Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in his home in Kentucky. He was given the same name as his grandfather and had no middle name. Abraham's parents were Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. He had two other siblings. They were Sarah Grigsby and Thomas Jr., but Thomas Jr. died when he was just a baby. When Abraham was 8 years old, his mother Nancy died of milk sickness at the age of 34. His father later remarried Sarah Bush Lincoln. She had already had 3 children. John, Mathilde and Elizabeth. Abraham truly loved Sarah. Abraham's father, Thomas, was very against slavery. Abraham was a very intelligent man but he was only in school for about 18 months in total. He was homeschooled by his stepmother Sarah. She taught him to read and write. He read when he was at home so he wouldn't have to work with his father anymore, even though he was very good at using an axe. He even helped his father build log cabins. Abraham had many different jobs. He was a rail divider, river boatman and village postmaster, but none of these jobs satisfied him. At one time he even opened a general store in Salem, but it failed. He later even became a successful lawyer. In 1832, Lincoln ran for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, but lost. He won election to state office in 1934 and served in the Illinois State Legislature from 1834 to 1842. Abraham served in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849 At the end of his term, he returned to Springfield to practice law. He became a lawyer and a very good lawyer. He was given the nickname “Honest Abe” because everyone respected him so much. He joined the Republican camp because he was against slavery. Abraham wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. The first draft with...... middle of paper ......n. After that, Robert, Thomas and Mary moved to Chicago and he completed his law studies at the University of Chicago. On September 24, 1868, Robert Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan. They had two daughters and a son. Mary "Mamie" Lincoln was born on October 15, 1869. Abraham Lincoln II was born on August 14, 1873. His nickname was Jack. Jessie Harlan Lincoln was born on November 6, 1875. Robert was very worried about his mother. He committed her to a mental hospital in Batavia, Illinois in 1875. Mary did not like this and wrote letters to many people trying to show that she should not have to be hospitalized , but Robert stood by what he thought and even the principal at Bellevue told the jury at Mary's trial that she would benefit from treatment. While Mary tried to escape her son's decision, she and Robert never fully reconciled and remained estranged from each other..