Pages 120-122

SOME FACTS IN RELATION TO LINCOLN’S STOREKEEPING.—
ERROR IN HERNDON’S BIOGRAPHY.—MR. LINCOLN A JUDGE IN HORSE-RACES.

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When Mr. Lincoln ran for the legislature in 1832 and was defeated by Mr. Cartwright it was no disparagement to him, for Mr. Cartwright was one of the strongest and most popular men in the country, but it was a stimulus to greater activity by him, and it is probable that it was a providential thing that he was not elected, for he was only twenty-three years old and had never applied himself to that diligent study which prepared him for the great duties that he was afterward called upon to perform. After his defeat he applied himself industriously to his books, so that in 1834, when he was two years older and considerable wiser, his friends brought him out again for representative. He was elected by a handsome majority and was re-elected in ’36, ’38 and ’40, serving four terms, in all eight years, and in 1846 was elected to Congress.

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I will now go back a little and state a few facts in regard to Mr. Lincoln’s store-keeping, and how he became involved in a debt that hung over him for many years, for there have been many misstatements regarding it. When Mr. Lincoln kept the postoffice, the profits of the office did not afford him a fair living, and it confined him indoors so that he could not pursue any other occupation. There was a young man by the name of William Berry, who lived four miles from town with his father, Rev. John Berry, who was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister and a man of considerable property. William had attended the Jacksonville college and was a smart, intelligent young man, but inclined to be a little bit wild. His father, knowing the good habits of Mr. Lincoln, induced him to take William into partnership, and they purchased a store, paying a small part down and giving their notes for the balance. They kept the store in the same building with the postoffice and had as fair a trade, I think, as any of the other merchants in the town. The story told in W. H. Herndon’s life of Lincoln, that after they had bought the first store they bought a second and then a third store on credit, and that Mr. Lincoln tried to get Berry to borrow money from his father to buy a fourth store, is all a fabrication. Mr. Lincoln was careful in all his dealings and was disposed to have too much confidence in men; being honest himself, he wanted to believe that other men were the same. He finally sold out his interest to his partner, who was to pay the debts. But young Berry soon after took to drinking, made some bad debts and took sick and died before the debt on the store was paid. It was the opinion of many persons at New Salem that the father of William Berry should have paid off the indebtedness and relinquished Mr. Lincoln, for it was through his influence that the boy had been taken as a partner. Mr. Lincoln was too honest to let the debt go, and, keeping the interest up, the first money he could save from his salary, when he was elected to Congress in 1846, he sent to his law partner, W. H. Herndon, to pay off the old debt.

Mr. Lincoln was very popular in and around New Salem, for in all his dealings he had been both honest and truthful, and had the respect of all who knew him, which was shown in his race for

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the legislature in 1832, when he received all but seven or eight of the 300 votes in his precinct.

New Salem, at the time Mr. Lincoln lived there, was a great place of resort for the young men to gather on Saturdays. The Clary Grove boys, the Island Grove boys, the Sangamon River boys and the Sand Ridge boys, each designated by the part of the country from which they came, would gather there to indulge in horse racing, foot racing, wrestling, jumping, ball playing and shooting at a mark. Mr. Lincoln would generally take a lay-off for part of the day and join in the sport. He was very stout and active and was a match for any of them. I do not think he bet on any of the games or races, but they had so much confidence in his honesty, and that he would see fair play, that he was often chosen as a judge to determine the winner, and his decisions were always regarded as just. He would generally speak on the subject of internal improvement and of the great resources of the State of Illinois, of its advantages over other states, and of the wonderful opportunities that lay in store for the young men of Illinois if they would only improve them. In those speeches he very seldom touched on politics, so everyone was pleased and none offended, the meeting generally closing with three cheers for Lincoln and general handshaking. The people would go home happy, and few of them would come in town again until the next Saturday.

Mr. Lincoln was not only chosen as a judge in horse races, but was often the arbiter in disputes between his neighbors, and saved them many expensive law suits. A justice of the peace came into his office one day and complained that he had been cruelly wronged him; that he had deprived him of many fine fees by interfering with his business. Mr. Lincoln replied that he could not bear to see his neighbors spend their money in litigation and become enemies for life when he could prevent it. When these cases were brought before him he would generally give satisfaction to both parties, and when one was in the wrong he would point out to him his error and convince him of it before he left.

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