Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks was claimed to have African descent.[5][7][8]

According to historian William E. Barton, a rumor "current in various forms in several sections
of the South" was that Lincoln's biological father was Abraham Enloe, which Barton dismissed
as "false".[38] According to Doug Wead, Enloe publicly denied this connection to Lincoln but is
reported to have privately confirmed it.[39] Another claim was that Lincoln was "part Negro",[40]
but that was unproven. Mail received by Lincoln called him "a negro"[41] and a "mulatto".[41][42]
Thomas Lincoln's "complexion [was] swarthy".[43] According to Lincoln's law partner William
H. Herndon, Lincoln had "very dark skin"[44] although "his cheeks were leathery and saffron-
colored"[45] and "his face was ... sallow,"[45] and "his hair was dark, almost black".[46] Abraham
Lincoln described himself ca. 1838–'39 as "black"[47] and his "complexion" in 1859 as "dark"[48]
but whether he meant either in an ancestral sense is unknown. The Charleston Mercury described
him as being "of ... the dirtiest complexion".[49]

Lincoln’s description of himself in his writings.

Lincoln described himself around 1838–39 as "black"[20] and his complexion in 1859 as
"dark"[21] Lincoln's detractors also remarked on his appearance. For example, during the
American Civil War the Charleston, South Carolina Mercury described him as having "the
dirtiest complexion" and asked "Faugh! After him what white man would be President?"[22]

20. "Lincoln, Abraham, personal description of (To Josephus Hewett), Feb. 13, 1848", in Archer
H. Shaw, compiler and ed. (1950). The Lincoln Encyclopedia: The Spoken and Written Words of
A. Lincoln Arranged For Ready Reference. New York: Macmillan. p. 190. References "nearly ten
years ago"—meaning 1838–39.

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-
idx?c=lincoln;rgn=div1;view=text;idno=lincoln1;node=lincoln1%3A457

21. "To F. W. Fell, Dec. 20, 1859", in Shaw, The Lincoln Encyclopedia, p. 288.

Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia (New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company: 1980), 108.

“In December 1859, Lincoln made another quiet move to gain broader recognition by preparing
an autobiography for campaign purposes. Jesse W. Fell, a Bloomington politician, forwarded a
request from Joseph J. Lewis, of the Chester County (Pennsylvania) Times, for biographical
information he could use in preparing an article on Lincoln. Lincoln complied with a terse
sketch that reviewed his homespun beginnings, summarized his public career, and ended: “If any
personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four
inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing on average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark
complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes –no other marks or brands recollected.” This
he sent to Fell, noting, “There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much
of me.” Lewis evidently found the sketch meager, for he embroidered it with remarks on
Lincoln’s oratorical gifts and on his long record of support for a protective tariff, so dear to
Pennsylvanians. His article, widely copied in other Republican newspapers, was the first
published biography of Lincoln.”

22. Coley Taylor and Samuel Middlebrook (1936). The Eagle Screams. New York: Macaulay.
p. 106 and 109.