Rhoda Derry
Rhoda Derry was a young woman who became a mental patient and lived in that state for the bulk of her life, but it is her story that has caught the public’s imagination. Rhonda was dating a young man named Charles, and Charles’s mother did not approve of their relationship. The mother cast a spell on Rhoda and threatened to cast another if she did not abandon her child. Rhoda was scared of witches. Rhoda began displaying indications of mental illness at the age of 18 and was soon labeled with “madness” She was admitted to the Adams County Almshouse when she was 25 years old, despite being described as “blind and insane” and she spent the rest of her adult life in institutions, living to be one day shy of 72.
Abraham Lincoln
Before becoming the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln worked as a lawyer, Illinois state politician, congressman, and Whig Party leader. Following Lincoln’s election as President in 1860, pro-slavery states began to secede from the Union, igniting the American Civil War. In the years that followed, Lincoln led the country through the Civil War, effectively preserving the Union until his death in December 1865. He is still recognized as one of the best presidents the United States has ever had.
