By in Biography & Personal Stories —

Honest Abe's Tab: The Forgotten Story of Abraham Lincoln, Tavern Keeper

Long before his presidency, Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender. In 1833, he and a partner opened a tavern in New Salem, Illinois. The short-lived venture, which sold whiskey and gin, ultimately failed but remains a unique chapter in his life.

Honest Abe's Tab: The Forgotten Story of Abraham Lincoln, Tavern Keeper

Long before the iconic stovepipe hat and the solemn gaze that would define a nation, a young Abraham Lincoln was a man trying to find his footing on the American frontier. History remembers him as a lawyer, a statesman, and the Great Emancipator. Yet, a lesser-known, and perhaps more relatable, chapter of his life casts him in a different role entirely: that of a licensed tavern keeper.

A Partnership in Spirits

In 1831, a 22-year-old Lincoln arrived in the burgeoning village of New Salem, Illinois. After a series of odd jobs, including clerking in a general store that went under, Lincoln saw an opportunity for enterprise. Alongside a man named William F. Berry, he purchased a small general store. This venture, officially known as "Berry and Lincoln," soon expanded its inventory. In 1833, the partners took a step that transformed their business from a simple dry-goods store into a frontier public house.

For the sum of $7, they secured a tavern license, which legally permitted them to sell spirits by the drink. This license authorized them to retail a variety of potent potables, including:

  • French Brandy at 25 cents per half-pint
  • Peach Brandy at 18.75 cents per half-pint
  • Apple Brandy at 12.5 cents per half-pint
  • Holland Gin at 18.75 cents per half-pint
  • Domestic Gin at 12.5 cents per half-pint
  • Wine at 25 cents per half-pint
  • Whiskey at 12.5 cents per half-pint

With this license, Abraham Lincoln officially became the only U.S. President to have ever been a licensed bartender.

The Seeds of an Inevitable Failure

Despite the potential for profit in a frontier town, the Berry and Lincoln establishment was not destined for success. The partnership was fundamentally mismatched. William Berry, a veteran of the Black Hawk War like Lincoln, was also a struggling alcoholic who reportedly drank a significant portion of the store's profits and stock.

Lincoln, on the other hand, was never much of a shopkeeper. His interests lay elsewhere. Patrons and friends recalled that he was more likely to be found engrossed in a book, debating politics, or regaling customers with stories than he was meticulously managing inventory. The tavern became less a place of commerce and more a stage for the budding orator and politician to connect with the local populace. While this honed his public skills, it did little for the business's bottom line.

Honest Abe and the 'National Debt'

The business inevitably failed, leaving Lincoln with a mountain of debt he wryly referred to as his "National Debt." While Berry died a few years later, Lincoln, true to the character that would later earn him the moniker "Honest Abe," refused to shirk his financial responsibility. He insisted on repaying every creditor in full, a painstaking process that took him over a decade and followed him from New Salem to his early law career in Springfield.

This brief, unsuccessful foray into the tavern business is more than a historical curiosity. It's a formative episode that reveals the core of Lincoln's character: his sociability, his burgeoning interest in public life over private gain, and his unwavering commitment to integrity. The failure of the Berry and Lincoln tavern was a financial setback, but the lessons in responsibility and human nature learned behind that rustic bar were invaluable on the long road to the White House.

Sources