A 2.5″ section of wooden fence rail, originally split by Abraham Lincoln and his father. Accompanied by a 5 x 3 card bearing the following typed description: “Piece of a fence rail from the Thomas Lincoln farm near Charleston, Ill. Young Lincoln and his father split the rails to fence the newly acquired farm in the year 1831. It was in this year that Lincoln left home for New Salem, Ill. He was then in his 22nd year. Young Lincoln and his father built their two-roomed log cabin which was then a mansion in that area.” Also accompanied by a torn 6.25 x 3.5 envelope with the return address of Reverend Oliver B. Ransopher, Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, who gave this piece as a gift in 1949; and a 3 x 5 card confirming the present, signed “Gift of O.B. Ransopher, Sept. 15, 1949.” In fine condition. Also included is a photocopy of a 1967 newspaper article about Ransopher’s collection. RR Auction COA.
