NAT GRIGSBY'S Statement to William H. Herndon

Gentryville, Ind., September 12, 1865.

My name is N. Grigsby, am fifty-four years of age, knew Abraham Lincoln well. My father came from Kentucky in the fall of 1815 and settled in what is now Spencer County, once a part and portion of Perry. Thomas Lincoln moved to this State in the year 1816 or 1817. He came in the fall of the year and crossed the Ohio River at what is called Ephraim Thompson's Ferry, about two and a half miles west of Troy. The country was a wilderness and there were no roads from Troy to the place he settled, which place is about one and a half miles east of Gentryville, the town in which I now live and you are visiting. Thomas Lincoln was a large man, say six feet or a little less, strong and muscular, not nervous. Thomas Lincoln was a man of good morals, good habits, and exceedingly good-humored, he could read and sign his name, write but little. Mrs. Lincoln, the mother of Abraham, was a woman about five feet seven inches high; she had dark hair, light hazel eyes, complexion light and exceedingly fair. Thomas Lincoln and his wife had two children, one Sally and one Abraham. Sally was about ten years when she landed in Indiana. Abe was about eight or nine years of age. Thomas Lincoln when he landed in Indiana, cut his way to his farm with the ax, felling the forest as he went, which was thick and dense -- no prairies from the Ohio to his place. I am informed that he came in a horse wagon to his farm; don't know but have heard this said in the family. Abraham Lincoln and Sally and myself all went to school. We first went to school to Andy Crawford in the year 1818 in the winter, the same year that Mrs. Lincoln died, she having died in October. Abe went to school nearly a year, say nine months. I was going to school all this time and saw Lincoln there most, if not all, the time. The second schoolmaster we went to was a Mr. Azel Dorsey. Abraham Lincoln went to school to Azel about six months; I went to school all the time, saw Lincoln there all or at least most of the time. We had to go about two miles to school. The third time we went to school was to a Mr. Sweeney, who taught six months. Lincoln did not go to school to him all the time. Lincoln had to walk about four miles. Lincoln was, about the first school, nine or ten years of age. The second school, he was about fourteen or fifteen, and the third school, he was about sixteen or ieghteen. Lincoln was large of his age, say at seventeen; he was six feet two inches tall, weighed about 160 pounds or a little more; he was stout, withy, wiry. When we went to school, we had Dillworth's speaking book and the American spelling book -- not Webster's, I think -- Lincoln ciphered at Crawford's school, Dorsey's and Sweeney's. He used Pike's Arithmetic. Ray's was sometimes used. We only wrote, spelled, and ciphered. We had spelling matches frequently, Abe always ahead of all the classes he ever was in. When we went to Crawford's, he tried to learn us manners, etc. He would ask the scholars to retire from the schoolroom, come in, and then some scholar would go around and introduce him to all the scholars, male and female. Lincoln was studious. Lincoln, while going to school to Crawford, would write short sentences against cruelty to animals. We were in the habit of catching terrapins, a kind of turtle, and put fire on their back, and Lincoln would chide us and tell us it was wrong, would write against it. Lincoln wrote poetry while he was going to school to Dorsey. Essays and poetry were not taught in the school -- Abe took it up of his own accord. He wrote a good composition against cruelty to animals whilst going to Dorsey and Sweeney. He wrote poetry when going to these men. These things I remember and know. Cannot remember of his reading any book or books, excepting Aesop's Fables, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, the Bible, Robinson Crusoe. Our libraries consisted of spelling books, Bibles, arithmetics, songbooks. Lincoln was kindly disposed toward everybody and everything. He scarcely ever quarreled, was prompt and honorable. He never was an intemperate lad; he did drink his dram as all others did, preachers and Christians included. Lincoln was a temperate drinker. When he went out to work anywhere would carry his books with him and would always read whilst resting.

Lincoln did not do much hunting; sometimes went coon hunting and turkey hunting of nights. Whilst other boys were idling away their time, Lincoln was at home studying hard, would cipher on boards, wooden fire shovels, etc., by the light of the fire that burnt in the hearth; had a slate sometimes, but if not handy would use boards. He would shave boards bright and cipher on them, dirty them, reshave them. Abe would sit up late reading and rise early doing the same.

Mrs. Lincoln, Abe's mother, was born -- and died in the fall, October 1818, leaving her two children. Sally Lincoln was older than Abe -- Sally married Aaron Grigsby, my borther, in August 1826. She died in about two years in 1828.

Mrs. Lincoln, the mother of Abe Lincoln, was a woman known for the extraordinary strength of her mind among the family and all who knew her; she was superior to her husband in every way. She was a brilliant woman, a woman of great good sense and morality. Those who knew her best, with whom I have talked, say she was a woman of pale complexion, dark hair, sharp features, high forehead, bright keen gray or hazel eyes. Thomas Lincoln and his wife were really happy in each other's presence, loved one another. Thomas Lincoln was not a lazy man, but a [undeciphered], a piddler, always doing but doing nothing great, was happy, lived easy and contented. Had but few wants and supplied them easily. His wants were limited by wanting few things. Sally was a quick-minded woman and of extraordinary mind. She was industrious, more so than Abraham. Abe worked almost alone from the head, whilst she labored both. Her good-humored laugh I can see now, is as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. She could, like her brother Abe, meet and greet a person with the very kindest greeting in the world., make you easy at the touch and word. Here mind, though my brother's wife, was an intellectual and intelligent woman. However, not so much as her mother. My brother William Grigsby and John D. Johnston, a stepbrother of Abe, had a severe fight; it was tended by all around the neighborhood, coming eighteen miles; strong men came, bullies came. Abe was there. Abe and my brother first had the quarrel; Abe, being larger and stronger than my brother, turned over his stepbrother to do the fighting; so they met, fought, fought a half-mile from Gentryville. There was a store there and probably a grocery, and a blacksmith's shop. This was the town then of Gentryville. Johnston was badly hurt, but not whipped. My brother was unhurt, seriously so; Johnston and my brother were brave strong men.

A. Lincoln came here in 1844 and made a speech for Clay. It was a Clay election in Illinois for the race between Polk and Clay. Lincoln spoke here, once, once at Rockport, and once at Carlin township about three-quarters of a mile from the home farm. Lincoln in early years -- say from 1820 to '25 was tending towards Democracy. He afterwards changed. Parties at this time Jackson, Adams, and others. What changed Lincoln I don't remember. We were all Jackson boys and men at this time in Indiana.

Lincoln did go to New Orleans; He went to New Orleans about 1828, with a man by the name of Allen Gentry, who took as well as owned the supercargo to New Orleans. The goods were sold down on the river. Abe went as a bow hand, working the foremost oars, getting $8.00 per month from the time of the starting to the returning home. Gentry paid his way back on a boat. This I know. He made rails for Crawford, took jobs of work sometimes, would go to the river, the Ohio thirteen or sixteen miles distant and there work. It is sixty miles to the Wabash, he did work on the Wabash, but on the Ohio. Lincoln did not work on the Louisville [undeciphered], but he may have done it nevertheless.

Lincoln did write what is called the Book of Chronicles, a satire on the Grigsbys and Josiah Crawford, not the schoolmaster, but the man who loaned Lincoln the Life of Washington. The satire was good, sharp, cutting, and showed the genius of the boy; it hurt us then, but it's all over now. There is now no family in the broad land who after this loved Lincoln so well and who now look upon him as so great a man. We all voted for him. All that could, children and grown children. I was for Lincoln and Hamlin first, last, and always. Second election I was at Decatur, Alabama, in the service of the United States.

We had political discussions from 1825 to 1830, the year Lincoln left for Illinois. We attended them, heard questions discussed, talked everything over, and in fact wore it out. We learned much in this way.

I said heretofore that Abraham made his mark of manhood even while in Indiana. His mind and the ambition of the man soared above us. He naturally assumed the leadership of the boys. He read and thoroughly read his book whilst we played. Hence he rose above us and became our guide and leader, and in this position he never failed to be the leader. He was kind, jocular, witty, wise, honest, just, human, full of integrity, energy, and activity. When he appeared in company the boys would gather and cluster around him to hear his talk. He made fun and cracked his jokes, making all happy, but the jokes and fun were at no man's expense. He wounded no man's feelings.

Mr. Lincoln was figurative in his speeches, talks and conversations. He argued much from analogy and explained things hard for us to understand by stories, maxims, tales, and figures. Her would almost always point his lesson or idea by some story that was plain and near us, that we might instantly see the force and bearing of what he said.

Never heard in the family or out of it that the Lincolns were Quakers coming from Pennsylvania. The history is that they came from Virginia.