Remembering Sarah Her Old Kentucky Home

Remembering Sarah Her Old Kentucky Home. The Most Famous Stepmother In American History . The Sarah Bush Johnson Lincoln Memorial Cabin was erected in Kentucky's Bicentennial year, 1992, from 122 year-old hand-hewn logs. This 14' x 14' log cabin is a close replica of the one that Johnston was living in at the time she wed Thomas Lincoln on December 2, 1819. Sarah eventually became known as the most famous stepmother in American History. This cabin serves to present interesting facts about Sarah's life here in Kentucky. , , The old log house of Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln became a familiar image on postcards originating from Elizabethtown after George Alfred Carpenter, great-grandson of Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby and a former Confederate soldier residing in the town immortalized the humble abode in print. , , Carpenter received a copyright on the popular print, F 58755, on October 7, 1907. The image was originally circulated in a sepia duotone. By 1912 the same postard image, still being produced in Germany, was sold in color with a Litho-Chrome Trademark. , ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶ . , Abraham Lincoln never resided in his stepmother's Elizabethtown Cabin but after the death of his father in 1851 he retained a 40-acre plot of land in Illinois in his own name "for Mother while she lives," and otherwise tended to her welfare as best as he could from a distance. His last visit with her was on his way to Washington for his inauguration. She died in in 1869. , , Sarah Bush was born in Hardin County, Kentucky on December 13, 1788. She was the third daughter of Christopher and Hannah Bush - one of nine children. , , Sarah, more often referred to as 'Sally' or 'Sairy' by those close to her, met a young Thomas Lincoln working in Elizabethtown before marrying her Daniel Johnston on March 13, 1806. The Johnston's had three children: John, Elizabeth and Matilda. Daniel Johnston was frequently in debt; however, in 1814 he was appointed Jailer of the county and the family was provided living quarters in a corner of the jail. Sarah cooked for the inmates and kept the jail clean. , , In 1816, Daniel Johnston died of cholera leaving Sarah with no money and without a home. Her and the children moved into a 14' x 14' log cabin owned by Samuel Haycraft. According to a deed lodged for record in the Hardin County Clerk's deed book G page 213, Johnston bought the house and lot where she was living from Haycraft on February 12, 1817. , , In the fall of 1819, Thomas Lincoln returned to Elizabethtown as a widow and learned that Sarah was also widowed. After a brief courtship the two were married on December 2, 1819. The newlyweds, with the three young Johnston’s and the contents from the cabin that included some books, returned to Indiana to join Abraham and his sister, Sarah. , , Sarah lovingly filled the place of Abraham Lincoln’s own mother and encouraged him in the pursuit of his reading and studies. The books she brought from her old Kentucky home-the Bible, Aesop's Fables, The Pilgrim's Progress and Lessons in Elocution a selection of pieces in prose and verse for the improvement of youth in reading and speaking that included elements of gesture-laid groundwork for meaningful public service. , , Almost ten years after becoming the second Mrs. Lincoln, Johnston's little cabin was sold to Thomas J. Wathen on September 8, 1829. The deed conveying title from the Lincolns was recorded in deed book L page 219 of the Hardin County Clerk. The document stated that both Thomas and Sarah appeared at the Clerk's office and was questioned by Samuel Haycraft, Hardin County Clerk, during the transaction. This is the last known trip to Elizabethtown by Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. , (captions) , Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln Photo courtesy of Hardin County Historical Society archive collection , , Photograph courtesy Hardin County Clerk Deed Post 219