Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the mother of future President Lincoln, died from milk sickness in Spencer County, Indiana, in 1818, when young Abraham was only nine years old. Nancy died only days after providing care to other family members who had also succumbed to the illness. The Lincoln family’s experiences with milk sickness mirrored the challenges of thousands of other settlers who crossed the Appalachian Mountains seeking land and economic opportunity. Join us today for a discussion with a former KHS research fellow, who will discuss the medical, environmental, and social implications of milk sickness in antebellum America.

Dr. J. Matthew Ward is an assistant professor of history at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. He holds a PhD from Louisiana State University and is the author of Garden of Ruins: Occupied Louisiana in the Civil War, published in 2024 and available from LSU Press. Additionally, he serves on the board of the Quincy & Adams County Historical Society, as well as the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum.

Hosted by Dr. Allen A. Fletcher, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society.
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Kentucky Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation.
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This episode was recorded and produced by Gregory Hardison, with support and guidance from Dr. Stephanie Lang. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary,” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay.

To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website:
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