Lincoln Family Trail

By Warren Greer

Historical Marker #73 in Breckinridge County recognizes the path that Abraham Lincoln's family took when leaving Kentucky in 1816. Abraham Lincoln recounted the reason for this move as "partly on account of slavery; but chiefly on account of the difficulty in land titles in Kentucky."

Challenges to land titles were common in the early years of Kentucky, and the experience of Thomas Lincoln was no exception. Thomas fought to keep his two farms near Hodgenville, Kentucky, but was compelled to vacate each due to the competing claims of other land owners.

The westward migration of the Lincoln family was not uncommon, as many Kentucky families moved to the newly organized states of Indiana (1816) and Illinois (1818).

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Cite this Page

Warren Greer, “Lincoln Family Trail,” ExploreKYHistory, accessed November 19, 2024, https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/131.

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