author
Henry Mahan Beardsley
1858–1938
Best known as a Kansas City lawyer, civic leader, and one-term mayor, he also left behind a small but memorable piece of Lincoln writing. His work has the feel of local history told by someone who cared deeply about preserving firsthand connections to the past.
1 Audiobook
Abraham Lincoln in Our Own County
by Henry Mahan Beardsley
About the author
Henry Mahan Beardsley was born in Ohio on October 20, 1858, and grew up in Champaign, Illinois. He studied at the University of Illinois, earning degrees in literature and law before being admitted to the Illinois bar, and later moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he built a legal career.
In Kansas City he became active in civic life as well as law. He served in local organizations including the YMCA and the Kansas City Bar Association, won election to the city council, and was mayor of Kansas City from 1906 to 1907.
For readers, Beardsley is remembered for Abraham Lincoln in Our Own County, a work that reflects his interest in preserving regional memory and Lincoln’s ties to central Illinois. Even though he is better known historically as a public figure than as a literary author, his writing offers a thoughtful glimpse of local history recorded close to its sources.