President Abraham Lincoln's Stepmother. She became Abraham Lincoln's stepmother when he was nine years old. In 1816, she became a widow of Daniel Johnson, leaving her with three children. Thomas Lincoln became a widower in 1818 with two children. She was thirty-one years old, and he was ten years older. They had known each others for years. In 1819, returning to Kentucky, he simply knocked on her door one day in Hardin County, Kentucky, proposed marriage with the paying of her debts, and she accepted. They married on December 2, 1819. At first, this was a marriage made of convenience, not love. They were quickly married, packed Sarah's belongings into a wagon, and headed for Thomas' farm in Indiana. It was at this point, that Abraham and his sister learned that they had a new mother as well as three new siblings. While Thomas viewed his son's studious ways as a waste of time, his new stepmother, although illiterate herself, encouraged his studies, which probably led to his lofty place in American history. According to the Federal Park's information, they became close, while the distance between father and son widened. This was a blended family of nine in a small log cabin in the wildness with all the challenges that go with that situation. The Lincoln family migrated to Illinois in 1830, at which point, Abraham parted and went his own way. Upon the death of his father in 1851, he did not attend the funeral, but continued to visit his stepmother periodically. The President-elect made one last visit to Sarah before he left for Washington, and then visited the grave of his father. An overnight visit on January 31, 1861, was the last time they would ever meet. As an adult, he called her "Mother" when speaking to others. When she heard of President Lincoln's death, she mourned her stepson's death publicly. Sarah continued to live at the Coles County farm until her death at age 80, leaving over twenty grandchildren to mourn her. She was interred beside her second husband, Thomas Lincoln. The Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Coles County, Illinois, was named in her honor. She shares the same birthdate as Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary.