Lincoln, Love, and Loss

The "Gettysburg Portrait", A head-on photograph of Abraham Lincoln
taken on November 8, 1863; two weeks before his Gettysburg Address.
Photo By Alexander Gardner via Wikimedia Commons

by Georgia Lupinsky

The California Genealogical Society’s newest publication, The Ancestry of Samuel Sterling Sherman and Mary Ware Allen, is now available for purchase on our website. Elegantly written and extremely well researched by CGS past president, Frederick S. (Rick) Sherman, the book provides a series of very personal stories of his ancestors. This is possible because many left detailed written records of their existence and these have been preserved at various institutions in the United States.

For example, a large collection of letters (including fifty-nine love letters) written by Mr. Sherman’s second-great-grandfather, John J. Hardin, born Frankfort, Kentucky in 1810, exist today. A dashing, intelligent and handsome man, Mr. Hardin was licensed to practice law in Kentucky at the age of 19 and was later elected to the Illinois General Assembly.

John J. Hardin, 1810-1847

A Whig, he was a close friend and political ally of Abraham Lincoln. In 1843 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Later Daniel Webster sponsored his entry into the group of lawyers authorized to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A colonel in the Illinois Volunteers during the war with Mexico, he was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista at the age of 37. The memorial ceremony in Jacksonville, Illinois to honor him and others who had died included a parade and speeches that drew an immense crowd, estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000.

The author’s thorough investigation and use of these resources has resulted in a very readable book that illuminates the personal qualities of these individuals and gives us a view into their daily lives.

Copies of the book with its fascinating stories may be purchased on our website at CaliforniaAncestors.org by selecting the Publications tab where CGS members will receive a discount or may be ordered directly from Lulu.com. 

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