The writer will therefore give a brief account of the Lincoln family
simply as a matter of interest, and not as a means of proving or
explaining any natural law.

The future president was descended from people of the middle class.
There was nothing either in his family or his surroundings to attract
the attention even of the closest observer, or to indicate any material
difference between him and scores of other boys in the same general
locality.

Lincoln is an old English name, and in 1638 a family of the name
settled in Hingham, Mass., near Boston. Many years later we find the
ancestors of the president living in Berks County, Pa. It is possible
that this family came direct from England; but it is probable that they
came from Hingham. Both in Hingham and in Berks County there is a
frequent recurrence of certain scriptural names, such as Abraham,
Mordecai, and Thomas, which seems to be more than a coincidence.

From Berks County certain of the family, who, by the way, were Quakers,
moved to Rockingham County, Va. In 1769 Daniel Boone, the adventurous
pioneer, opened up what is now the state of Kentucky, but was then a
part of Virginia.

About twelve years later, in 1781, Abraham Lincoln, great-grandfather
of the president, emigrated from Virginia into Kentucky. People have
asked, in a puzzled manner, why did he leave the beautiful Shenandoah
valley? One answer may be given: The Ohio valley also is beautiful.
During the major portion of the year, from the budding of the leaves in
April until they pass away in the blaze of their autumn glory, the
entire region is simply bewitching. No hills curve more gracefully, no