This document is the family history and genealogy of Nathan Lincoln (1789 - 1864), with special emphasis on the descendants of his son Harry Latham Lincoln who settled in the vicinity of the Napa Valley. Nathan’s ancestors go back to Thomas Lincoln the Miller (although one generation is in question) and that story, written by William Simpson Lincoln, is contained in Section 1, Part 1 of this publication. I will again express my gratitude to William Simpson Lincoln for his work, and my amazement at the effort it must have entailed. All of his writing repeated in this publication is presented in italics for easy identification.
Nathan had one child by his first wife, who has not been identified, and twelve more by his second wife, Phebe Hayes Lincoln (1799 - 1878). The first seven children were born in Chenango County, New York, and the remaining five were born in Madison and Montgomery counties, Illinois. The birthdates suggest that the Nathan Lincoln family migrated from New York to Illinois in 1831, when Nathan and Phebe were in their early 40’s. The story of the family migration from New York to Illinois is told in Section 1, Part 2 of this publication.
Their sons Nathan M. Lincoln and Harry Latham Lincoln, together with sister Jane’s husband Govan High and cousin Alonzo Lincoln, left home in Illinois and crossed the plains to California in 1850, with Nathan settling near Suisun City north of San Francisco and the others returning to Illinois. In the next ten years he was joined in California by other members of the family, including Nathan and Phebe who made the trip by steamer across the Panama route in 1860 when Nathan was seventy years old. Section 1, Part 3 of this publication covers the Lincoln migration from Illinois to California.
Some of Nathan Lincoln’s family stayed behind in Illinois. In 1869, Charles Henry Lincoln, great grandson of Nathan, left Illinois and went to Seattle, Washington. He was followed by his brother John Beagle Lincoln in 1889, and sister Cora Agusta Lincoln Loucks in 1900. The migration of the Seattle Lincolns is contained in Section 1, Part 4.
The descendants of Nathan scattered mostly around Northern California and Western Washington during the 1900’s. Section 2 of this publication is a formal genealogy with charts and narrative of the descendants of Harry Latham Lincoln of the Napa vicinity. Section 3 covers the remaining West Coast Lincolns in outline form. Section 4 is an alphabetical list of names found in this binder.
Genealogy is a never-ending hobby. Hopefully, this publication will spur others to contribute to the history and genealogy of the West Coast Lincolns.
William Simpson Lincoln, in his book "Our Kin", covered the ancestors of Nathan Lincoln thoroughly.
Excerpts from "Our Kin, Descendants of Joshua Lincoln and Elizabeth Seekins Lincoln of Taunton, Massachusetts", compiled by William Simpson Lincoln.
Pages 2 - 6
As early as the time of William the Conqueror and the Domesday Book of 1086 this family appears on the records of Lincoln County. One Alfred de Lincoln, a Saxon by birth, is recorded on the Domesday records of Lincoln as the owner of many lands. It is said that his estates were saved from confiscation by his marriage to a lady of Norman blood. The family is found later to have been seated for many generations in the town of Hingham, County of Norfolk, England. It is from the Norfolkshire Lincolns that the American Lincolns trace their descent. One, Robert Lincoln, was living in the town of Hingham in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was the father of a son named Robert, who died in 1556, leaving a son Richard. Richard was the father of a son named Edward. The latter had sons, among others, three of whom Thomas, Daniel and Samuel emigrated to America. Thomas left Hingham, England and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1633, and before 1637 we find his two brothers Daniel and Samuel, also with him in the New World. Their father, Edward Lincoln, died at the old home in Hingham, England in 1640, a few years after the three sons had come to America. Daniel did not long survive his arrival in America, passing way unmarried on April 5, 1644. Thomas, it is said, was married twice, the first wife, Susanna and the second, Mary, but he died in 1675 without issue. Therefore, according to the best authorities, Daniel having died while a young unmarried man, and Thomas, while living to be better than three score years and ten and was married twice, died without issue, shatters the tradition that many people by that name (including my own family) have that three brothers came to America and that they are descendants of one or the other of them. However, permit me to say that all of the Lincolns who settled in Hingham, in the early part of the seventeenth century were no doubt relatives, were all shrewd business men, loyal to their adopted country and their descendants have filled many positions of trust and honor, even to the highest office in the gift of the American people, and all served with distinction and honor. We find Lincolns serving in the army from private to the rank of general and to high ranks in the navy, governors, etc., also while some were members of the law making bodies and others filled law enforcement offices, we find others teaching in our public schools and last but not least, some were ministers of the gospel. The record of these early Lincolns and their descendants are such that we should be proud to bear the name, regardless of which one of the early settlers was our forefather.
The eight Lincolns in Hingham, Massachusetts, up to 1637 were as follows: Thomas Lincoln the miller; Thomas Lincoln the husbandman; Thomas Lincoln the cooper; Thomas Lincoln the weaver. Samuel and Daniel, brothers of Thomas Lincoln the weaver and Stephen Lincoln, brother of Thomas the husbandman. Daniel Lincoln, called Daniel the Sergeant, in order to distinguish him from Daniel, the brother of Thomas the weaver, was the father by his wife Susanna, of at least seven children: Susanna, Daniel (died young) Hannah, Daniel, Sarah, Ephram and Rachel.
Thomas Lincoln the miller, came to America in 1635. He was born in England (probably Hingham) in 1603 and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts Bay, 1635. Thomas had married in England and had at least four children before he sailed for the new country. On July 8, 1636, the borough of Hingham, Massachusetts, assigned and granted to him a lot for a house and other land for planting purposes. He followed the trade of miller in Hingham and in Taunton, Massachusetts, to where he moved in 1650. He was very prosperous and accumulated a considerable fortune before his death in 1683. One of the interesting early records shows that the military company of Taunton, Massachusetts, was divided into four squadrons for the guidance of members in attendance of meetings of the "Lord's Day." And as leader of the second squad we find Thomas Lincoln. The order from the City Hall papers reads:
"The courts order is that every soldier bring his armies fixed to meetings when it is his turn, with 6 charges of powder and shot, and if any refuse to perform therein, to be fined two shillings for every such default and 10 shillings if it appears to be in contempt, to be gathered by order from the commissioned officers and by the constables, and if any stay from meeting because they will not bring their armies to meetings, such are to be summoned to court, etc., Therefore fail not of your duty and expect no farther warning."
Thomas Lincoln II, first son of Thomas I, was born about 1628, in England and came to this country with his father. He died about 1720. The fourth child of Thomas II was named Samuel, who was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, on March 16, or 18, 1658, and died in 1704.
It was my desire to have an unbroken chain from Thomas Lincoln, the miller, down to the present time, but in this I have been unsuccessful. In his manuscript, Waldo Lincoln mentions Joshua Lincoln who married Hannah Danforth on April 3, 1746, at Taunton, Massachusetts, but does not give any information as to ancestors or descendants. He does not mention him in his book. From the similarity in names, it would appear that this Joshua is the father of the Joshua who married Elizabeth Seekins, but as to the authenticity of this I have no proof. This book is the history of the descendants from the union of Joshua and Elizabeth Seekins Lincoln and goes to the press with a link in the chain broken.
It is regrettable that finances will not permit the printing of additional material I have gathered during my research work but I do not feel like adding several hundred dollars to the cost of this book with no assurance that more than a small portion will be returned. However, my manuscript will be turned over to the State Library in Olympia, Washington, in the hope that it will be of assistance to some one, with time and finances to compile one of the most complete Lincoln family books that has ever been published. This manuscript, besides other material includes copies of the following:
The Taunton Daily Gazette of January 27, 1906, which published some genealogical records of Thomas Lincoln, the Miller, and the Taunton Herald News, June 26, 1907, which published the addresses of Mr. George W. Chamberlain of the New England Historical Society and Edmund W. Porter at a Lincoln day reunion at Taunton, Massachusetts. Also, a copy of the address of James Miner Lincoln at the Lincoln reunion, Taunton, June 26, 1912. The above records are the valued property of Mrs. Maria Louise Lincoln Brown. Mrs. Brown is the daughter of Horace Wakefield Lincoln and is the tenth generation, her ancestors being as follows: Horace 9, Alonzo 8, Abner 7, Stephen 6, Nathaniel 5, Nathaniel 4, Thomas 3, Thomas 2, Thomas 1. She was married September 12, 1902, at Oakham, Massachusetts, to Windsor Aldrich Brown, M. D., a graduate of the University of Vermont, who practices his profession in Seattle, Washington. Several children have been born to this union, all receiving college degrees.
One of the prized books in the library of Mrs. Dorothy Lincoln Wells, of Richmond, California, is a small memorandum book written in longhand that was found in the effects of her deceased grandmother. Mrs. Wells loaned this book to me to copy but in much of it the ink had so faded that it was necessary to use a magnifying glass to read it. This book deals with the descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the Husbaudman, and is brought down to the birth of Mrs. Wells.
I had the privilege of copying another prized record, a book which is the property of Miss Harriet Lincoln of 1546 Locust Avenue, Long Beach, California. It is also in long hand but in much better condition than that of Mrs. Wells. This book is on the descendants of Thomas Lincoln, the Cooper, and is brought down to Miss Harriet Lincoln's birth. There is no attempt to cover all descendants of either Thomas the Husbandman or Thomas the Cooper, but is confined to the line in which each are descendants.
Recorded in the Vital Records, Taunton, Massachusetts, to 1850, in the State Library at Olympia, Washington, is the marriage of Joshua Lincoln and Hannah Danforth on April 3, 1746, at Taunton, Massachusetts. While we have been unable to find a record that Joshua Lincoln, born in Taunton in 1757, eleven years after the marriage of Joshua Lincoln and Hannah Danforth, was their son, we find that Joshua and Elizabeth Seekins Lincoln named one son Joshua, another Danforth and a daughter Hannah. It could be a coincidence, of course, but for three children to bear the names of two people would indicate that there was a reason for it.
Joshua Lincoln, born in Taunton, Massachusetts, 1757, was sixteen years of age at the time of the Boston Tea Party, and it has come down from one generation to another that he was one of that party. The "History of the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution" records that Joshua Lincoln of Taunton, served almost continually in the army for four years. The history also records that many who assisted in throwing the tea over-board on that memorable night of December 16, 1773, were mere lads. Joshua Lincoln's services are recorded in Volume IX, page 811, and are as follows:
"LINCOLN, JOSHUA, Taunton. List of men who went to Roxbury in December, 1775, with Captain Hodges to serve for 2 months; also list of 2 months men who went with Captain Matthew Handel to Winter Hill in February, 1776; also, list of men who went to the Castle in May, 1776, with Capt. Handel to serve for 6 months; also order dated Camp Hull, July 16, 1776, signed by said Lincoln and others, for advance pay for 1 month, travel allowance, etc., payable to Capt. Matthew Randel; Capt. Randell's order on Daniel Jeffries, Paymaster General, dated Castle Island, July 19, 1776, payable to the Quarter Master of Col. Marshal's regt., appears on reverse of company orders; also, Private, Capt. Matthew Randell's Co., Col. Marshall's regt., enlisted June 27, 1776; service to Aug. 1, 1776,1 mo. 4 days; also, same Co. and regt., pay roll for Nov., 1776; service, 1 mo. 2 days, including travel home; also, list of men who went to Howland's Ferry with Capt. Wilbor and Capt. Leonard in April, 1777, to serve for 3 weeks; said Lincoln reported hired by Edward Blake; also, Corporal, Capt. Ichabod Leonard’s Co., Col. John Hathaway's regt; service, 22 days, at Rhode Island; company marched from Taunton to Riverton, R. I., in April, 1777, by order of Brig. Gen. George Godfrey; also, list of men who went with Capt. Edward Blake Sept. 28, 1777, to serve for 1 month on a secret expedition; said Lincoln reported hired by Abner Lincoln; also, Private, Capt. Edward Blake's Co.; service, 32 days, at Rhode Island; company marched from Taunton September 29, 1777, under command of Col. George Williams on a secret expedition and was discharged Oct.29, 1777, by Gen. Spencer; also, Capt. Edward Blake's Co., Col. Mitchell's regt. commanded by Leut. Col. James Williams, Brig. Gen. Godfrey's (Bristol Co.), brigade; service, 8 days; company marched to Riverton, R. I., on the alarm of Aug. 2, 1780."
The Vital Records, Taunton, Massachusetts, to 1850, in the State Library at Olympia, Washington, records the marriage of Joshua Lincoln and Elizabeth Seekins of the same place, June 5, 1783. The family Bible of David Lincoln, eldest son of Joshua and Elizabeth Seekins Lincoln, states that Joshua Lincoln was of English descent and that his wife was of Dutch and English descent. This information was given to me by Heman Lincoln of Pickering, Missouri, in a letter written September 9, 1931. To this union twelve children were born:
David, April 9, 1784; Jobe, August 25, 1786; Nathan, December 11, 1789; Elijah, July 4, 1792; William, Joshua, Silas, Hannah, Sallie, Danforth, Jane born June 16, 1800, and Rachel. It will be noted that one girl and one boy bear the name of the wife of Joshua Lincoln, who married in Taunton in 1746, and was most likely named for their grand-mother. One boy was named Joshua, which could be after the father or grandfather, or both. Joshua never married and Silas died young and but little is known of the rest with the exception of the four older boys and Jane. William married Elsie and had four boys and four girls; Hannah married George Clinton and had four boys and four girls; one of the sons lived and died in Missouri. He left at least one child, a daughter' who married a man by the name of Sears and was living near Pickering, Missouri, in 1936. Sallie (Sarah) married Prentis Boyington and had one girl; Danforth and Rachel, I can find no records of marriage or anything else about them. Joshua and his wife Elizabeth must have moved to Providence, Rhode Island, as their first son, David, was born there April 9, 1784. But they returned to Taunton before their second son, Jobe, was born, August 25, 1786, and son Nathan was born December 11, 1789. David, Jobe, Nathan and Elijah seem to have lived close together as we find David's child, William Absolom Lincoln, was born in Chenango County, New York, April 21, 1815, and on April 11, 1816, Jobe and Nathan married Betsey and Phebe Hayes in the same county.
(BREAK FROM ORIGINAL TEXT)
Nathan 2 (Joshua 1) Lincoln, third son of Joshua, born December 11, 1789, Taunton, Massachusetts, and died August 31, 1864, Vacaville, California. His wife, whose maiden name is unknown but is believed to have been Winthrop, died, leaving him with an infant son, Charles Gray Lincoln, who was born at Taunton, March 14, 1814. Nathan moved to Chenango County, New York, soon after this and it is believed that he went with his brothers David and Jobe, for we find he and Jobe married sisters, Phebe and Betsey Hayes, on the same date. Jobe died ten years later; Nathan Lincoln was married April 11, 1816 (possibly in Guilford) to Phebe Hayes, born July 2, 1799, Chenango County, New York. She died June 2, 1878, and is buried, beside her husband, at Vacaville, California.
H. L. Lincoln was born January 21, 1830, Chenango County, New York, a scion of an old New England family, long and prominently identified with the history of Taunton, Massachusetts. His grandfather gave the Public Square or Green that now adorns Taunton. His father Nathan Lincoln, was a Boston man, originally engaged in the cotton business. In early days he emigrated to New York state and there, while his son H. L. was very young, moved farther west to the pioneer state of Illinois. Time consumed on the trip was some six months, the journey being made by flatboat and ox teams. The family lived in Madison and Macoupin Counties and here H.L. was raised as a farmer. (Our Kin, p. 77)
Jane M. Lincoln (Nathan 2, Joshua 1) was born Sept. 14, 1822, in Chenango Co., New York. At the age of 8 her father built a flat boat and brought his wife and seven children down the Alleghaney and Ohio Rivers to Illinois and settled in Madison County, later moving to Montgomery County. (Our Kin, p. 50)
The adjoining map shows the migration route of Nathan, Phebe, and their first seven children, ages 1 to 17 years (the first child, Charles, was by Nathan’s first wife). They probably left Chenango County, New York in the Spring of 1831, and traveled by ox cart 170 miles to about Olean, New York, which is at the head of the Alleghany River. From there, they would have drifted on the flatboat down-river about 240 miles to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the Alleghany River meets the Ohio River. Then, it’s about 970 miles down the Ohio River to its confluence with The Mississippi River. Where and how they made their way North from there to Madison County just North and East of St. Louis, Missouri is not documented (For reference, the other counties mentioned, Montgomery and Macoupin Counties, adjoin Madison County to the North).
The entire trip would have been about 1500 miles. If the duration of the trip is correct, they would have averaged about eight miles each day. It must have been quite an adventure.
Six more children were born to Nathan and Phebe from 1832 to 1843 in Illinois, bringing the family total to 13 children. Before we chronicle the next migration of Nathan’s family, it might be helpful to summarize what happened to each of them:
Two of the children stayed in Illinois and will not be covered further in the genealogy. More information on their families is in the Our Kin book.
Phebe (#5, 1825 - 1835) died in Illinois at the age of 10.
Silas (#9, 1834 - 1860) stayed in Illinois and died at the age of 25.
Able (#3, 1820 - 1850) went to Texas after a short effort in the California mines, and made his living as a ferry boat operator. He was killed by the Umah Indians on the ferry in 1850. He will also not be covered further in the genealogy.
Edgar (#12, 1841) who was left behind in Illinois to dispose of the family property, went to California by ship in May of 1860 with Edward. He eventually went to Arizona, and left no descendants on the West Coast, so he will not be covered further.
Seven of the children, along with Nathan and Phebe, migrated to California during the period 1850 - 1870, and generally settled north of San Francisco. These are the California Lincolns:
Nathan (#6, 1827 - 1905) and Harry (#7, 1830 - 1913), along with Jane’s husband Govan High and cousin Alonzo Lincoln, were the first to head to California in 1850. They traveled over the Plains. Harry turned back in Missouri but returned with the parents in 1859.
Augustus (#13, 1843) left for California by ship in 1859 with his parents Nathan and Phebe, and brother Harry and his family.
Edward (#10, 1836 - 1911) who was left behind in Illinois to dispose of the family property, went to California by ship in May of 1860 with Edgar, and remained in Suisun and Capay Valley’s.
Sarah (#11, 1839 - 1873) and her husband, and Jane (#4, 1822 - 1907) left for California in 1863 with Jane’s husband (he returned fairly quickly from his first adventure in California) and her nine children. They also took the route over the Plains.
Ellen (#8, 1832 - 1893) was the last of the Nathan Lincoln family to make the trip to California, arriving by rail with her family in 1869 or 1870.
Two of the children, while staying in Illinois, had families that migrated to the Seattle, Washington area, and will be covered in the Seattle Lincolns:
Charles (#1, 1814 - 1846) died in Illinois at the age of 32. One branch of his family, from grandson Charles Andrew Lincoln (1867-1930), settled in the Seattle, Washington area.
George (#2, 1818 - 1847), who died in Illinois at age 29 in Illinois, had three children; Mary, Charles, and George, of whom Charles and George settled in Seattle.
All of the Nathan Lincoln family were living in Illinois until they again got the pioneer urge in 1850. There is no indication in the Our Kin book that any of the children went to California for gold, although they initially traveled over the Plains, must have passed the gold mines, and may have spent some time there. Whatever the case, they all continued farming, settling in and around the Napa, Suisun, and Capay Valley areas.
Nathan M. Lincoln at the age of twenty-three and unmarried, together with his brother Harry, age twenty; brother-in-law Govan High, age twenty-seven; and cousin Alonzo Lincoln, left home in Illinois in 1850 and started across the plains for California. Govan High left a wife and four children in Illinois but soon returned to his old home. He remained until the spring of 1863, when we find him returning to California with his wife and nine children. Harry turned back at St. Joseph, Missouri, and we have no record of Alonzo. (Our Kin, p. 71)
In the section on Harry L. Lincoln (Our Kin, p. 77):
In 1850, I, Harry L. Lincoln started across the plains with Nathan M. Lincoln, my brother; Govan High, my brother-in-law; Alonzo Lincoln, my cousin; and four yoke of oxen and wagon, travelled through the state of Missouri to San Jose. Owing to bad luck with our oxen, one of us had to go back to Bunker Hill, Illinois, with the intention of coming on next year, 1851. I, being the youngest, had to go back, but instead of going to California in 1851, I was married to Ann Fennel, August 20, 1851.
So, Nathan M. Lincoln was the only child of Nathan Lincoln to be in California from 1850 to 1859.
Nathan never returned to his home in Illinois, but made California his home until his death some fifty-five years later. He married in California and was living on a farm when his parents arrived in 1860, making the trip by water and across the Isthmus of Panama. His wife died without issue.
Harry decided nine years later to head for California.
After a few years of prosperity, we sold our place and in 1859 started for California with wife and four children, Anna, Ella, George and Edward." (Anna said she was seven years old at that time.) , As father and mother could not sell, I brought them and Augustus with us by water, by the Isthmus of Panama, as mother tells in her diary."
Phebe Lincoln kept a diary of her trip from New York to California via Panama which is reproduced in Our Kin, page 26:
"My dear children: Left New York City Nov. 5, 1859, on the Baltic, 2 o'clock P.M. crowded on board like a ship leaving Africa.
Sunday the 6th: Number sick. Instead of Cabin passage we was cheated and put on steerage.
Monday the 7th: Every one sick; the sea rough. Crossing the Gulf Stream the waves dashed over often. Harry, Augustus G. Wood, and myself were sick as could be. Ann has not been sick enough to vomit yet, is able to take care of the children so far. Your Father is quite well. We have on board as many as fifteen hundred persons, 2 horses, 1 male Durham, two or three hundred hives of bees, so you can see it is rather uncomfortable.
Tuesday the 8th. One horse died this morning, thrown overboard. All of us a little better, but Ella is not so well. This afternoon we passed a small vessel. It looked as if the waves would cover it over.
Wednesday, the 9th. Commenced raining at 4 o'clock this morning, 10 o'clock, still raining; 1 o'clock, the rain over and we are in sight of land, Wellington Island at 12 o'clock 1040 miles from N .Y. half way to Aspinwall. Ella got well and all the rest. Head winds all the time.
Thursday the 10th. A beautiful morning. I am now sitting on the upper deck writing at intervals, viewing a grand scenery, Cuba lying on the right. We are sailing south with a beautiful breeze, and a smooth sea all around us, and all well, I must go down as it is getting so warm this afternoon. All in confusion checking baggage for the cars.
Friday, the 1lth. All well but nearly starved for bread and water, and just as hot weather as June in Illinois.
Saturday the 12th. I am sitting on a cable writing; all in confusion clearing for Port Aspinwall. All well but pretty tired. Came in at 12 o'clock.
Sunday the 13th. The scenery is interesting, but not pleasant. We are now on the cars, we see a plenty of cocoa-nuts, oranges, banana trees, and native's huts a plenty - 10 o'clock, we are in Panama now, we take a steam boat about 5 or 6 miles apart at a time where the Sonora lays. Panama looks like an old deserted Spanish town.
Monday the 14th. 9 o'clock; the cannon fired and we off. I went up on deck with Harry to see the shore we was leaving. I wish I was able to give you an accurate idea how it looks near the shore. There is a great many small islands, one near where we lay last night. It looked like a big hay-stack on coming near to it; we saw one little native hut with a little cluster of banana trees. They rose right up on every side to a point. It is covered with solid rock, and some shrubbery as green as spring. This is a little shadow of the rest.
Tuesday the 15th. In sight of some Spanish islands, 3240 miles from Panama. It is not very pleasant with beef cattle, sheep and hogs, and everything on board for the passengers to eat.
Wednesday the 16th. All well, your Pa has not been sick one hour yet. The sea is very rough crossing Gulf Stream.
Thursday the 17th. Smooth sea, about 10 o'clock little Edward fell down the hatch, not badly hurt though - again this afternoon.
Friday the 18th. A man died last night on board at 10 o'clock. Half past three he was buried in the sea this afternoon. The sea is about in mountains.
Saturday the 19th. Calm and pleasant.
Sunday the 20th. Landed at Acapulco, there they took on another supply of beef cattle. We have sailed in sight of land all day.
Monday the 21st. All well, in sight of land yet.
Tuesday the 22nd. A little rough crossing California Gulf Stream. Harry all time a little seasick. Your Pa saw a whale this morning.
Wednesday the 23rd. The weather cool and pleasant.
Thursday the 24th. Thanksgiving. In sight of land, rainy. All well.
Friday the 25th. Rather cool, sea rough-worse, a foggy unpleasant day.
Sunday the 27th. Pleasant. In sight of our landing place
-10 o'clock. All bustle. We are in San Francisco.
Monday the 28th. Sailed to Benicia.
Tuesday the 29th. We got to Nathan's. We found all well. Our meeting I shall not attempt to describe, as you may guess. I cannot only write a little, just enough to let you know we got here safe, and give you a little directions for you if you come by water. When we got to New York the runners crossed the river and almost filled the cars with their - It was "go to this house" "go to that house" "come with me" "I'll take your baggage, what house do you want to go to?" Our folks told us to go to Lovejoy's hotel. We told them - they said' , all right. They took us to a nest of Irish. It was 10 o'clock. We went to bed supperless, had a poor breakfast. They charged us $13. The next day Harry went to get his tickets. He bought cabin tickets. There was a little catch in it. He paid $75 each. 500 persons got served the same way. Those that sent by express and got their tickets were all right. You can get - or anyone else or your uncle James will do all right. When you come be sure and stop at Oswego, then you are 10 miles from Uncle James'. Anyone will direct. Speak to the Conductor just before you get there, he will fix you a ticket to layover. You can get a steerage ticket for $50. Your living will be hard but you can lay in bread, cheese, and beef and will get along after two days as sick as you can be. I would not be surprised if Lewis came with you if his school was out, and Lorenzo, I think, will come here if Harry likes. Harry can't write till the next mail, because he has not had time to learn yet what he wants to write. There, was a great many families from Illinois, some from Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio and New York, and one old man and his wife from St. Joe. He had crossed the plains twice. The Indians are troublesome on the plains. Nathan has got a pretty place with high green peaks all around him. His garden stuff is green. His grape vines were full enough of second crop for us all, a treat. They are the best grapes I ever tasted. It is very pleasant weather. Augustus is going to plowing today, and Nathan is going to get my chest and carry this. I can't write how we can get land yet. Harry will learn something today. Tell Sylvester and Lewis I wish they would come out with you. Latilda paints like yourself. She says if she could leave home and to a town or a city she could make a great deal. Edward, you and Sylvester could do just as well as you was a mind to. Two can do better together. Sam would like here, and Ellen could do well a teaching school here. I expect she could get $50. a month. I hope you will sell and not lose too much. Silas, do you write what your prospects are. The next letter, you may expect more. We have not been here long enough. Send word to Abel and to William.
January 11, 1860.
Edgar and Edward, who had been left behind in Illinois to sell the family property, evidently were successful, and arrived by ship in 1860.
They traveled from their home in Montgomery County, Illinois, to New York, by rail and sailed from that city April 20, 1860, at 12 o’clock noon on the steamer North Star, arriving in San Francisco some time in May of the same year. (Our Kin, p. 103)
Continuing with Augustus in 1860 (and Edward):
He was then sixteen years of age but despite his youth he was soon engaged in hauling supplies from Sacramento to Virginia City, Nevada. A few years later he and his brother Edward bought a forty acre ranch in Suisun Valley which they farmed until Edward married in 1868, at which time he sold his interest to his brother. He then purchased three hundred and twenty acres of government land, improved it and sold it. He rented the Clasby ranch on Bird Creek and engaged in sheep raising but after a few years returned to wheat raising, and continued until the time of his death, July 10, 1893, Capay, California.
and Edgar:
Edgar did not follow farming. He had a blacksmith shop on the San Joaquin Road
near Stockton. Later he was in business in San Jose as a carriage builder until 1877, when he went to Arizona, being interested in mining.
Edgar was married in Capay Valley, California in 1864, but spent most of the rest of his life in Arizona. There is no indication in Our Kin that any of his descendants settled on the West Coast.
Jane, who had stayed behind in Illinois with her sister Sarah Ann, made the trip to California in 1863:
That Sarah Lincoln Gibbs had inherited some of the pioneering spirit of her father Nathan Lincoln, cannot be questioned. She and her husband, together with her sister, Jane Lincoln High and family, joined others in making up a caravan of many wagons with horses, mules and oxen as motive power. She well knew the hardships to be encountered in the six months journey from Illinois to California, as her brother-in-law Govan High, had made the trip a few years before and returned for his family. She also knew that before that trip was ended the long necked bird called the stork would make a call on her. While the wagon train was making its way slowly through Wyoming on June 27, 1863, Frederick Lincoln Gibbs was born. No hospital, no nurse, just a covered wagon and friendly hands of fellow travelers brought mother and child through safely. Charles High, a lad in his teens, and one of the members of weary travelers, now in his nineties said he recalled quite vividly the day his cousin Frederick Lincoln Gibbs was born, as the caravan remained in camp all day, not resuming their journey until the following morning. It is presumed the horses and oxen also enjoyed the day of rest although did not understand the reason for it. It is a coincidence also that it was Saturday, the seventh day of the week and all should have taken a rest. But,few are left on this side of the great divide whose memory still lingers on the grinding of the iron rims of the wagon as they made their way slowly westward. The odor of burnt gunpowder floating on the dry desert air, the sight of hostile Indians forming a circle around the wagon train, and the tales of how men had been murdered and the women and children carried away perhaps to be found murdered or never to be heard of again. All these memories faded away from Sarah Ann Gibbs years ago, as she went to her final reward in 1873, ten years after her arrival in California. Her husband, Sylvester S. Gibbs, followed her twenty years later.
Nathan M. Lincoln, Nathan and Phebe’s son, lost his wife sometime in the early 1860’s, but soon found another, Carolyn Nelson. The Nelson Family, with daughter Caroline, then 18 years old, made the trip to California from Iowa across the Plains. In his book Our Kin, William Simpson Lincoln included Caroline’s recollections of the trip:
When Aunt Caroline was eighty-nine years old she gave a brief sketch of their trip across the plains. Her account of the trip is given here as Aunt Carrie (as she is lovingly called) gave it to her granddaughter, Bernice May Pomber. It is in her own language and will be interesting to all who may read it.
On April 18, 1864, Grandma Caroline, eighteen years old, left Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa, with her father and mother (James and Priscilla Nelson) and her sister Angeline. It was a happy thought that they could leave behind that cold weather in Iowa and come to a warmer climate. So they started in their covered wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen bound for Oregon. One white frisky cow was also taken along but to their disappointment she proved of no value and had to be sold. They were supposed to meet another family at an appointed place and time but as they did not meet them they set out alone. About the third night of their journey one of the most terrific storms occurred. The worst Grandma explained that she had seen since she came out West. They had reached the Platte River near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Camp was hurriedly pitched and made as comfortable as possible at a time like that while the rain and thunderstorm raged. There was no damage but the little party was quite thoroughly frightened.
The next day they crossed the Missouri River in a steam boat, landing in Omaha. Traveling on from here for about a week they joined a Caravan Train, headed by a Captain Wilkerson, that was also bound for Oregon. In this train there were thirty-eight covered wagons, many horses, mules, and oxen. It was in this caravan that an old violinist was traveling. It was he, from there on that kept up the good spirit and morale of the travelers with his merry music and good nature. Especially at night they wouId sing and dance to his music. There were Soldier Stations about every forty miles. It was quite a peaceful and thankful feeling witnessed by each Individual when one of these stations was reached. The parties of each side were eager for news. Camp was always made and It was only at these times there was any real rest or peace of mind. Between Fort Kearney and Independence Rock, Nebraska, our party met some men returning from a camp on the Platte River. Excitedly they told of having been attacked by the Indians. One man had been badly wounded by a poisoned arrow and all of their stock had been take away from them. Fortunately the soldiers, a short distance from the scene came to their rescue and the stolen property was recovered.
Only a few accidents happened that really left their mark to anyone who was in the caravan that the Nelsons were with. But, one of them did happen to our own little party. Theirs was the third wagon in the train and they were riding along peacefully enjoying as much as they could their tiresome trip one day when it happened. In the first wagon some young folks were playing and scuffling and the canvas caught on the trigger of one of the guns loaded for instant use. It went off, the bullet passing through the second wagon, not hitting anyone, but finding its resting place in Mr. Nelson's shoulder. This of course, caused quite a bit of commotion as can well be expected. He was treated as well as the little party knew how until they reached the next Soldier Station where was given medical treatment. He was able to continue on his journey and was well in about two weeks' time. Another time a small boy in one of the wagons was told by his father to get out and lock one of the wheels for a down grade. In getting out his foot caught in some way and he fell. The wheels ran over the little fellow and he was quite badly hurt. Then to make it more complicated he took cold and blood poisoning set in. He was taken to Independence Rock, Nebraska, for treatment and that was the last news that was heard of him.
Indians were seen every day until they reached Austin, Nevada, and though they kept their distance from the train, every nerve was taut and tense, worried lest something should start them on the warpath. Grandma. At this point explained that the Indians were inclined to be more friendly than so hostile in the beginning, but that they had been fooled, cheated and hurt so many times by the white people when the first ones came over that they grew to hate all the white people, consequently, trouble kept brewing all the while. There were always some white men who made it their aim to get the best of every trade with the Indians, so of course ill feeling between the two parties grew and grew.
In one of the first parties that came over there was a man who boasted from the start that the first Indian that he saw he was going t shoot. No one could persuade him to change his mind. A poor liJttle Indian squaw was his target. Well, that was a short and sad story for that party. The Indians came and they wanted their man, who by this time was terror stricken; and could only think of saving his own skin. He would not give himself up and since his family could do nothing else but stand by him the majority lost their lives for him at the hands of the Indians. Only two or three managed to get away on their horses and reach the next train with their weird story.
This gives only a small picture of the mental strain of these weary people while riding on and on mile after mile, hearing these stories. At different times it was necessary for the wagons to travel all night in order that they might camp where there was sufficient water for all.
And what a picture that must have been, camp at night. The wagons would all be placed in a circle, the stock loose in the middle, the fires, 72 some folks sitting around resting after their hard day while others sang or danced, and, some men on constant guard. One cannot imagine many people of today taking those risks and hardships that our own grand-parents went through. And, how we do admire them for it.
However, there were times when there were fun and merry making and our party rejoiced at their safe journey. They had always enough to eat and the two cows that were in the train furnished enough milk. Milk was put in the churn and hung onto the wagon and the continual rolling and tossing of the wagon during the day churned the butter for that evening. On the whole there was not much sickness and what there was was taken care of by competent mothers who were good nurses as well.
Before reaching Salt Lake City, Utah, the Nelsons changed their minds bout going to Oregon, deciding in favor of sunny California. So they parted from the Caravan and friends they had made and started. Another wagon went with them as far as Virginia City and from there on they traveled alone to their destination. This part of the journey was safe and pleasant. On the twenty-fifth day of September, 1864, five months and seven days from their departure from Ottumwa, Iowa, they arrived at Suisun Valley. Here they rented a place from Mr. E. Blake on Suisun Creek. At this time Mr. .Blake decided to go back to Virginia, so Mr Nelson sold him their two yoke of oxen and wagon. Grandma hated to part with them she said, especially old Tom, the leader who was their favorite. He was quite a pet and liked by all the folks. The Nelsons moved from the Blake place after they had lived there for a year. They rented a place at the head of Suisun Valley, seven miles from Suisun City, belonging to Nathan Lincoln. This was where Grandma met her husband to be, Mr. Nathan Lincoln. They were married and had family of their own. To her little group of children one can well imagine that Grandma told and retold this journey across the plains, which never grows dim in her memory.
The last of the Nathan Lincoln family making the trip to California was Ellen Marie Lincoln. From Our Kin, page 87:
She had heard all about the hardships endured by her family. Those who went by boat wrote of poor accommodations, poor food, sea sickness, etc. Those by wagon wrote of hardship encountered during the long six months' trip. Times had changed. The completion of the Central Pacific railroad on May 10, 1869, when the golden spike was driven at Promontory Point, Utah, at 2:47 P. M., connecting the Union Pacific with the Central Pacific railroad, had bound California to the eastern states with two strands of steel, thus bringing California and Illinois within a few days travel by rail. Ellen Booth and her family were among the first passengers to avail themselves of the luxury of traveling by rail.
The first trains to operate across the plains were not the comfortable trains of today. It was not until the following year (1870) that the Pioneer Hotel Train was placed on the run from Council Bluffs to Ogden. It was the first sleeping and dining car service across the plains. It was handled with hand brakes, link and pin couplers and was scheduled at an average speed of twenty miles per hour. This was a weekly service, but nevertheles was much better than taking six months to cross from Illinois to California by wagon.
Our Kin doesn’t say whether Ellen took the uncomfortable train or the Pioneer Hotel Train, and it doesn’t say where Ellen and her family settled. But, most of the children were married in Monterey County, California, so we will presume that’s where Ellen settled. She died in 1893 in Monterey, California.
The first of Nathan’s descendants to leave Illinois and migrate to the Seattle, Washington were the grandsons of Nathan’s son, George Washington Lincoln. It appears from the separate accounts of the travels of John Beagle Lincoln and his brother Charles Henry Lincoln that they left Illinois for Seattle about the same time, Charles in the fall of 1889 and John on August 27, 1889, but no connection is made in the narrative.
Charles Henry Lincoln, born March 5, 1869, Montgomery County, Illinois. He left his home in Illinois in the fall of 1889 and came to Seattle, Washington, having made his own living since he was 11 years of age. He was married April 10, 1895, Seattle, Washington, to Alfretta Douglas, born September 23, 1872, Ontario, Canada. (Our Kin, page 41)
(John Beagle Lincoln) had but little home life as a boy, for when only thirteen years old he started to make his own way in the world by working for a farmer for his board and attending a country school. Then for four years he batched with his Uncle Henry Lincoln on a forty acre farm, living in the same log cabin where he and all of his brothers were born. Thirty-nine years had now passed since the first member of the Lincoln family had left that same section of Illinois and gone to California. Having reached the age of 18, it was only natural that J. B. should also begin to think of the far West. However, his finances were not sufficient to purchase a ticket to the Pacific Coast. But that did not stand in the way of a red-blooded Lincoln who possessed the pioneering spirit. There were harvest fields in Kansas and he had sufficient funds to take him there. So on August 27, 1889, he packed what few cloth he possessed in a small tin trunk, bade the old log cabin of his birth farewell and set out for the Pacific Coast. A few days later we find him working in the harvest field near Lost Springs, Kansas. Here he earned sufficient wages to buy his passage and have $1.25 left over. He could not enjoy the luxury of a berth, but sat up all of the way, spending one night in the depot at Ogden, Utah, between trains. There was no railroad direct to Seattle, so it was necessary to go to Tacoma, thence by boat to Seattle, where he arrived soon after the fire, with 35 cents in his pocket. Here he watched a city spring out of the ashes which was to become one of the leading shipping centers of the world. He married April 17, 1895, Seattle, Washington, to Ellen Ann Douglas, born September 21, 1876, Ontario, Canada. She is a sister of Alfretta Douglas whom his brother Charles had married a week before. (Our Kin, page 42)
In 1887, their father joined them in Seattle:
While George W. Lincoln, Jr. was born and raised on a farm in Illinois, he was not a successful farmer. His mother and sister had died, his uncles and aunts had left that part of the country and gone to California. In 1875, soon after his fifth child was born, he went to California, leaving his family with his brother on the farm. A year later he sent for his family and brother to come to California, and established a home a few miles out from San Jose, in what is now Alum Rock Park. Two years later he re-established their home on the old farm in Illinois, but a few years later he returned to California. After a short period there he went to Washington Territory and settled in Colton where in 1887 he married Martha Floch. When Seattle was burned in June, 1889, he moved there and worked at carpentering for several years, helping to rebuild the city.
George had two more children in Seattle with his second wife, Martha Floch. Lulu Lincoln was born in Colton, Washington and Bessie Lincoln was born in Seattle.
With one exception, Ernest Frederick Lincoln, all of George Washington Lincoln, Jr.’s children subsequently came to Seattle.
Cora Augusta Lincoln came with her husband Charles Loucks and their three children in 1900, and their fourth child was born in Seattle.
William Simpson Lincoln arrived in Seattle in 1895. He volunteered for the Spanish American War, was mustered out in San Francisco in 1899, went to Los Angeles where he was married and had his first child, then returned to Seattle in 1907 where his remaining two children were born.
George Alvin Lincoln is listed as being born in Montgomery County, Illinois, but marrying in 1904 in Seattle, Washington.
At the end of the migration, and with two children born in Washington State, George Washington Lincoln, Jr. left seven children to populate the Seattle Lincolns.
The other group of Nathan Lincoln’s descendants who make up the Seattle Lincolns were the offspring of his son Charles Gray Lincoln’s only child, George Frederick Lincoln.
George Frederick and Ella Lincoln spent the first few years of their married life in Litchfield, Illinois, where their first four children were born: Charles Andrew Lincoln, born April 12, 1867. Abbie Rebecca Lincoln, morn May 15, 1869. George Arthur Lincoln, born June 13, 1871. Died April 6, 1906, in Alaska. Charlotte Thornton Lincoln, born October 25, 1873. The rest of their children were as follows: Amanda Henrietta Lincoln, born September 11, 1877, Atchison, Kansas. Died September 18, 1878, Sugar Lake, Missouri. Edward Cook Lincoln, born August 14, 1881, Warsaw, Missouri. Died August 7, 1882. Henrietta Ursula Lincoln, born September 17, 1885, Toledo, Ohio. Died November 1, 1916, Los Angeles, California. Of the above seven children born to George Frederick and Ella Lincoln, two died when small, two died while yet single, one remained single. Charlotte was married April 23, 1902, Toledo, Ohio, to Charles Morton Eddy, a native of Toledo, born there October 7, 1870, and who served in the Spanish-American War in Company "H" Tenth Regiment, Ohio, Inf. Vol. His widow and her sister Abbie live together in Los Angeles, being the last of that one-time good sized family of brothers and sisters. To perpetuate the family of George Frederick and Ella Lincoln has been left to their first born: Charles Andrew, who married Mary Leone Fraser, September 14, 1892, a native of Toledo, Ohio, born there October 18, 1871, and where their first five children were born. In June, 1904, they left Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Alberta, Canada. But the wide expanse of the prairies and severe winters of the northern country did not appeal to them, so we find them in Seattle in 1909, contented to make that their home. (Our Kin, page 34)
Charles Andrew Lincoln and Mary Leone Fraser had nine children who settled in the Seattle area. However, most of their offspring were daughters, or sons who had only daughters, so at this time there are no remaining Lincoln surnames in the Seattle area descended from Nathan and Phebe
