Remarks to Republican State Convention, Decatur, Illinois1Jump to section
He stated that, some thirty years ago, then just emigrating to the State, he stopped with his mother's family, for one season, in what is now Macon County; that he built a cabin, split rails, and cultivated a small farm down on the Sangamon River, some six or eight miles from Decatur. These, he was informed, were taken from that fence; but, whether they were or not, he had mauled many and many better ones since he had grown to manhood. The cheers were renewed with the same vigor when he concluded his remarks.
Annotation
[1] New York Tribune, May 22, 1860. Lincoln's brief remarks were made in response to a spontaneous call which arose from the floor of the convention when John Hanks carried two rails into the convention hall, bearing the following inscription: ``ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The Rail Candidate FOR PRESIDENT IN 1860. Two rails from a lot of 3,000 made in 1830 by Thos. Hanks and Abe Lincoln---whose father was the first pioneer of Macon County.'' (Ibid.) The Tribune report of the inscription is in error concerning Hanks' name.