Regional Campus Calendar

The latest installment of the Living History at Your Library series focuses on Kentucky native and American president Abraham Lincoln with “I, too, am a Kentuckian” on Tuesday, April 26 at 6PM.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), as portrayed by Jim Sayre, was born in what is now LaRue County, Kentucky, and lived in the state for much of his early childhood. When he was 7, his family moved to Indiana partially due to his father’s aversion to slavery.

After moving away from Kentucky, Lincoln still retained ties to the state. Lincoln eventually became part of a law firm in Springfield, Illinois, where he had a law partner named William Herndon from Green County, Kentucky. Lincoln’s best friend, Joshua Speed, also hailed from Kentucky being the son of the prominent Louisville Speed family. However, the most notable Kentucky link of Lincoln is that of his wife, Mary Todd, the daughter of a well- known Lexington family.

With all of Lincoln’s connections to Kentucky, he made frequent trips to Kentucky visiting his in-laws and the Speed family. Additionally, Lincoln cited the Kentucky statesman Henry Clay as his political hero.

Nonetheless, while Lincoln served as president during the Civil War he was unpopular among Kentuckians. Despite that, his statement “I, too, am a Kentuckian” held truth. Abraham Lincoln has gone down in history as one of the most important individuals in American history - a panel of historians named him the most influential American to ever live.

The event is part of the ongoing Living History at Your Library series and is sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council, an independent, non-profit corporation affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Future installments will feature, among others Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark.

For more information about the event, contact the Library at (502) 624-1232.