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Archiver > APG > 2007-11 > 1194189476


From: Katherine Flynn <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Abraham Lincoln in 1840
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 07:17:56 -0800 (PST)
In-Reply-To: <000a01c81eea$bb775680$2101a8c0@YOUR58BA15CF1B>


Dear All,

The problem is that while, yes, this is the correct Speed - he is enumerated alone.

Separately to the original poster (Desta Elliott) - I sent the following fabulous resource - a day-by-day timeline of Lincoln's whereabouts based on contemporary documents. As you will see Lincoln was quite mobile in the time period of the enumeration traveling the court circuit.

http://www.thelincolnlog.org/view

Particularly in the section for browsing:
http://www.thelincolnlog.org/view/1840/6

where one can go forwards and backwards by month.

As far as we could tell he is not enumerated by name anywhere in Illinois but still could have been enumerated "in bulk" as it were in one of the boarding houses/hotels. Note in Springfield itself there are several entries of a single head of household with 19 or more young men tabulated but not named. Of course, this group knows all too well the variations of enumerations in 1840 as to who is correctly listed on Day B when asked who was there on Day A in the past and other misunderstandings.

Ironically in 1841 Lincoln was a lawyer on a case involving a lawsuit against an enumerator for false data!

Sincerely,
Kathy Flynn

"Richard A. Pence" <> wrote:
"Barbara J. Mathews" wrote:


> You know, I do find a J. F. Speed in Springfield in 1840, age 20-30, on
> page
> http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=8057&iid=ILM704_69-0005&fn=J+F&ln=Speed&st=r&ssrc=&pid=3098572
> on ancestry.com.
>
> Do you think that could be Joshua?

Very likely. I know from later correspondence of Lincoln that Joshua's
middle initial was F. The age is right to be Joshua Speed and the name is
found so infrequently that it surely must be the guy.

If it is, you would expect to find another male in the household, probably
in the age bracket of 31-40 as Lincoln would have been 31. BUT it appears
from this record that Speed was living alone or at least he did not report
Lincoln living with him.

Richard P.






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