North Carolina museum challenges Lincoln’s birthplace history
Small-town museum claims that Abraham Lincoln was born in North Carolina, not Kentucky
BOSTIC, N.C. (InvestigateTV) — A museum in rural North Carolina is challenging the widely accepted history of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
The history books state that the 16th president was born in Kentucky in 1809 to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln.
The Bostic Lincoln Center argues that the 16th president was born in North Carolina around 1805 to Abraham Enloe.
Museum presents folklore
“I have no doubt that Abraham Lincoln was born in this county,” said Lynn Wall, niece of the late Tom Melton, a Rutherford County, North Carolina educator who researched the alternative Lincoln origin story.
Elizabeth Morgan, a volunteer at the museum, said the evidence is largely folklore passed down through generations.
“We examine the evidence that we have had presented, and most of that evidence is folklore,” Morgan said.
The story centers on Nancy Hanks, Lincoln’s mother. According to the museum’s version, she was sent as a young woman to work for Abraham Enloe, a Rutherford County landowner, in the late 1700s.
Thomas Lincoln enters the story
According to the museum’s account, Enloe paid Thomas Lincoln $500 to take responsibility for Nancy Hanks and the child. They left the state, got married and raised the boy as Abraham Lincoln.
“These people who study folk history will tell you time and again that if there’s a consistency and there’s no reason to have it made up, those are two of the baselines,” Morgan said.
The museum acknowledges there are no documents, like birth certificates, to support the claim. However, it points to photographs of Abraham Enloe’s son Wesley, who was tall and lanky and bore a resemblance to Lincoln.
DNA testing proposed
The museum is seeking DNA testing to resolve the question. Enloe descendants have provided DNA samples, and the museum has a petition asking the government to allow testing of Lincoln’s remains.
“It’s a mystery, but it’s and like I said, it’s a mystery that I think is solvable,” Morgan said.
Read the full story by Jamie Boll.
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