A Few Things You Might Not Have Known About Abraham Lincoln

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.


* Lincoln had a wart on his right cheek, a scar on his thumb from an axe accident, and a scar over his right eye from a fight with a gang of thieves.

* He loved the writings of Edgar Allan Poe.

* As a six-foot teenager, Lincoln once lifted a chicken pen that weighed 600 pounds.

* Lincoln and his wife held many seances in the White House. They were greatly interested in psychic phenomena.

* Lincoln never slept in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. It was named that because it was created as a guest room during renovations under the supervision of Mary Todd Lincoln.

* Lincoln is the only president to have a patent. He created a hydraulic system that raised ships over shoals.

* He read the Bible daily.

* He had a horse named Old Bob, dogs named Fido and Jip, two goats named Nanny and Nanko, and a turkey named Jack. Lincoln was also fond of cats, and took in many kittens.

Lincoln's dog Fido.

* He once walked over six miles to borrow a grammar book.

* Lincoln had a substitute fight for him during the Civil war. He was not a paid substitute. J. Summerfield Staples was the son of an Army chaplain. He heard that Lincoln felt the president should fight in the war, but couldn't because of his duties. Staples volunteered and was allowed to serve as a substitute for Lincoln. Both Staples and his father survived the war and returned home to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. If you go to the local cemetery there, you can visit his grave.



* He gave his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, while suffering from smallpox. He spoke to about 15,000 people.

* Lincoln played marbles to relieve stress during the Civil War.

* Lincoln had a dream right before the fall of Richmond that he would die. He dreamed he was in the White House and heard crying. When he found the room it was coming from, he asked who died. The man who was crying said, "The president." Lincoln looked into the coffin and saw his own face. A week later, he was assassinated.



* Lincoln was shot during the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. The same play was running at the McVerick Theater in Chicago on May 18, 1860 -the same day Lincoln was nominated for president in that city.

* Lincoln was carried across the street from Ford's Theater after he was shot. He died in the same bed and room that John Wilkes Booth had rented on an earlier occasion.


The part about the seances is very true and was conducted by Belle Laurie Miller, a distant relative of mine. I would like to see a post about her. She would play the piano and it would rise. Lincoln did not believe her, so he sat on the piano and again it rose up. He had friends over to see it for themselves. To me it is interesting because my mom, my sister, my aunt, and me all have this ability to sense things. We just discovered out relation of Belle Laurie Miller so it all makes sense. Great article!
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He was a terrible president - in fact I would rate him dead last. No one man did more damage to our Constitution or our nation. He was a virulent racist - even for his time. He was the first to introduce an Income Tax (in violation of the Constitution). He had hundreds of newspaper editors imprisoned - their "crime?" - criticizing his actions as president and he issued executive orders that "suspended" the civil rights of millions of Americans - and that was in the "Union" States. He was also, by any standard, one of the top war criminals of all time.

The blood of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children are on his hands - if there is a hell, you can rest assured he's cooking there.
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Also, he coined the term "Michigander" while describing Governor Lewis Cass in 1848. Granted, that might only be important to 3% of the population, but I still thought it was cool when I found it out.
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Very fascinating piece Eddie. When reviewing the life of Honest Abe, I truly believe the things he stood for and accomplished as a human being far outweigh those he did as a president. He was a man who knew that life was not going to be easy, and that things would not be handed to him on a silver platter. But I am quite surprised, Eddie that you didn't mention perhaps the one feat that saved arguably thousands of lives...his experience as a Vampire killer. Man...what Hollywood won't stoop to. What's next? Grover Cleveland...Exorcist!
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According to Team of Rivals, he wasn't interested in seances in order to connect with the dead. He knew it was all fake; he enjoyed the showmanship. He was interested in learning the "mentalists"' tricks.
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