Belated thanks, Mr. Lincoln

When I was a kid, we celebrated Washington's Birthday. It was a day off from school, and part of a weeklong mid-winter vacation. We celebrated the big day on February 22nd. Somewhere along the line, the holiday turned into one of those Monday holidays that gives us a long weekend. And somewhere along the line, the feds changed the designation of the holiday to one that honored all presidents, which is mostly - but not always - a good thing. 

(Washington was actually born on February 11th, but that was according to the Julian calendar. In the mid-1700's, we switched to the Gregorian calendar, which rejiggered George Washington's bday to February 22nd.)

As I mentioned, celebrating Presidents' Day is mostly a good thing. We actually have more than a few presidents who are worth celebrating.

Prince among them - if prince is the right word: Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12th in 1809. 

Last year, to honor Abraham Lincoln, I doffed my virtual stovepipe hat to this great man, our greatest president, IMHO.

But wait, there's even more to say about this great man. And that is that he was also good. A good man who, in 1847, made a donation to Irish relief for those suffering from the Great

Famine.

My Irish ancestors were not Famine Irish.

They made it through An Gorta Mór - the Great Hunger - and got on the boat in the 1870's.

They were lucky to have survived. It's estimated that one million died of the hunger, and another one million emigrated. This out of a population of only eight million.

Lincoln made a donation of $10 - which translates into about $500 in today's terms. 

Not a tremendous sum, but it was probably a fairly hefty amount for a not-yet-forty married man with a couple of kids, whose typical fee for handling a case was two, five, ten bucks. 

That year, he was serving his one and only term in Congress. (At the time, he was a Whig.) I couldn't find what members of the House were making in the 1840's, but senators received a per diem of $8. 

Assuming the House pay was equal, Lincoln donated more than a day's pay to help the Irish out. 

According to historian Christine Kinealy, a famine scholar, Lincoln had something of a soft spot in his heart for the Irish:

"I suppose Lincoln always had a great affinity for the Irish and their plight. He knew and recited Robert Emmet’s speech from the dock and his favorite ballad was Lady Dufferin’s poem ‘The Lament of the Irish Emigrant’ set to music." (Source: Irish Central)

Maybe it was because he was poor. Maybe because he had known the sorrow his mother's dying when he was a young child. Maybe it was just because he was a good and kind man.

Lots of people from all around the world made donations in this long-ago pre-GoFundMe world. President James Polk gave $50. Even Queen Victoria made a donation, which is pretty rich, considering that it was her government's policies that were killing the Irish. 

The Irish who came to Amerikay - many of them Famine Irish - helped pay Mr. Lincoln back by fighting in the Civil War. (It's estimated that 150,000-200,000 Irishmen fought for the Union, accounting for nearly 10% of the troops. Another 20,000-40,000 are said to have fought for the Confederacy.)

Anyway, I didn't need another reason to like and admire Abraham Lincoln, but helping provide relief for Ireland would, in fact, be another reason to do so. Who knows? Maybe the money he gave helped feed the Trainors in County Louth, the Joyce's in Mayo, the Rogers in Roscommon. (I know, I know. Non-earmarked donations are fully fungible. Still, it's a thought.)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln. And belated thanks.