Mr. L. P. Hennighausen produced several pieces of evidence at the Society of German History to support the assertion that Abraham Lincoln was of German descent. He thereby differs with the English and American Historians, who take it for granted that Lincoln was the descendant of Mordecai Lincoln, a member of a well-to-do family from New England who is supposed to have settled in New Jersey during the first half of the 18th century. Besides, Lincoln is the name of an old town and of an earldom in England, and also quite a popular family name. It is therefore taken for granted by the Anglo-Americans, that President Lincoln was one of their descendants.

However, there are many proofs existing that Lincoln's ancestors had the German name "Linkhorn", and that his progenitors came from a German settlement in Virginia. President Lincoln himself knew only that his ancestors were Quakers, who lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and from there moved to Rockingham County, Virginia. He also knew that his grandfather, Abraham, in 1780, purchased 2a farm of 400 acres, located about twenty miles from Louisville, Kentucky, for which he paid 160 pounds of colonial money.

In this particular document, the "land warrant" uses the form "Linkhorn" very plainly and definitely. This document, attested by witnesses, is still available.

This Abraham Linkhorn and his wife were killed by Indians in 1786. A son by the name of Thomas survived, who had to labor hard during his childhood, and received no formal schooling. Later Thomas moved to Indiana, where his son, Abraham, was born. Thomas Linkhorn changed his name to "Lincoln". Very frequently Germans changed their names into similar-sounding English names in those days.

If Anglo-American historians maintain that the name "Linkhorn" on that specific document is due to a mistake, then it must be remembered that such could hardly be the case, because it is not probable that an original English name like 3"Lincoln" could be changed by mistake to the German name "Linkhorn".

Besides, it is not difficult to trace the Linkhorn's. They lived in Berks County, Pennyslvania, the most predominantly German county of that state, where the German language is still in popular use, although it is mixed with some English expressions. It is also an established fact that a strong German settlement moved from Berks County, Pennsylvania, to Virginia during the first half of the 18th century. As early as 1750 German missionaries preached to German congregations. Many of these members moved later to Kentucky and Tennessee. Most of these were Quakers, Mennonites, and Dunkards, who considered the use of weapons unchristian.

Abraham Linkhorn was a Quaker. He could read and write, and certainly knew his family name. It must be assumed that he himself spelled his name to that county clerk who issued that land certificate. If a mistake had been made the witnesses would have called his attention to it, inasmuch as it was an important document.

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Mr. Hennighausen also points out that during President Lincoln's life no relative from his father's side ever came forward and announced himself. After his death a reputable English family claimed him as a member. If this claim was true, the traditional pride in an old English lineage would have prevailed in Lincoln's family also. But as already mentioned, Lincoln knew no more about his ancestors than that his grandfather Abraham purchased a farm in Kentucky,--that he called himself "Linkhorn", and that he was a Quaker. This seems to be sufficient evidence that he was the descendant of a German-American family whose ancestors had come from the Rhine or southern Germany, where they were persecuted on account of their faith.

The Anglo-American, perhaps will never admit that Lincoln is of German descent, but so many reasons and pieces of evidence seem to prove this point that it can be reasonably accepted as a fact, of which all German-Americans certainly can be proud.