Picturing the Past

Picturing the Past Story and photos: Mayor Greg Wright

With the celebration of Presidents’ Day and especially Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday this month, we look at a former Gibson County resident who presumably was related to the 16th president of the United States. Elijah Lincoln was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on September 17, 1832. He was the son of Leonard and Nancy Lincoln and is believed to be the second cousin of ole Abe. After his father died when Elijah was a young boy, he joined his brother who lived in Southern Illinois. Elijah Lincoln was considered a great hunter in his early days, often hunting through the wilderness of Southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana. For years Elijah was involved in farming and lived in the Fort Branch area. As a young man, Mr. Lincoln spent three years in Colorado, during the Pikes Peak gold rush. He returned to Gibson County when the war between the states broke out. Elijah Lincoln was part of the locally famous 58th regiment from Gibson County, fighting in several famous battles for the Union Army in the Civil War. The 58th regiment was the first regiment in Indiana to have a monument erected in their honor in the entire state of Indiana in 1865. This monument still adorns the southwest corner of our courthouse courtyard. Elijah Lincoln had a strong uncanny resemblance to his distant cousin but claimed he only saw the former president on a couple of occasions. Elijah Lincoln died on March 20, 1916, at the age of 84 in Fort Branch, Indiana. He is buried at Walnut Hill Cemetery.

Elijah Lincoln during a G.A.R. celebration of Gibson County’s 58th Regiment