200 years after Lincoln's birth, his pilgrimage still fascinates enthusiasts

HODGENVILLE, Ky. (BP)--As Kentucky launches a two-year bicentennial celebration of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln enthusiasts are sharing their views on the president's spiritual journey -- a journey that, like the man, began in the commonwealth of Kentucky.

Born three miles south of Hodgenville on April 12, 1809, Lincoln was only 2 years old when the family moved about seven miles northeast to a farm along Knob Creek. It was here that the future president's parents, Thomas and Nancy, took the family to Little Mount Baptist Church.

It was a Separatist congregation whose main clergyman was an abolitionist, said Gary Talley, pastor of Magnolia (Ky.) Baptist Church and retired chief of operations at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site.

"There's always been a wide range of speculation about (Lincoln's) faith since he was not really affiliated with a particular church," said Talley, who worked at the birthplace nearly 30 years. "But I really think his life seemed to reflect someone God was able to use for a purpose."

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