not to be morbid but...

Lincoln dealt with and experienced a lot of deaths in his life time. This was the first of many...
When the poor guy was 9 years old his loving mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln was stricken with "milk sickness". This was caused by drinking the milk of cows feeding on poisonous plants such as snakeroot. Abraham and his older sister Sarah took care of their mother while she was sick. Their father Thomas had to continue to work to support the family. The 2 children did chores and waited on her. Because she knew she was dying she called the children to her bedside and asked them to be good and kind to their father, to each other, and to the world. On October 5, 1818, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died at the age of 34. The young and probably confused/ scared (b/c of the loss of his mother) Abraham helped his father carve pegs for his mom's coffin. Thomas Lincoln hauled the coffin, which was made of green pine, on a sled to the top of a hill in the woods and buried Nancy without a formal funeral. This death led to the remarrying of his dad to Sarah Bush Johnston about a year later. More to come...