Description:

A. Lincoln's Father's Wedding Minister George L. Rogers MDS from Elizabethtown, KY

A 2pp manuscript document signed by numerous Elizabethtown, Kentucky notables including George L. Rogers (1793-1892), the Methodist minister who is believed to have officiated at the wedding of Thomas Lincoln (1778-1859), Abraham's father, and Sarah "Sally" Bush Johnston (1788-1869), Abraham's stepmother. From the Collection of Norman Boas of Seaport Autographs and purchased at Christie's December 5, 2017 sale. Accompanied by extensive provenance information including dealer correspondence.

The manuscript document is actually two separate documents affixed together with red wax. There are multiple entries concerning the title and transfer of a property referred to as Lot No. 28, a tract in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, a township located about 44 miles south of Louisville. Inscribed "Hardin County Court" at top, the document was presumably signed at Elizabethtown, the county seat. Entries are dated from February 19, 1807 to June 9, 1818. Other signers include Christopher Bush, Robert Huston, Thomas Evans, Samuel Haycraft, Peter Bodine, Daniel Linden, William Parcels, Charles Dorsey, etc. Expected wear including toning, folds, scattered foxing and discoloration, and isolated weathering. Else good to very good and very legible. Measures 8" at widest by 14.875."

On May 9, 1818, George L. Rogers signed and inscribed the following statement, with original spelling: "for value Rcd I assigne all my Right and title of the writhen and foregoing obligations and Lot and all my Right and title to the Same unto Richard A. Taylor as witness my hand and seal…Geo L. Rogers..."

George L. Rogers was a colorful character who lived to be 99 years old. In addition to being a chair-maker and wheelwright, he was ordained as a Methodist minister. Rogers is believed to have married Abraham Lincoln's father Thomas to the widow Sarah Johnston in a log cabin (the home of Benjamin and Elizabeth Chapeze) on Main Street in Elizabethtown, New Jersey on December 2, 1819. Thomas had set out for Elizabethtown with the express purpose of bringing Sarah home as his new wife. Her two conditions upon marrying were: to pay off her remaining debts, and to be married by a Methodist preacher.

George L. Rogers was just the person. Associated with the Bethesda Chapel and later the Cooper Chapel Methodist Church, he is credited with performing "more marriages than anyone in Kentucky at that time," according to an article archived by the Bullitt County History Museum. Accounts vary somewhat, but Rogers had at least three wives and at least 14 children. It is stated in some sources that he served in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War, though this cannot be immediately confirmed. According to local history, Rogers carried around a Bible he called Preacher, that he sometimes talked to like it was a person!

At least two other individuals who signed this document, Christopher Bush and Samuel Haycraft--have personal connections to Abraham Lincoln: Bush became Abraham's uncle by marriage after 1819; Haycraft exchanged several letters with Abraham in 1860 concerning the former's book on town history and genealogy. Doubtless, further research would reveal more such interesting Lincoln and Bush family connections with the other Elizabethtown notables who signed this document.

Provenance

1. The piece comes with three items of correspondence exchanged between Norman Boas of Seaport Autographs (Mystic, Connecticut) and Merv Slotnick of East Coast Books (Wells, Maine) dating from December 2004 in which the two discuss Daniel E. McClure, Jr.'s book, "Two Centuries in Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky, 1776-1976" (1979). Accompanied by a photocopy from the same book with the entry for George L. Rogers.

2. Two previous auction catalog descriptions for this item, one of which is stamped "Provenance: Christie's / New York, Dec. 5, 2017 / Lot 74 The Norman Boas estate" verso, along with a fragment of a manila folder with a Boas id number.

Provenance: Ex-Christie's December 5, 2017 sale; Ex-Norman Boas, Seaport Autographs; Merv Slotnick, East Coast Books

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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