Kuhn To Observe Birthday Of Cousin – Abe Lincoln

HANKS, KUHN, LINCOLN, MITCHELL

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 2/20/2014 at 16:18:36

Kuhn To Observe Birthday Of Cousin – Abe Lincoln
Custodian of Masonic Temple is Relative of Great Emancipator
Over 120,000,000 people in the United States will observe the birthday anniversary of Abraham Lincoln Friday, Feb. 12.
The event will also be observed by the great emancipator’s third cousin, Billy Kuhn, for several years custodian of the Newton Masonic Temple.
Didn’t Know
For a long time, Billy didn’t know of this relationship. In fact, it wasn’t until he visited in Kentucky back in 1916 that a cousin, Joe Mitchell, finally told him.
According to Billy, his grandfather married a sister of Nancy Hanks, famous mother of Abraham Lincoln. The Newton man’s grandfather was Solomon H. Kuhn, a native of Johnson City. Tenn.
Billy, himself, has lived in Newton all his life, having been born on a farm near here, but an older sister was born in Kentucky and his father, David Barnes Kuhn, was born in Johnson City, Tenn.
Billy’s mother was born in Charlestown, South Carolina.
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn came to Jasper county to settle in 1871. Mr. Kuhn was a farmer. Later he became a railroad man and was in charge of construction work on the Rock Island line between Atlantic and Brooklyn for many years.
Retiring from railroad work in 1889, Mr. Kuhn was in charge of the Newton cemetery for 30 years. He died in 1919.
Didn’t Talk Much
Billy said the reason his father had never told him of his relationship to Lincoln was that the elder Kuhn was “not a man to talk much about things.”
It was apparently his strong belief that after a thing was over there was no use talking about it. Although he fought in the Civil war for several years he would never tell Billy any of his experiences, usually excusing himself by saying “The war’s over.”
Source: Newton Daily News; Wednesday, February 10, 1937