FindingFoundingFathers | The Great Emancipator Mystery Cache
FindingFoundingFathers | The Great Emancipator
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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CACHE LOCATED AT N44°AB.CDEW88°FG.HIJ
One of the many challenges in creating a
cache around subject matter as prolific as the Founding Fathers is
to come up with something slightly different in content that what
is already covered by so many existing caches. I'm hoping this
series, based on some new statuary around the Valley does just
that.
First, at the posted coordinates, you'll discover a plaque with
some insightful historical information about the Great Emancipator,
certainly information and quotes many are familiar with. While it
is true that grouping him in this series is a stretch, since his
tenure came many generations after the country was formed, his
history does tie our nation's struggle to end slavery back to the
Founding Fathers. Who, as evidenced in the other caches in this
series, leaned heavily on slave labor to manage their large
estates.
If this Rail-Splitter had survived his presidency, it's likely he
would have retired here to live out the rest of his days in quite
simplicity. Like this others in this series you can answer either
of two sets of questions. Answers for the first set are found in
the copy content, answers for the second in the pictures of the
ornate rooms. Abe came from humble beginnings and it's no surprise
that his home reflects those roots. You'll discover the simple
furnishings dressed up and highly contrasted by the gaudy
mantelpieces, pottery, carpeting and wallpaper of the era.
Picture Tour: Starting the tour in the
front parlor, you can see just how ornate the house is going to be
when you look at the candelabra set on the mantle which contains a
total of B figures. In contrast to
Cincinnantus's library, there are only a few books in Abe's house.
A book shelf in this room has two collections on it, the larger one
being a set of D. The same shelf
holds a collection of I busts.
From the front parlor you can pass directly into another room which
contains F globes. Crossing into
the small dining room, once part of a larger kitchen, you'll see
Mary's iron stone dinnerware. The total of large dinner plates
minus the small desert plates directly above them is H. The kitchen in modestly furnished with a
small hutch and shelf, upon which J cloth covered jars of preserves rest. Before
we head upstairs, stop in the sitting room and check out the large
Stereoscope next to which a total of G stereocards and books sit. Abe's room is
sparsely decorated with a single dresser which has E knobs on it. The boy's room has just a small
collection of toys including a set of blocks. The one nearest the
marbles has 2 numbers on it the lowest one being C. The last room to visit is the maid's room
where A children can be seen
praying.
Historical Tour: The Lincoln's purchased
the house and later added an addition which they completed in
185B. When he was nominated in
ADBC the house was overrun with
reporters. It was the same year his son Robert returned from
college. Mary gave birth to I
boys in this house and they were no stranger to large gatherings,
on occasion hosting as many as F00 guests. Even the kids parties were
large, one of which had a reported 5H invites. That must have meant a ton of
work for the single hired hand who made a little under
$G over a 5 week period. After
Abe's untimely departure, the house was returned to the Tilton
family who stayed there until 186E. Over the years the home was used as a
rental and as an unauthorized museum of sorts. Eventually it was
deeded to the state of Illinois for a whopping $A. Many years later the property was
transferred to the National Park Service in 197J who run it to this day.
There are a hundreds of worthy quotes from this Father but my
favorites from the Founding Fathers happen to do with a cash crop
that could have changed the world: Two of
my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of
sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica. - Thomas
Jefferson, U.S. President quote on Hemp
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)