds of southern Indiana. The way thither lay through
unbroken country and was beset with difficulties. Often the travellers
were obliged to cut their road as they went. With the resolution of
pioneers, however, they began the journey. At the end of several days
they had gone but eighteen miles. Abraham Lincoln was then but seven
years old, but was already accustomed to the use of axe and gun. He lent
a willing hand, and bore his share in the labor and fatigue connected
with the difficult journey. In after years he said that he had never
passed through a more trying experience than when he went from
Thompson's Ferry to Spencer County, Indiana. On arriving, a shanty for
immediate use was hastily erected. Three sides were enclosed, the fourth
remaining open. This served as a home for several months, when a more
comfortable cabin was built. On the eighteenth of October, 1817, Thomas
Lincoln entered a quarter-section of government land eighteen miles
north of the Ohio river and about a mile and a half from the present
village of Gentryville. About a year later they were followed by the
family of Thomas and Betsy Sparrow, relatives of Mrs. Lincoln and
old-time neighbors on the Rock Spring farm in Kentucky. Dennis Hanks, a
member of the Sparrow household and cousin of Abraham Lincoln, came