For many years and printed reports, Eliza Nottingham was known as the nine-year-old girl who while on a family outing, saved a four-year-old boy from drowning in a creek. The boy’s name was Abraham Lincoln.
Eliza Nottingham went to her grave on September 12, 1880 in the Martinez, CA Alhambra Cemetery. Among her children was Luisa Nottingham, the first school teacher in Pleasant Hill, CA. Luisa was the wife of Isaac Newton Berry Mitchell, the son of Mary Head Berry Mitchell, who is buried in an unmarked grave in the Antioch, CA Oak View Cemetery.
in a In 1967, The Knave (Oakland Tribune) decided to do a story on Eliza Nottingham and interviewed Frank Leslie (Doug) Mitchell, the grandson of Eliza (maternal) and Mary Head Berry Mitchell (paternal) for their February 12, 1967 issue.
The reason for keeping the incident quiet for many years might have been the fact that Aunt Polly was extremely sympathetic to the cause of the confederacy and the descendants felt no one would ever believe them. Nonetheless, the Mitchell’s genealogy tree proves the truth.
The Berrys and the Lincolns had been Kentucky neighbors for 17 years. When Abe was two years old, the Lincolns moved north to farm property along Knob Creek. Aunt Polly being older than Abe or his sister Sarah, was tasked to walk the two Lincoln children to school. On the first day of school, Knob Creek was swollen from a recent storm and Abe slipped off a log into the swirling waters. It was 14-year-old Mary Head Berry that grabbed Abe and saved him from drowning.
Even though Aunt Polly remained a loyal southerner, she still had great admiration for her neighbor, President Abraham Lincoln for the rest of her life. Mary Head Berry Mitchell died in 1888 in her home in Antioch, CA.
According to an Oakland Tribune article by Frank Wooten on April 19, 1982, Eliza’s headstone had been broken in half two years prior, and had recently been found by the Martinez Police Department among stolen items. Volunteers repaired it on May 1, 1982.
The original content of this post was taken from the previous website and updated for republishing in 2021.
For many years and printed reports, Eliza Nottingham was known as the nine-year-old girl who while on a family outing, saved a four-year-old boy from drowning in a creek. The boy’s name was Abraham Lincoln.
Eliza Nottingham went to her grave on September 12, 1880 in the Martinez, CA Alhambra Cemetery. Among her children was Luisa Nottingham, the first school teacher in Pleasant Hill, CA. Luisa was the wife of Isaac Newton Berry Mitchell, the son of Mary Head Berry Mitchell, who is buried in an unmarked grave in the Antioch, CA Oak View Cemetery.
According to an Oakland Tribune article by Frank Wooten on April 19, 1982, Eliza’s headstone had been broken in half two years prior, and had recently been found in the Martinez Police Department among stolen items.
in a In 1967, The Knave (Oakland Tribune) decided to do a story on Eliza Nottingham and interviewed Frank Leslie (Doug) Mitchell, the grandson of Eliza (maternal) and Mary Head Berry Mitchell (paternal) for their February 12, 1967 issue.
The reason for keeping the incident quiet for many years might have been the fact that Aunt Polly was extremely sympathetic to the cause of the confederacy and the descendants felt no one would ever believe them. Nonetheless, the Mitchell’s genealogy tree proves the truth.
The Berrys and the Lincolns had been Kentucky neighbors for 17 years. When Abe was two years old, the Lincolns moved north to farm property along Knob Creek. Aunt Polly being older than Abe or his sister Sarah, was tasked to walk the two Lincoln children to school. On the first day of school, Knob Creek was swollen from a recent storm and Abe slipped off a log into the swirling waters. It was 14-year-old Mary Head Berry that grabbed Abe and saved him from drowning.
Even though Aunt Polly remained a loyal southerner, she still had great admiration for her neighbor, President Abraham Lincoln for the rest of her life. Mary Head Berry Mitchell died in 1888 in her home in Antioch, CA.
The original content of this post was taken from the previous website and updated for republishing in 2021.