Father Abraham

 

Abraham and Tad, 1864
(Photo by Anthony Berger) 

Abraham Lincoln was named after his paternal grandfather, a military captain from the American Revolutionary War. Their likely namesake was the patriarch Abraham, considered to be the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Lincoln had four sons: Robert, Edward (Eddie), William (Willie), and Thomas (Tad).  Tragically, Eddie died in infancy, Willie at age 11, and Tad at 18.  Robert Todd Lincoln served as a captain in the Union Army at the tail end of the Civil War.  He was granted an honorary law degree from Harvard University and served as Secretary of War under James Garfield and Chester Arthur.  Robert was present at the 1922 dedication of his father’s Washington, D.C. memorial.

After the birth of their sons, Mary Todd Lincoln began calling her husband “Father.”  He was also called “Father Abraham” by many a grateful citizen.  A popular 1862 poem began with the line “We are coming, Father Abraham, Three Hundred Thousand More.”  This was in response to Lincoln’s urgent call for Union Army recruits.  His paternal nickname also reflected Lincoln’s habit of dispensing advice, whether asked for or not.      

Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, which happened to be Good Friday of that year.  “Father Abraham” then took on divine overtones.  Evangelicals felt that Lincoln’s martyrdom was payment for the nation’s sins.  Only a month before, Lincoln had emphasized the sin of slavery during his Second Inaugural Address.

Resources

https://time.com/4738248/good-friday-palm-sunday-civil-war-appomattox/