Abraham Lincoln Bartender

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died the following day at 7:22 am, in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first U.S. President to be. Abraham Lincoln was president from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Abraham Lincoln is found on the $5 bill. The US Penny (1¢) also has the portrait of Abraham Lincoln. The life of Abraham Lincoln is justifiably celebrated every year. But that life is perhaps even more interesting than many celebrants may know.

1. Drinking With Lincoln
2. Berry And Lincoln Bar

Last updated on April 6th, 2020

Abraham Lincoln, known for his determination and perseverance, is the most famous U.S. presidents in history. He became the 16^th president of the U.S. on 4th March 1861. With these 47 interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln, let’s learn about his life, career, politics, mission, philosophy, and death.

Facts about Lincoln’s childhood, education, family, marriage, religious belief etc

1.Education: Lincoln was a self-educated man. He had little formal education; however, he practiced law. On the other hand, Lincoln’s dad was only literate enough to write his name.

2. He was the second child of his parents. They were farmers and their family lived in Kentucky until 1816. There’s hasn’t yet been a president who was an only child. The majority of US presidents were middle children.

3. Death of his mother: Lincoln’s mother died from drinking poisoned milk. His father soon married another woman by the name Sarah Bush Johnston, who was a widow. She had a good relation with Abraham and he liked her company as well.

4. Lincoln did not have a middle name.

5. Lincoln also worked as a licensed bartender.

6. Lincoln was an avid hunter.

7.Religion: Lincoln was never a member of an organized church. He read the bible to learn about Christianity.

8.Marriage: In 1842, Lincoln was got married to a 23-year old woman named Mary Todd who was just 5 feet 2 inches while Lincoln was 6 feet 4 inches. They had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States of America, passed away in 1882.

9. Abraham Lincoln also had a serious girlfriend named Mary. However, they broke up and he later married Mary Todd.

10.Wrestling career: Lincoln was a wrestler and an accomplished one. He lost just one fight out of the 300 he fought. He is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Drinking With Lincoln

Facts about Lincoln’s: presidency, invention, the formation of the U.S. Secret Service, law practice etc

11. He was a general store owner, postmaster, and lawyer before being elected.

12.U.S. Secret Service: Lincoln gave birth to the U.S. Secret Service. However, it is disappointing that he was assassinated in spite of the formation of the Secret Service. Learn that Lincoln was shot the day when he signed the bill for the Secret Service. However, his purpose behind the agency was to stop currency counterfeiting which was highly prevalent at the time. The Secret Service was given the responsibility to protect the commander-in-chief after 1901 when two other presidents were killed.

13. Lincoln was so famous that a gang of robbers wanted to steal his corpse and demand $200,000 in ransom. However, the Secret Service intervened and prevented the robbers from the act.

14.Politics and science: do not be surprised to learn that Lincoln is the only president to have obtained a patent. Lincoln was awarded the patent for inventing a method to keep ships afloat on shallow water while near the shore. Patent No. 6,469 in 1849 belongs to Lincoln.

15. Lincoln was a keen politician and was passionate about testing rifles used by the U.S. forces. He tested them out in the open outside the White House, which was however not allowed by the law.

16.Escaping death: Lincoln narrowly escaped gunfire in 1864 when Confederate troops attacked Washington, D.C. He was yelled down by Colonel Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

17. Thanksgiving, which is a national holiday, was established by Lincoln. Yeah, we must thank him for the holiday. Shall not we?

18.He liked: Lincoln liked fruits so much that it was his favorite food.

19.Lucky man: Lincoln could have died before his assassination as he was saved twice during his lifetime. But he was not lucky the third time.

20.A career in Law: We told you Lincoln practiced law. He did. Actually, he lost a case before the Supreme Court in 1849.

About Lincoln’s personality, living in the White House, failures, depression, civil war, etc

21. Lincoln had huge feet. In fact, his shoe size was between 12 and 14. This is the biggest feet size in the U.S. president history.

22. In the White House: Lincoln did not sleep in his White House bedroom. He used the room as his office.

23. Abraham Lincoln hated to be called “Abe.”

24. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln used his hat to keep his important documents.

25. Abraham Lincoln was against slavery and was the first politician to believe in the rights of the women to vote.

26. Lincoln had lots of cats in the White House. In fact, he had two cats that he fed on the dinner table. However, his wife did not like the act.

27. Lincoln is known for failures. He failed in his first business and also lost his first bid for a presidential ticket. He lost 5 separate elections before being elected as the president of the U.S.

28. There are more books written about Lincoln than any other American or any other personality across the world – more than 15,000.

29. Depression was Lincoln’s friend during most of his life. He stayed depressed while he lost and fought. However, he never quit.

30. He is the first U.S. president to be assassinated. He has so much of history attuned to his name.

31. He was the president of the U.S. during the Civil War.

. . . continue reading on the next page

By Amy Cavanaughin Foodon Feb 12, 2013 8:00PM

Back before he was President, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer. And before he was a lawyer, he was something else entirely—a bartender.

Holders of the nation's highest office have often had a close relationship with booze, as George Washington established the nation's largest whiskey distillery in 1797 and Thomas Jefferson brewed his own beer. Andrew Jackson's inaugural party in 1829 was so legendary that we still drink the orange punch partygoers consumed (and you can find it on the menu at Big Jones). But Lincoln was the only president who was also a licensed bartender.

Lincoln was co-owner of Berry and Lincoln, a store/drinking establishment in New Salem, Illinois, where he lived from 1831 to 1837. He first arrived there on a flat boat when he was 22 and en route to New Orleans. His boat got stuck there and after visiting New Orleans, he returned to New Salem and decided to stay. He worked as a store clerk, served in a militia, and unsuccessfully ran for office. Then, in 1833, he opened a small store.

In January 1833, he partnered with his friend from his militia days, William F. Berry, to purchase a small store, which they named Berry and Lincoln. Stores could sell alcohol in quantities greater than a pint for off-premises consumption, but it was illegal to sell single drinks to consume at the store without a license. In March 1833, Berry and Lincoln were issued a tavern, or liquor, license, which cost them $7 and was taken out in Berry's name. Stores that sold liquor to consume on the premises were called groceries.

Berry And Lincoln Bar

So what did they serve? Half pints of French brandy for 25 cents, peach brandy for 18.75 cents, and apple brandy for 12 cents. Half pints of Holland gin cost 18.75 cents, while domestic gin was 12.5 cents. Wine cost 25 cents, rum was 18.75 cents, and whiskey was 12.5 cents. They could also sell food—breakfast, dinner, and supper were each 25 cents—and put people up for the night. Lodging was 12.5 cents per night, and horses could stay for 25 cents, with feed going for 12.5 cents. Takeout meals for stage passengers cost 37.25 cents, and they also sold beer and cider.

Lincoln's foray into the world of booze was short-lived—Berry was apparently an alcoholic and took advantage of the new liquor license to drink while he was working in the store. Lincoln spent more time dealing with customers and his down time reading, and they fell into debt. In April 1833, he sold his interest in the store to Berry and was appointed Postmaster of New Salem on May 7, 1833. Berry died two years later, and Lincoln assumed the debts from the business. It wasn't until 1848, when Lincoln was a congressman, that he was able to pay off the whole debt.

Lincoln remained in New Salem, and he studied law and earned a legal license. In 1837, he realized that his opportunities in New Salem were limited and he moved to Springfield, where he thought he'd have better luck with his law practice and have a chance to get involved in politics.

Once he got into politics, Lincoln denied selling alcohol by the drink. At the first of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in Ottawa on August 21, 1858, Douglas poked fun at Lincoln's early job. Judging by the transcripts, these debates were hilarious.

There were many points of sympathy between us when we first got acquainted. We were both comparatively boys, and both struggling with poverty in a strange land. I was a school-teacher in the town of Winchester, and he a flourishing grocery-keeper in the town of Salem. (Applause and laughter.)… I met him there, however, and had sympathy with him, because of the up-hill struggle we both had in life. He was then just as good at telling an anecdote as now. ('No doubt.') He could beat any of the boys wrestling, or running a foot-race, in pitching quoits or tossing a copper; could ruin more liquor than all the boys of the town together. (uproarious laughter.)

Lincoln retorted:

Now I pass on to consider one or two more of these little follies. The Judge is woefully at fault about his early friend Lincoln being a 'grocery keeper.' [Laughter.] I don't know as it would be a great sin, if I had been; but he is mistaken. Lincoln never kept a grocery anywhere in the world. [Laughter.] It is true that Lincoln did work the latter part of one winter in a little still house, up at the head of a hollow. [Roars of laughter.]

Today is Lincoln's 204th birthday, so let's raise a glass of brandy to the President's days behind the stick.