Born: February 12, 1809, Hodgenville, Kentucky, United States
Buried: Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, USA, GPS (lat/lon): 39.82288, -89.65609
Find A Grave Memorial# 627
Assassinated: April 15, 1865, Petersen House, Washington, D.C., United States
Movies: The Perfect Tribute, more
Children: Robert Todd Lincoln, Tad Lincoln, William Wallace Lincoln, Edward Baker Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the US, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. During the Civil War, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the national government and modernized the economy. Joshua Fry Speed was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln from his days in Springfield, Illinois, where Speed was a partner in a general store. On April 15, 1837, Lincoln arrived at Springfield, the new state capital, in order to seek his fortune as a young lawyer, whereupon he met Joshua Speed. Lincoln sublet Joshua's apartment above Speed's store becoming his roommate and his lifelong best friend. Lincoln and Speed slept together for four years, quite common event at that time for unmarried men who wanted to spare money. However, Lincoln kept doing so long after he had financial means to find his own quarters. Speed revealed, “No two men were ever more intimate.” During Speed's absence, Lincoln confessed to him in a letter, “I shall be very lonesome without you.” Mutual friend William Herndon conceded that Abe “loved this man [Speed] more than anyone dead or living.”
They met in 1837 and remained friends until Lincoln’s death in 1865: 28 years.
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)
Joshua Fry Speed (November 14, 1814 – May 29, 1882)
Days of Love edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
ISBN-10: 1500563323
Release Date: September 21, 2014
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
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At Oak Ridge Cemetery (1441 Monument Ave, Springfield, IL 62702) is buried Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. In his 1926 biography of Lincoln, Carl Sandburg alluded to the early relationship of Lincoln and his friend Joshua Fry Speed as having "a streak of lavender, and spots soft as May violets". "Streak of lavender" was slang in the period for an effeminate man, and later connoted homosexuality. Speed (November 14, 1814 – May 29, 1882) is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery (701 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204). Opened in 1966 by lesbian club owner Mary Lou "Smokey" Schneider, Smokey's Den (127 N. Fifth St., Springfield, IL) hosted drag shows with the Smokettes that drew weekend crowds from St. Louis, MO on the weekends.
Queer Places, Vol. 1 edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1532901904
ISBN-10: 1532901909
Release Date: July 24, 2016
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/6228297
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