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Abraham Lincoln by Kevin Wood |
Bringing history – |
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I
was born in Michigan but moved with my family to central Illinois
at the age of eleven. I attended high school in the town of
Metamora, which had been one of Abe Lincoln's regular
stops as a circuit-riding attorney. As a history buff, I used to
enjoy visiting the
Metamora
Courthouse (photo at left, taken in 2014) with its various Lincoln memorabilia.
As a young man, my height reached 6'3", and I also grew a beard. It was then that my resemblance to President Lincoln first began to come out. Still, it didn't occur to me until some years later to combine my love for history, my interest in Lincoln, my experience in public speaking, and my natural resemblance to "Honest Abe."
Today, I get great enjoyment out of bringing one of our nation's most esteemed historical characters to life. And my audiences, both young and old alike, tell me how much they enjoy and learn from it as well.
My personal highlights from the past
25 years include
appearances at important Lincoln sites such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum and the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, IL, and at
important Lincoln events such as Lincoln's Festival in Bloomington, IL. I
have now appeared as Mr. Lincoln in 33 states, Washington, DC, and two foreign
countries: Canada and Spain. I am also a past winner of the oratory contest at
the Lincoln Days Celebration in Hodgenville, KY (Lincoln's birthplace).
I am a lifetime member (since 2001) of the Association of Lincoln Presenters and currently serve on its Board. I was a member of Illinois Humanities' Road Scholars Speakers Bureau from 2015 to 2022.
I lived in the Philadelphia, PA area from 1992 until 2003, then in Spain until the summer of 2013 when I relocated back to the USA, to the Chicago, IL area. In the summer of 2021, I moved back to Michigan. Unlike Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, who had four sons, my wife Joanne and I have no sons, but three lovely daughters.
P.S. It's not easy filling Abe Lincoln's shoes! But here's how I stack up:
Abe Lincoln: 6'4" (in Lincoln's words, "6'4" nearly"), 160-180 lbs., shoe size: 13
Kevin Wood: 6'3" (6'4" nearly), 160 lbs., shoe size: 11
The real Mr. Lincoln was born in Kentucky and later lived in Indiana,
Illinois, and on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.
I was born in Michigan and later lived in Illinois, Michigan again (college), Indiana
(graduate school), Pennsylvania,
Spain, Illinois again, and now Michigan for the third time.
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www.MrLincoln.com | Abraham Lincoln by Kevin Wood | updated 01/31/2025 |