Researching genealogy often reveals the forgotten details of history. And, the more I encounter these smaller stories of our past the more I realize that our modern times are not as different as we are led to believe. Perhaps some things never really change.
This is a continuation of last week’s story about a letter Abraham Lincoln wrote to Samuel Haycraft Jr., of Elizabethtown, KY. Samuel Haycraft Jr., received several letters from Abraham Lincoln. The first letter, and the topic of last week’s blog, was dated May 28, 1860, soon after Lincoln secured the nomination of the Republican Party. In this first letter, Lincoln was responding to Haycraft’s apparent inquiry about Lincoln’s family history and place of birth. Haycraft wasn’t just being nosey; he had a lifelong interest in history and later wrote a comprehensive history of Elizabethtown. The fact is that he likely remembered the Lincoln name from several encounters between the Haycraft and Lincoln families. You see, in 1796, before Abraham’s birth, Thomas Lincoln (Abraham’s father) was employed for a time by Samuel Haycraft Sr. to work on a mill near Elizabethtown. And later, during the several years that the Thomas Lincoln family lived near Elizabethtown, Thomas Lincoln was involved in several land suits. These suits would have caused him to become acquainted with Samuel Haycraft Jr., then a young clerk of the county court. As you know, Lincoln responded to Mr. Haycraft’s letter with a brief explanation of his family and knowledge of the clerks that had served Hardin County, Kentucky.
On May 31, 1860, Haycraft again wrote to Lincoln suggesting that perhaps he might enjoy visiting the place of his birth and early childhood. Lincoln jokingly responded to Haycraft with the question, “Would not the people lynch me?” Remember that this was an election year, and Kentucky was a slave state. But, just as in today’s time, politicians must be especially careful what they say. Yes, you may have thought, like I, that we live uniquely in a time of the media sound bite and that in the past politicians didn’t have to be as careful about every utterance. But no, as you will see, even in Lincoln’s time things could easily be misconstrued and taken out of context.
It appears that Lincoln related his exchanges with Haycraft to others there in Springfield, Illinois. I can just picture him telling his pals about his clever and “funny” response to Haycraft, about being lynched if he were to travel to Kentucky to visit the place of his birth. Now, about the time of this correspondence between these two men, a reporter from the New York Herald was hanging around Springfield, Illinois, to gather some material for a story on Lincoln. The reporter either overheard Lincoln relate the tale of the clever quip to Haycraft or was told the story by some other person. Later, Lincoln had no recollection of talking to the reporter about his correspondence with Haycraft.
The result was, that, in early August of 1860 the following appeared in the New York Herald:
“He (Lincoln) had, he said, on an occasion been invited to go into Kentucky and revisit some of the scenes with whose history his father in his lifetime had been identified. On asking by letter whether “Judge Lynch” would be present he received no response and he therefore came to the conclusion that the invitation was a trap laid by some designing person to inveigle him into a slave state for the purpose of doing violence to his person.”
This was just the type of press a presidential candidate did NOT need. A few days after the publication of the article, Lincoln wrote to Samuel Haycraft, embarrassed no doubt, He explained that the New York Herald reporter had misconstrued his words. Lincoln wrote:
“This is wholly a mistake. I said no such thing. I do not remember, but I did possibly mention my correspondence with you, but very certainly I was not guilty of stating or intimating a suspicion of any intended violence, deception, or any other wrong against me by you or any other Kentuckian.”
Lincoln was so eager to set the record straight that he also wrote to a leader of the Republican National Committee asking for assistance in getting the newspaper to issue a correction. Later the paper did publish a correction in which they stated that their reporter had been mistaken in representing Lincoln as having been suspicious of those in Kentucky.
Samuel Haycraft seems to have had little concern for the issue and wrote back to Lincoln:
“The remark about the Lynching no man of sense would have understood it in any other way than a little playfulness & pleasantry on your part -- I at least so understood it, and was about to reply to it in the same humor, that a visit here would subject you to a good many assaults-- But they would be for office under you, as it was regarded as a foregone conclusion that you would be the next Prest. …”
These were private letters and it is obvious that Haycraft could appreciate the humor of a comment made in jest. There were no hard feelings and perhaps Lincoln had learned the hard political lesson that anything you say, could appear in the headlines the next day. And, that what you do say, might be altered for effect and removed from context. Haycraft and Lincoln exchanged several more letters and after Lincoln won the presidential election, Haycraft wrote to Lincoln, expressing his support for the country’s new leader:
“I have an abiding confidence, and that our Southern fire-eaters will find (if they give you time to show your hand) that you are conservative Cheif of the Nation in a national point of view that is the President of the United States and not a sectional ruler -- Altho Kentucky gave you but a small vote, you will find her clinging on to the Union, and honestly aiding you in the very arduous duties that lie before you. It will no doubt require all your wisdom and skill to conduct the Ship of State through the breakers, and it should be our duty, and I hope will be the pleasure of all good and true men to stand by you in the conflict -- and I hope that all may be well and the unity of the States preserved—“
Let’s face it; the media has a history of valuing shock and controversy over accuracy. Of course Lincoln only had the newspapers to worry about.
-Mary
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