Professor credits kids for Lincoln book

Professor Robert Bray holds a copy of Robert S. Eckley's "Lincoln's Forgotten Friend, Leonard Swett," at Illinois Wesleyan University's Ames Library in Bloomington. A portrait of Eckley, a former president of IWU, is at left. President Abraham Lincoln befriended Swett and helped him become a…

Professor credits kids for Lincoln book

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. | Leonard Swett, who met Abraham Lincoln as a young circuit-riding lawyer in Central Illinois, is referred to as the president's "forgotten friend."

'Freedom' display to be part of NWI Civil War exhibition

HAMMOND | An Indiana Historical Society exhibit charting the evolving principles of freedom in America will be a part of a Northwest Indiana Civil War exhibition set for April at the Indiana Welcome Center.

OFFBEAT: 'American Story' Hershey Felder's stage telling of Lincoln's final day

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

"The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln" Currier and Ives archive illustration

"The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln" is depicted in a Currier and Ives archive illustration.

OFFBEAT: Hershey Felder focused on Lincoln for new 'An American Story'

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Hershey Felder in "An American Story"

Hershey Felder and his Eighty-Eight Entertainment is presenting the Chicago Premiere of "An American Story" using music and story, to tell the story of Lincoln's last day and starring Felder in the lead role for this limited engagement at The Royal George Theatre playing Chicago through April 14.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Movies show fans want something more

I don’t see many movies these days. I’m not into vampires, and the techno-thrillers produced of late hold little appeal.

Indiana museum's Lincoln exhibit debunks myths

INDIANAPOLIS | "I don't do interviews," said Timothy Lincoln Beckwith, politely, in the briefest of phone interviews from his law office in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Indiana museum's Lincoln exhibit debunks myths

Indiana State Museum senior curator of cultural history R. Dale Ogden talks about the upcoming exhibit, "The Lincolns: Five Generations of an American Family," surrounded by artifacts in the collections and storage area of the museum. The exhibit opens at the Indiana State Museum today. The …

Indiana museum's Lincoln exhibit debunks myths

This photo shows a copy of an old photo of Abraham Lincoln, before he had his beard, one of the displays at the Indiana State Museum's, exhibit "The Lincolns: Five Generations of an American Family," opening today.

Springfield historic sites report uptick in visits

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Attendance at most historic sites in and around Illinois' capital city have jumped since last year and state officials credit the new "Lincoln" movie directed by Steven Spielberg as a factor.

Indiana marks 196 years of statehood with ceremony

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels and schoolchildren from across the state will celebrate Indiana's 196th year as a state during a ceremony today in the Statehouse.

New book exposes Lincoln's obscure early career

I had never realized that Abraham Lincoln was a captain in the Black Hawk War in Western Illinois in 1832 – indeed, I had never even heard of that war. But its impact on the young Lincoln, who witnessed atrocities against civilians by Native Americans and who also had to protect an elderly P…

Movie tells of Lincoln, the end of slavery

I promised myself that I wouldn’t do this. I haven’t even seen the movie, but I have seen the trailers for it.

YOUNG VOICES: Act more like Lincoln, and united we'll stand

While many teenage girls my age (and adults, too) were lining up outside movie theaters at all hours of the day and night to see "Breaking Dawn Part 2," I quickly made my way to "Lincoln," the movie about our 16th president’s last days in office.

Day-Lewis prepped for 'Lincoln' role in Illinois

This undated publicity photo released by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox shows Daniel Day-Lewis, center rear, as Abraham Lincoln, in a scene from the film "Lincoln." Day-Lewis, who plays the 16th president in Steven Spielberg's epic film biography, visited Lincoln sites in Springfield, …

Day-Lewis prepped for 'Lincoln' role in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Leaving nothing to chance, two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis' preparations to play Abraham Lincoln on film included secretly spending time on the former president's turf.

Hildene tour opens the door on Lincoln son's family life

MANCHESTER, Vt. | Abe Lincoln was born in a log cabin but his son built himself a mansion. Robert Todd Lincoln, the president's only child to survive to adulthood, built a Georgian Revival home, called Hildene, as a seasonal dream home for his wife Mary Harlan Lincoln and their children.

Hildene tour opens the door to Lincoln son's family life

This photo shows the Robert Todd Lincoln mansion Hildene in Manchester, Vt. The Georgian Revival home was built in 1905 by Robert Todd Lincoln, the only one of the president's four children to survive to adulthood.