Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin 3 miles (5 km) south of Hodgenville, Kentucky, and was taken to a farm in the neighboring valley of Knob Creek when he was two years old. His earliest memories were of this home and, in particular, of a flash flood that once washed away the corn and pumpkin seeds he had helped his father plant. His father, Thomas Lincoln, was the descendant of a weaver’s apprentice who migrated from England to Massachusetts in 1637. Though much less prosperous than some of his Lincoln forebears, Thomas was a sturdy pioneer. On June 12, 1806, he married Nancy Hanks. The Hanks genealogy is difficult to trace, but Nancy appears to have been of illegitimate birth. She has been described as “stoop-shouldered, thin-breasted, sad,” and fervently religious. Thomas and Nancy Lincoln had three children: Sarah, Abraham, and Thomas, who died in …show more content…
Britannica Quiz Match the Quote to the Speaker: American Speeches Clear up pop culture myths about Abraham Lincoln Clear up pop culture myths about Abraham Lincoln Learn about the creative license moviemakers have taken in films about Abraham Lincoln. See all videos for this article Learn how reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped Abraham Lincoln compose his best-remembered address in American history Learn how reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped Abraham Lincoln compose his best-remembered address in American history Learn how Abraham Lincoln's study of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible helped him compose perhaps the best-remembered address in American history. See all videos for this article His stepmother doubtless encouraged Lincoln’s taste for reading, yet the original source of his desire to learn remains something of a mystery. Both his parents were almost completely illiterate, and he himself received little formal education. He once said that, as a boy, he had gone to school “by little”—a little now and a little then—and his entire schooling amounted to no more than one year’s attendance. His neighbors later recalled how he used to trudge for miles to borrow a book. According to his own statement, however, his early surroundings provided “absolutely nothing to