Tag: Mary Homan Lincoln

Posted on

Col. Abraham Lincoln (1799-1851)

Col. Abraham Lincoln’s gravestone in the Lincoln Family Cemetery.

Colonel Abraham Lincoln, son of Captain Jacob and Dorcas Lincoln, was born on March 15, 1799. In the first few years of his life, his parents built and moved into the Lincoln Homestead. Abraham was the last boy born to Jacob and Dorcas and he lived with them until after his father passed away in 1822. Abraham married Mary Homan on October 26, 1826, when he was 27 years old. Together they had four daughters from 1827-1837, and one who passed away as an infant. Abraham and Mary first lived together in a “substantial log structure” situated on land he had inherited from his farther near where Virginia John’s house burned down in 1791. In 1837, Abraham purchased the shares of the Lincoln Homestead owned by his sisters Elizabeth Chrisman and Abigail Coffman. Though a record of it has not survived, Abraham’s will also recorded that he purchased his sister Dorcas Strayer’s share from her husband John. [1]

In 1840, when Dorcas Lincoln passed away, Abraham and Mary moved into the Lincoln Homestead and began construction on the rear ell addition. Completed in 1841 or 1842, this structure was likely one of the areas on the property where enslaved people lived and worked; though there are no records which detail exactly which kinds of labor the Lincolns’ enslaved people did at the Homestead, it is highly probable that enslaved labor could have helped build the structure, since Abraham owned 16 enslaved people in 1840. [2]

This image shows the main home and the rear ell of the Lincoln Homestead. The rear ell was initially its own structure when Col. Abraham and Mary Lincoln constructed it in the 1840s.

Abraham ran a substantial farm on the Lincoln Homestead. In 1850, one year before his death, the cash value of the Lincoln Homestead was over $26,000. The Lincolns were growing wheat, corn, hay, rye, oats, potatoes, and barley. Additionally, they had significant amounts of livestock, including 70 cattle, 13 horses, 40 swine and 100 sheep. As did many other farmers in the Valley, Abraham sold his livestock and other products from the farm to various markets in Virginia, particularly Richmond. Abraham seems to have worked primarily with two men named Jacob and John Shook, regularly corresponding with them in the 1840s. In a letter sent from Richmond on August 24, 1849, Jacob Shook advised Abraham that “our beef market has been thinly supplied” and that “there have been no hogs in yet… [but he thought] those that come in tolerably early will get the best price.” Abraham also wrote to Samuel Hartley in Winchester to inquire about the price that flour would get in the market there: “Mr. A Lincoln….I have sent you the price [of flour] in July + Sept 1837.” Abraham also used products from the Homestead as payment for goods. In May 1850, Robert B. Winslow wrote to Abraham to inform him that the machine he had ordered would be ready for him on June 1st and “if [Abraham had] Bacon for sale, [he] may send about 200 lbs, hog round.” Under Abraham, the Lincoln Homestead continued to be a prolific farm. [3]

Col. Abraham Lincoln’s signature on a letter from 1847.

            Kate Pennybacker, Abraham Lincoln’s granddaughter, described him as a “good businessman, of a jovial disposition, humorous and witty. He had a gift for dealing with people.” She also described Abraham as very afraid of fire; he had his fear of fire realized when his barn was burned down by an enslaved man named Squire. Abraham served as a Colonel in the 145th Virginia militia in Rockingham County from 1840 – 1850. In 1851, Abraham passed away at the age of 52. In his will, he divided his property between his wife Mary and his four daughters. Mary was given the Lincoln Homestead and the 200 acres originally belonging to Jacob Lincoln, as well as “the whole of [the] household and Kitchen furniture…. horses, four cows, and twenty hogs also one of my wagons.” Additionally, Abraham wished her to have his “slaves Kate and Jerry, Rachel, and her four children, Ben, George, Lucinda, and Isaac and [his] two men, [name burnt] and Henry.” The remainder of his enslaved people were “equally divided between [his daughters] according to the value of said Slaves.” His three unmarried daughters – Caroline, Josephine, and Dorcas Sarah – were each given an equal share of the rest of his land, while his married daughter Mary Elizabeth Maupin was given the land and the interest on the land where she was already living with her husband Dr. Richard S Maupin. Because Abraham did not have sons to pass his wealth on to, his daughters were able to inherit a significant amount of wealth and property, much of which passed through three generations of the Lincoln family. [4]

Dorcas Robinson Lincoln
Mary Lincoln and Mary E. Maupin

[1] John Wayland, The Lincolns in Virginia (Staunton: The McClure Company, Inc., 1946), 181; Joseph Chrisman and Joseph and Abigail Coffman, “Indenture between Joseph Chrisman and Joseph Coffman and Abigail his wife,” September 4, 1837, Lincoln Family Papers 1746 – 1939, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, MMC-0975, Accession no. 6065A; Abraham Lincoln, “Last Will of Abraham Lincoln,” May 14, 1851, Records of Rockingham County, Virginia, Circuit Court, Will Book A, 197. In his will, Jacob Lincoln gave the Homestead and the 200 acres it was on to Dorcas for the rest of her life and then wanted it to be sold and the profits divided between his daughters Elizabeth, Abigail, and Dorcas. The indenture was made by Elizabeth’s husband Joseph Chrisman because Elizabeth passed away in 1824, two years after Jacob died.

[2] United States Census Bureau. “United States Census, 1840, Virginia, United States.” Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1840.

[3] United States Census Bureau, “United States Census Non-Population Schedules – Agriculture, 1850, Virginia,” Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850; Wayland, The Lincolns in Virginia, 185; Jacob Shook to Col. Abraham Lincoln, August 24, 1849, Lincoln Family Scrapbook, Lincoln Family Papers 1746 – 1939, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, MMC-0975; Samuel Hartley to Mr. A Lincoln, February 12, 1837, Lincoln Family Scrapbook, Lincoln Family Papers 1764 – 1939, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, MMC-0975; Robert B. Winslow to Abraham Linkin Esq., May 27, 1850, Lincoln Family Scrapbook, Lincoln Family Papers 1764 – 1939, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, MMC-0975.

[4] Wayland, The Lincolns in Virginia, 188; Abraham Lincoln, “Last Will of Abraham Lincoln,” May 14, 1851, Records of Rockingham County, Virginia, Circuit Court, Will Book A, 197.

Posted on

Mary Homan Lincoln and Mary Elizabeth Maupin

            Mary Homan was born on October 24, 1802, to John and Mary (Robinson) Homan. On October 26, 1826, two days after her twenty-fourth birthday, Mary and Colonel Abraham Lincoln were married. The couple had four daughters from 1827 – 1837, and one who passed away as an infant. Abraham and Mary first lived in a log home on Virginia John’s land until 1840, when Mary’s mother-in-law Dorcas Lincoln passed away. At that time, they moved into the Lincoln Homestead and began building the rear ell addition, completed in either 1841 or 1842. Mary lived on the Homestead for over 30 years. Similarly to Dorcas, Mary would have been responsible for running the household while Abraham managed the farm and sale of the goods produced on the farm; she would have spent a lot of her time cooking, making cloth and clothing, tending to vegetable gardens, taking care of her children, and managing the household and enslaved people. Though this work was focused on the home, it was key to the “prosperity and comfort” of her family.[1]

This is the only image of the Lincoln Homestead with its original portico and small-pane windows. Source: JMU Special Collections

Also, similarly to Dorcas, Mary outlived Abraham by about 23 years. During that time, she would have been the sole person managing the Homestead. Not only did she have to manage everything for herself, but she also had to do it throughout the Civil War. While other Southern women suddenly had to manage their farms and enslaved people by themselves for the first time, Mary already had ten years of practice. Women were an important part of the Confederacy’s war effort; they made clothes and other supplies for soldiers, nursed soldiers when they became sick or wounded, and often had to give up their goods to support the Confederacy. They also served an important ideological role in the war: women were “essential to the formulation and articulation of Confederate nationalism” and supported the “ideal that….Confederate women should inspire their husbands and sons with the courage to do battle, and then cheerfully send them off.” The Shenandoah Valley witnessed significant military action throughout the conflict, and Mary would have had to work hard to keep the farm running while also maintaining control of her enslaved people. [2]

In the 1860 census, Mary Elizabeth Maupin – Abraham and Mary’s oldest daughter – was living in the Homestead with her mother, as her husband had passed away five years previously. Mary and Mary Elizabeth both directly supported the Confederacy. Not only did each woman own at least ten enslaved people, but they provided support for the Confederate Army numerous times. From 1862 – 1864, Mary Lincoln received payment from the army for the sale of straw, corn, hay, and for allowing them to hire a “1-4 horse Wagon Team & Teamster for 3 days.” Similarly, Mary Elizabeth sold them corn, flour, hay, and allowed the Confederacy to pasture their horses on her land several times from 1862 – 1864. [3]

This is a receipt for a payment Mary Lincoln received in 1862 from the Confederacy. Source: National Archives and Record Administration through Fold3

In 1864, the Lincoln Homestead itself became directly involved in the Civil War. General Sheridan of the Union Army began what is known today as “The Burning” from September 26th to October 8th. In an effort to both destroy the crops, livestock, and supplies and dissolve support for the Confederacy, Ulysses S. Grant ordered Sheridan to leave the Valley “a barren waste.” Before it was all over, Sheridan and his men had burned 2,000 barns, 70 mills, and killed thousands of livestock. There were limits, however, to what was allowed to be burned: houses, and the property of widows, single women, and orphans was ordered to be left alone. [4]

This is a drawing titled “Rosser attacking the rear–Oct. 8th 1864 nr. Harrisonburg. Shenandoah Valley” by Alfred R. Waud. It depicts the last day of the Burning. Source: Library of Congress

Despite these orders, when Sheridan’s men reached Linville Creek, Mary and Mary Elizabeth Maupin – both widows – had extensive property burned. Mary had a “total loss” of around $2,200 in damages due to the Burning. This included “350 bushels of wheat, 17 tons of hay and straw [etc.], 12 head of cattle & cows, one barn and corn crib, one carriage house.” Mary Elizabeth lost “670 bush. wheat, 100 bushels corn, 25 tons hay [and straw etc.], one barn” resulting in a “total loss” of $2,000. Unfortunately, it is not possible to know for sure why Sheridan’s men disobeyed their orders and burned the property of these two widows. It could be that they knew that there was a familial connection between the Lincoln Homestead and President Lincoln. Perhaps the soldiers recognized that the Homestead was being supported by numerous enslaved people freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. [5]

Col. Abraham Lincoln
Enslavement at the Lincoln Homestead

[1] Cynthia A. Kierner, “‘Skillfull in Anie Country Worke’: Red, White, and Black in Colonial Virginia,” in Changing History: Virginia Women Through Four Centuries (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 2013), 30.

[2] Jennifer R. Loux, “‘A Constant State of Hopes and Fears’: Women in the Secession Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction,” in Changing History: Virginia Women Through Four Centuries (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 2013), 141, 147, and 149-155.

[3] United States Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1860, Virginia, United States,” Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860; United States Census Bureau, “United States Census Slave Schedule, 1860, Virginia,” Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860; “Mary Lincoln,” US, Confederate Citizens File, 1861 – 1865, Virginia, The National Archives, 1-19, https://www.fold3.com/file/42156931; “Mary E. Maupin,” US, Confederate Citizens File, 1861 – 1865, Virginia, The National Archives, 1-31, https://www.fold3.com/file/43807988. Dr. Richard S. Maupin passed away in 1855. It seems likely that Mary Elizabeth and her children lived with Mary Lincoln throughout the Civil War. Mary Elizabeth Maupin remarried John D. Pennybacker in August 1865. Mary Lincoln owned 10 enslaved people and Mary Elizabeth owned 12. Mary Elizabeth appears to have owned enslaved people with her children, as she is listed as “Elizabeth Maupin + 2 others.”

[4] “The Burning,” National Park Service, last modified January 30, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-burning-shenandoah-valley-in-flames.htm.

[5] “We continue the publication of the list of damages sustained by citizens of Linvill’s Creek,” Rockingham Register, February 10, 1865, 2, https://www.newspapers.com/ima ge/909930950/; John L. Heatwole, The Burning: Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley (Charlottesville: Rockbridge Publishing, 1998), 164.