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128. William G. Greene to William H. Herndon.

Tallula Ills Jany 23rd 1866

Friend Herndon

Yours 16th Inst at hand Mr Lincoln was considered an Intelligent well Read young man when he first Located at New Salem especially for those Times. I am not positive as to the year he wrote Potery in relation to Mrs. Noah Gordon & her Geese, my impression is that it was 1825 I have seen the Poetry it was charmingly good I thought he was well pleased with his effort himself. It is all Bosh that Mrs any body ever made Buckskin Breeches for Lincoln after he came to New Salem Mr Lincoln never Courted to my Knowledge but Two Girls in this Co the 1st a Miss Ann Rutledge he would have married her but she sickened & died the 2nd one was a Miss Owens of Greene Co. Ky she was a verry Talented Lady as much or more so than any Lady I ever Knew she and Lincoln disagreed a bout carrying a Neighbors child when on some ramble (or in other words what was true potiteness) neither would yield a hairs breadth great God Herndon is not strange

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that it takes this peculiar Freaks or trates to make great Men & women too Miss Owens succeeded well in life too. Lincoln never thought of learning any Trade to my Knowledge after he came to New Salem

Verry Truly,
W G Greene

Library of Congress: Herndon-Weik Collection. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. 2436; Huntington Library: LN2408, 1:483 — 84

nts

Notes.

1. Cf. §83.

2. See the index for references to this dispute.