author
William Henry Herndon
1818–1891
Best known as Abraham Lincoln’s law partner and later one of his earliest biographers, this Illinois lawyer helped preserve vivid firsthand memories of Lincoln’s life and character. His writing remains a key window into the world Lincoln came from.
2 Audiobooks
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2)
by William Henry Herndon, Jesse William Weik
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 1 (of 2)
by William Henry Herndon, Jesse William Weik
About the author
Raised in Illinois after his family moved from Kentucky, William Henry Herndon studied law in Springfield and in 1844 became Abraham Lincoln’s junior law partner. The two practiced together for years, and Herndon became closely associated with Lincoln’s legal career and political circle.
He was strongly antislavery, took part in early Republican politics, and also served as mayor of Springfield, Illinois. After Lincoln’s death, Herndon devoted much of his energy to gathering recollections, letters, and interviews from people who had known him.
That work led to Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, written with Jesse W. Weik and published in 1889. Though some of his claims have long been debated, Herndon’s efforts preserved valuable firsthand material and made him an important figure in the study of Lincoln’s life.