On the Trail of (Often Obscure) History
You know I like to do research and am fascinated by the history and customs of England’s Regency Era. However, you may not know that my husband loves history even more than I do.
He has stacks of nonfiction books beside his bed and around the house and he can’t part with a single one of them. (That How to Make Money in Real Estate book from the 1980s will, however, be making a secret trip out to the recycle bin.) He reads about economics, politics, theology, and health, but I’d say the majority of what he reads is history. He is interested in many eras and topics like the World Wars, explorers and shipwrecks, the fur trade, and many more. And most car trips find us listening to historical audio books like Boys in the Boat, or In Harm’s Way. On our last drive we listened to a Great Courses lecture series called the Rise and Fall of the British Empire, which I actually found very interesting as well.
While I enjoy Jane Austen-themed events and Regency balls, he enjoys historic sites like the Rendezvous at Grand Portage National Monument, with its period buildings and re-enactors bringing to life the fur trade of the late 18th century. He has attended four times. And, for all of our married life, he has been drawn to stop at those roadside historical markers as well as at more obscure sites, like the World’s Largest Ball of Twine.
Recently, we drove 8 hours south to central Illinois for a family reunion in Petersburg, where my aunt and uncle live. Illinois is the Land of Lincoln, and having grown up there, I have always had a special place in my heart for Honest Abe. School field trips often included Lincoln’s New Salem (Reconstructed village where Abraham Lincoln lived as a young man) or Lincoln’s home and tomb in Springfield. But on this trip my husband put my feeble interest to shame by making an unexpected detour on the way home.
Outside of Petersburg (town nearest New Salem), he turned down a narrow 
country lane, and finally parked in a rutted turn-around. Armed with maps he’d printed out in preparation, he slogged down a weedy path between farm fields to “Old Concord” cemetery far off the beaten track. Why? To see the original burial place of Ann Rutledge, Abraham Lincoln’s first love.
Abraham Lincoln lived in New Salem for six years, working and studying to be a lawyer. There he met Ann (sometimes spelled Anne or Anna) whose father was a co-founder of New Salem and ran an inn. A man who often boarded there described Ann as “very handsome and attractive, as well as industrious and sweet-spirited. I seldom saw her when she was not engaged in some occupation – knitting, sewing, waiting on table, etc.” Lincoln was boarding at the inn as well and while some doubt the story, most believe he fell deeply in love with Ann and hoped to marry her. But sadly, Ann Rutledge died of typhoid at the age of 22.
She was originally buried in this remote cemetery, and heartbroken Abe Lincoln frequently walked several miles from New Salem to sit by her grave and read from his pocket New Testament.
Later, Lincoln reportedly said to his friend, Isaac Cogdal, “I loved the woman dearly & sacredly: she was a handsome girl–would have made a good loving wife– was natural and quite intellectual, though not highly educated.”
Lincoln was deeply grieved by Ann’s death. “The deepest gloom and melancholy settled over his mind. He would often say to his friends: ‘My heart is buried in the grave with that dear girl.’” (Harvey Lee Ross, The Early Pioneers and Pioneer Events of the State of Illinois)
Years later, Ann’s coffin was moved to a larger cemetery in town. But even if her mortal remains are no longer there, this is the very place where Abraham Lincoln mourned his first love. And that made it worth visiting to my history-loving husband.
For years I have driven through Petersburg, and saw signs that point to Ann Rutledge’s (newer) grave but never made a point of visiting it—the official one or the one out in the country. Even my relatives who live there had never seen her original grave site. Most people (even me and my sons on that hot day) would be content to look at the official marker in a nicely mowed, easy-to-reach cemetery, but not my husband. He walked through tall, wet grass in the blistering sun and humid Illinois weather to find this out-of-the-way historical landmark. He came back with soaked shoes, sunburned neck, bug bites, these few photos, and the sweet victory of tracking down history.
What about you—are you history buff? Would you take the track less traveled to see an historic site?
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My husband is a history buff but we haven’t done anything off the beaten path…yet. Perhaps when we’re empty nesters, that’ll be his thing..
This post was so very interesting. A Foreward to a novel, for sure (grinning). Kathleen
Ha ha! Good idea, Kathleen. You never know!
That brings back memories of when three of my kids and I took a trip from Missouri through Springfield, Illinois back to visit my parents in Northern. Illinois where I grew up. We stopped to see the sights but did not go to New Salem.
More memories: our trips as family when I was a child to my grandparents in Waynesboro, PA. My mother would plan lots of day trips to historicals sites. Maybe that’s why I like history and antiques, and reading historical novels.
Fascinating! I didn’t know about Ann. I can imagine why your history buff husband would have wanted to see the place Abraham Lincoln had often visited when mourning her.
Everything about this post makes me smile! I had so wanted to go to the Rendezvous in Grand Portage a couple weeks ago, but I was at the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat in Ohio. On the way to Ohio, we stopped in Springfield, IL to see many of the Lincoln sites. I’m like Brian and go out of my way to find history. I stop at historical markers, go to little-known and obscure places, and revel in all of it. I was in an RV with my parents and children and we spent a week going to museums and historic sites in the Midwest. I could have done twice as much as we did, but I didn’t think the rest of them would have the stamina (or interest). 🙂 Thanks for sharing this post, Julie!
Your smile makes me smile, Gabe! You and Brian are two peas in a pod. Remind me not to travel somewhere with the two of you together–we’d be stopping every three miles! 😉
I am not as much of a history buff as your husband, but I do enjoy history and loved your blog.
What an interesting post! My husband has always been a history buff and wanted to teach history before he chose the Marine Corps. We always tried to visit historical sites whenever we took vacations. In fact, our children used to joke that every vacation included a visit to a battlefield.
Thinking back, I would say our most out of the way venture was when he was stationed for 28 months on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. We tried to take trips to see all of the castles and monasteries on the island. One Saturday we drove to St. Hilarion castle on the northern coast, built in the 10th century. The only problem was that it was located in a Turkish sector, very isolated from any village. We were stopped at a checkpoint which was usually no problem, since Americans could travel freely by just saying, ‘American Embassy’. This time the guard demanded our passports, which we had been told never to give up. My husband repeated ‘American Embassy’ to which the Turkish guard lowered his machine gun into the car window. Then my husband said, “Of course,” and handed him both of our passports. He took them into the guard shack, came back a few minutes later with our passports, and waved us through. We saw the castle, but breathed heavy sighs of relief, thinking that was a close call.
My favorite genre is historical fiction. Love your books, Julie!
Wow, that sounds like quite an adventure, Betty. And far more dangerous than ours. Glad your story had a happy ending. 🙂
Also married to a history nerd. We spent our honeymoon in South Carolina and Virginia — not because Virginia is for lovers. Because, Fort Sumter and Richmond, the seat of the Confederacy. *sigh*
Thank you. I’m from Virginia.
I enjoyed the article!
I love Historical places and when I read about them I would love to visit. Especially if I read several books about a family that’s based on truth. Eugenia Price wrote so much about a certain family and lot of them were real people. I wanted to go find their graves but I didn’t get to do that.
Good man, that husband of yours. Like others posting here, I love history, too. My favorite period was always English medieval but in recent years I have loved Regency like you, and we’ll blame that on Jane Austen. And because of those folks who produced Downton Abbey, I became fascinated by the pre and post WWI time frame, something I knew little about previously. And yes, I’d take the track less traveled, particularly in Great Britain, to find historical sites.
I love this. Keep having LOTS of research
fun together.
This was so interesting, Julie. “My heart is buried in the grave with that dear girl.” Wow…Abraham Lincoln..the man was a deep thinker. An emotional man indeed. I’ve been reminded from this post to put his library on my list of places to visit. And maybe even visit this grave. Maybe…wink wink. Not sure about the bug bites and the sunburn!