Born in Kentucky in 1808. Lincoln first met Miss Owens in 1833 at New Salem, where she made a short visit. In 1836 she came back to New Salem, and a warm friendship sprang up between them. The question of marriage was discussed in a disinterested way. Miss Owens left Illinois in 1838, and in 1841 she married a Mr. Jesse Vineyard. The letters written to her by Mr. Lincoln she herself gave to Mr. Herndon for publication.] Lincoln began these remarks by good-humored but nettling chaffing of his opponent. "Mr. Chairman," he said: "Lest I should fall into the too common error of being mistaken in regard to which side I design to be upon, I shall make it my first care to remove all doubt on that point, by declaring that I am opposed to the resolution under consideration, _in toto_. Before I proceed to the body of the subject, I will further remark, that it is not without a considerable degree of apprehension that I venture to cross the track of the gentleman from Coles [Mr. Linder]. Indeed, I do not believe I could muster a sufficiency of courage to come in contact with that gentleman, were it not for the fact that he, some days since, most graciously condescended to assure us that he would never be found wasting ammunition on _small game_. On the same fortunate occasion he further gave us to understand that he regarded _himself_ as being decidedly the _superior_ of our common friend from Randolph [Mr. Shields]; and feeling, as I really do, that I, to say the most of myself, am nothing more than the peer of our friend from Randolph, I shall regard the gentleman from Coles as decidedly my superior also; and consequently, in the course of what I shall have to say, whenever I shall have occasion to allude to that gentleman I shall endeavor to adopt that kind of court language which I understand to be due to decided superiority. In one faculty, at least, there can be no dispute of the gentleman's superiority over me, and most other men; and that is, the faculty of entangling a subject so that neither himself, or any other man, can find head or tail to it." [Illustration: LINCOLN AND HIS SON THOMAS, FAMILIARLY KNOWN AS "TAD." From a photograph made by Brady early in Mr. Lincoln's first term.] [Illustration: PAGE FROM STUART AND LINCOLN'S FEE BOOK. From the original, owned by Jesse W. Weik, by permission.] Taking up the resolution on the bank, he declared its meaning: