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Joshua Fry Speed
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Joshua Fry Speed
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Joshua Fry Speed (November 14, 1814 – May 29, 1882) was an American planter and businessman. He was a close friend of future President Abraham Lincoln from his days in Springfield, Illinois, where Speed was a partner in a general store. He first met Lincoln in 1837. Later, Speed returned to Kentucky where he farmed and invested in real estate. He also served one term in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1848.[1]

Key Information

Life

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Ancestors, family and early life

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Joshua Fry Speed was born at Farmington, Louisville, Kentucky, to Judge John Speed and Lucy Gilmer Speed (née Fry) on November 14, 1814.[2] On his father's side, Speed's ancestry can be traced back to 17th-century cartographer and historian John Speed.[3] John Speed's great-grandfather (James Speed) emigrated to Virginia in 1695. James Speed's grandson, Captain James Speed, fought in the American Revolution and was seriously wounded in 1781, resulting in the Continental Congress awarding him 7,500 acres in the territory of Kentucky.[4] He settled there in 1782 and became a judge and land speculator, eventually accumulating 45,000 acres in central Kentucky and joining the territorial conventions by which Kentucky became separated from Virginia.[5] One of Captain Speed's six children, John Speed, owned a store in the 1790s and operated a salt works using leased slaves. In the 1800s, his father gave him a large tract on which to begin farming. He grew staples and the labor-intensive cash crop of hemp. He would acquire other businesses as well, including a smithery. By his death in 1840, he had become one of Kentucky's largest slave-owners with 54.[6]

Lucy Speed, mother of Joshua

In 1808, following the death of his first wife, John Speed married Lucy Gilmer Fry. She had come from Virginia, where her family was close to Thomas Jefferson. Her father had inherited considerable wealth in land and slaves in Virginia, but left for Kentucky in 1788 or 1789. There, he opened a school in his home, where he taught a number of boys who later became prominent.[7] Joshua Speed was the fifth of 11 children from the marriage; one of his siblings died in infancy the year Joshua was born. Joshua remained close to his mother until her death, but he seems to have had a strained relationship with his father, who complained of "all your abuse of me" when Joshua was 15.[8] Depression seems to have run in the family, with evidence in his father, two of his brothers—James Speed showed signs of clinical depression—and Joshua himself.[9] Lincoln even observed this in Joshua, remarking, "You are 'naturally of a nervous temperament.'"[10]

Education and clerkship

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Despite having had little formal education himself, Joshua's father wanted his children to have that advantage. Joshua was tutored by his maternal grandfather, Joshua Fry, and attended St. Joseph's College near Bardstown. Before completing college, however, he fell ill. He returned home and, despite his father's opposition, argued that he was ready to begin a career.[11] He spent two to three years as a clerk in the largest wholesale establishment in Louisville.[12] He then moved to Springfield, Illinois.

Career

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Speed decided to try his fortune in the Midwest; in 1835 he set out for Springfield, Illinois. At the time, Springfield had a population of fewer than 1,500 people. Almost immediately upon arriving there, Speed engaged in merchandising and assisted in editing a local newspaper.

Speed and Lincoln

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Speed had heard young Abraham Lincoln deliver a speech on a stump when Lincoln was running for election to the Illinois legislature. On April 15, 1837, Lincoln arrived at Springfield, the new state capital, to seek his fortune as a young lawyer, whereupon he met Joshua Speed at the general store Speed ran. Lincoln sublet Joshua's apartment above Speed's store, becoming his roommate, sharing a bed with him for four years, and becoming his lifelong best friend.[13] Although bed-sharing between same sexes was a reasonably common practice in this period, this has led to speculation, including by Professor Thomas Balcerski, regarding Lincoln's sexuality.[14]

On March 30, 1840, Judge John Speed died. Joshua announced plans to sell his store and return to his parents' large plantation house, Farmington, near Louisville, Kentucky. Lincoln, though notoriously awkward and shy around women, was then engaged to Mary Todd, a vivacious young society woman also from Kentucky. As the dates approached for both Speed's departure and Lincoln's marriage, Lincoln broke the engagement on the planned day of the wedding, January 1, 1841. Speed departed as planned, leaving Lincoln mired in depression and guilt.

Seven months later, in July 1841, Lincoln, still depressed, decided to visit Speed in Kentucky. Speed welcomed Lincoln to his paternal house, where the latter spent a month regaining his mental health. During his stay at Farmington, Lincoln rode into Louisville almost daily to discuss legal matters of the day with Attorney James Speed, Joshua's older brother. James Speed lent Lincoln books from his law library.[15]

Joshua Speed and Lincoln disagreed over slavery, especially Speed's argument that Northerners should not care. In 1855, Lincoln wrote to Speed:

You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. ... I also acknowledge your rights and my obligations, under the constitution, in regard to your slaves. I confess I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes, and unrewarded toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841, you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio [River], there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continued torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border. It is hardly fair for you to assume, that I have no interest in a thing which has, and continually exercises, the power of making me miserable. You ought rather to appreciate how much the great body of the Northern people do crucify their feelings ...[16]

Joshua Fry Speed, c. 1860–1865

During Lincoln's presidential administration (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865), he offered Speed several government appointments. Speed refused each time, choosing to help in other ways. Speed disagreed with Lincoln on the slavery question but remained loyal, and coordinated Union activities in Kentucky during the American Civil War. His brother, James Speed, served as Lincoln's Attorney General beginning in November 1864, after the resignation of Edward Bates. In explaining the nomination to Congress, Lincoln acknowledged that he did not know James as well as he knew Joshua.[17]

Later activities

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After the assassination of Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, Speed organized a memorial service in Louisville for the departed leader. He also pledged his support to the new President Andrew Johnson administration (April 15, 1865, to March 3, 1869). Sixty members of the Speed family gave money for a monument to honor Lincoln in Springfield. Joshua Speed also wrote lengthy letters to William Herndon, a former law partner of Lincoln who had set about to write a biography of Lincoln.

Death and legacy

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Joshua Speed died on May 29, 1882, in Louisville, Kentucky. He is interred in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.[18] His family's estate, Farmington, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and while the farm is substantially reduced in size, the house has been restored and has become a local event venue, and the focus of living history events.[19]

Alleged hoax diary

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In 1999, the author and gay activist Larry Kramer claimed that he had uncovered new primary sources which shed fresh light on Lincoln's sexuality. The alleged sources included a hitherto-unknown Joshua Speed diary and letters in which it was claimed Speed wrote explicitly about his relationship with Lincoln. The items were supposedly discovered hidden beneath the floorboards of the old store in which the two men lived, and they were said to reside in a private collection in Davenport, Iowa.[20] Kramer died in 2020 and apparently never produced or showed anyone the supposed documents[21] although he published a novel in 2015, including some of his ideas about Speed and Lincoln that historian and psychoanalyst, Charles Strozier, found unconvincing as a matter of history or sexuality.[22] The historian Gabor Boritt, referring to the alleged documents, wrote, "Almost certainly this is a hoax...."[23]

Further family and ancestry information

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Joshua Speed's father, Judge John Speed, was born in Charlotte County, Virginia. John was first married to Abby Lemaster. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy:

  • Thomas Speed
  • Mary Speed (born 1800)
  • Eliza Speed (born 1805)
  • James Speed
1864 painting of Joshua Fry and his wife Fanny Henning Speed

John was then married to Lucy Gilmer Fry. Lucy was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. They had eleven children:

  • Thomas Speed (September 15, 1809 – 1812)
  • Lucy Fry Speed (February 26, 1811 – 1893). Later married to James D. Breckinridge.
  • James Speed (March 11, 1812 – June 12, 1887)
  • Peachy Walker Speed (May 4, 1813 – January 18, 1881)
  • Joshua Fry Speed (1814–1882)
  • William Pope Speed (April 26, 1816 – June 28, 1863)
  • Susan Fry Speed (September 30, 1817 – 1888)
  • Major Philip Speed (April 12, 1819 – November 1, 1882)
  • John Smith Speed (January 1, 1821 – 1886)
  • Martha Bell Speed (September 8, 1822 – 1903)
  • Ann Pope Speed (November 5, 1831 – 1838)

Joshua Speed began a courtship with Fanny Henning and married on February 15, 1842.[24] They remained married until his death. They had no children.

Fanny Henning Speed bequeathed a large amount to Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, and Speed Hall, listed on the National Register, is named for her.[25]

Representations in other media

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See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Joshua Fry Speed

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from Grokipedia
Joshua Fry Speed (November 14, 1814 – May 29, 1882) was a businessman, politician, and the lifelong close friend of , with whom he shared a boarding room in , and exchanged candid letters on personal and political matters. Born at Farmington, the family plantation near Louisville to attorney and , Speed grew up in a household that owned slaves, inheriting several upon his father's death in 1840 before later manumitting them. In 1835, at age 21, he relocated to to operate a , where Lincoln, then a struggling attorney, sought credit and formed an enduring companionship marked by mutual support during Lincoln's episodes of despair following a broken . After selling his business and marrying Fanny Henning in 1842, Speed returned to , entered politics as a Whig, winning election to the state in 1848, and maintained influence as a Unionist who opposed while counseling Lincoln against early measures amid concerns for border-state stability. Though differing on —Speed, a former slaveholder, protested military edicts—his advisory role on affairs proved pivotal to Lincoln's wartime strategy in preserving loyalty from slaveholding Union states.

Early Life and Family Background

Ancestry and Upbringing

Joshua Fry Speed was born on November 14, 1814, at the Farmington estate near Louisville in , to Judge John Speed (1772–1840), a landowner and former circuit court judge, and Lucy Gilmer Fry Speed (1788–1874). The Farmington plantation, established by John Speed around 1808–1815 on 350 acres of fertile land, relied on enslaved labor for production and other agriculture, generating substantial family wealth amid Kentucky's . As the fifth son among the eleven children born to John and —nine of whom reached adulthood—Speed grew up in a large slaveholding that included two half-sisters, Mary and , from his father's prior marriage to Abby LeMaster. His paternal lineage traced to Virginia Tidewater families, with John Speed's father, , among early migrants to County (now Jefferson County) by the 1780s, while his mother's Fry forebears included scholar Joshua Fry, who relocated from to in 1788 and founded a notable Mercer County school. This heritage linked the family to colonial surveyors and settlers, including ties to Revolutionary-era figures through extended kin. Speed's early years at Farmington exposed him to the rhythms of plantation management, including oversight of enslaved workers numbering up to 64 at peak, alongside domestic discussions of law and shaped by his father's judicial role and regional customs favoring gradual reform over abrupt change. The estate's self-sufficient operations, encompassing crops, livestock, and brick-making, instilled a practical attuned to Southern agrarian hierarchies and property-based social order.

Education and Early Influences

Joshua Fry Speed, born on November 14, 1814, in , received an education characteristic of elite youth in the region, beginning with attendance at private schools in Jefferson County. He later studied for two years at St. Joseph's Academy in Bardstown under Bishop Reynolds, an institution known for providing rigorous instruction to sons of prominent families, though formal records of his curriculum, likely including Latin and basic sciences, remain limited. His intellectual development was shaped by familial resources and expectations, with his father, Judge John Speed—a lawyer, planter, and holder of over seventy enslaved —prioritizing for his children despite his own limited formal schooling. The Speed home at Farmington exposed Speed to discussions of commerce and law through his father's hemp operations and legal practice, fostering a practical aligned with Southern rather than extensive Northern-style academies. As a member of a Whig-affiliated household, Speed encountered early awareness of national economic debates, including support for tariffs and championed by the party, though his youth precluded active involvement and distanced him from radical abolitionist influences prevalent in other circles. This environment emphasized pragmatic governance and union preservation over ideological extremism, reflecting the moderate slaveholding ethos of antebellum Kentucky's elite.

Professional Beginnings

Clerkship and Relocation to Springfield

After completing his education at St. Joseph's Academy in Bardstown, Kentucky, Joshua Fry Speed took a position as a clerk in William R. Pope's wholesale store in Louisville following a period of illness that interrupted his studies. This role, lasting approximately two to three years, provided him with practical business experience in a major commercial hub, leveraging the Speed family's prominent connections in Kentucky's mercantile and plantation economy. In spring 1835, at age 20, Speed relocated to Springfield, Illinois, seeking greater economic opportunities in the expanding Midwest away from reliance on his family's hemp plantation operations in Kentucky. The move aligned with broader patterns of westward migration among ambitious young Kentuckians, drawn by Springfield's potential as a growing frontier settlement where settlers could build independent enterprises amid rapid territorial development. Upon arrival, Springfield was a modest village with a population under 1,500, yet positioned for expansion as ' political and commercial center, culminating in its designation as state capital in 1837. Speed's brief initial phase in this environment involved leveraging local networks in a self-reliant legal and business milieu, emphasizing personal initiative over inherited status, before transitioning to mercantile ventures.

Initial Business Endeavors

In 1835, Joshua Fry Speed relocated from , to , where he entered into a in a mercantile firm, James Bell & Company, establishing a that primarily dealt in such as textiles, , and household supplies. The venture capitalized on the region's burgeoning agricultural , serving farmers and settlers amid ' population and trade expansion in the mid-1830s. Abraham , operating a struggling store in nearby New Salem, purchased inventory on credit from Speed's establishment starting around April 1837, accumulating debts as his own business faltered amid local economic pressures including poor harvests and market competition. By 1841, as Speed prepared to exit the partnership—selling his interest to associate A. Y. Ellis—the outstanding obligations were mutually dissolved through an amicable settlement, reflecting practical reciprocity rather than formal co-ownership between Speed and Lincoln. The store experienced moderate profitability from steady rural demand but encountered volatility from fluctuating commodity prices and debtor defaults common in frontier commerce. Following the death of Speed's father, Judge John Speed, on March 30, 1840, he initiated liquidation efforts in late 1840, posting notices to collect outstanding debts and dispose of inventory, driven by familial responsibilities at the plantation and the need to consolidate resources amid uncertain prospects in . Speed completed the sale and departed Springfield by early 1841, preserving capital for subsequent endeavors back home.

Friendship and Correspondence with Abraham Lincoln

Meeting and Shared Accommodations

Joshua Fry Speed arrived in , in 1835 to manage a dry-goods store owned by his brother James. On April 15, 1837, , recently relocated from New Salem after the bankruptcy of his partnership with William Berry, entered Speed's store seeking to purchase basic furnishings for a room but found the $17 cost prohibitive amid his poverty. Speed, occupying a large upstairs room above the store equipped with a double bed and minimal other furniture, spontaneously offered Lincoln to share the space, remarking on its suitability for two unmarried men. Lincoln accepted, and they spent their first night together in the shared bed, marking the practical origins of their friendship in the resource-scarce conditions of 1830s . This arrangement persisted for approximately four years, until Speed's departure in 1841, during which time Lincoln sublet the room from Speed while beginning his legal practice in Springfield. Sharing a double bed reflected standard practices in cash-poor pioneer settlements, where boarding houses and inns frequently accommodated multiple boarders per bed to maximize limited space and reduce costs, particularly among transient young professionals like clerks, lawyers, and merchants. Such setups prioritized economic survival over privacy, aligning with the era's norms rather than signaling exceptional personal dynamics. Early interactions fostered rapport through mutual Whig Party affiliations, as both men supported , banking reforms, and opposition to Andrew Jackson's policies. Lincoln's anecdotal , drawn from experiences, provided levity during evenings of intellectual exchange on topics like , , and personal ambition, while discussions of self-education resonated with Lincoln's drive to overcome his limited formal schooling amid shared economic precarity. These conversations, conducted in the simplicity of their room, laid the groundwork for a bond sustained by common frontier challenges rather than prior acquaintance.

Personal and Intellectual Exchange

In the period following Joshua Fry Speed's return to in late 1841, initiated a series of deeply personal letters to his friend, confiding struggles with melancholy and apprehensions about his impending to Mary Todd. Lincoln described his emotional despondency as a persistent affliction, exacerbated by the earlier broken in January 1841, and sought reassurance amid fears of inadequacy in matrimony. Speed, in response, provided counsel emphasizing mental discipline and resilience, drawing on his own recent marital experiences to urge Lincoln toward stability and forward momentum in personal affairs. These 1841–1842 exchanges, spanning from to , reveal Speed's role as a steadying , with Lincoln explicitly leaning on him for guidance through romantic uncertainties and bouts of gloom that he likened to a "disease of the mind." In a February 13, 1842, letter, Lincoln anticipated Speed's potential post-marital anxieties and advised proactive engagement to dispel them, mirroring the reciprocal support that characterized their . Speed's replies, though fewer survive, reinforced practical steps over passive rumination, reflecting his more optimistic disposition informed by familial Presbyterian influences, without delving into speculative interpretations of their bond beyond documented friendship. Beyond immediate crises, their touched on broader personal reflections, including mutual interests in and ethical self-examination, as evidenced by references to and ambition in preserved notes. Speed's stabilizing presence is credited in contemporary accounts with aiding Lincoln's recovery from despondency, fostering a pattern of intellectual candor that persisted lifelong. After Speed's relocation, the physical distance prompted sustained epistolary contact, maintaining their intimate advisory dynamic through mail into subsequent years, independent of political matters.

Advisory Role During Lincoln's Rise

During the 1840s and 1850s, Joshua Fry Speed supplied with intelligence on political sentiments in and other border states, drawing on his local prominence and family connections to inform Lincoln's responses to national party realignments, such as the formation of the Republican Party amid debates over slavery's territorial expansion. Speed's correspondence highlighted Unionist leanings among elites, aiding Lincoln in balancing anti-slavery advocacy with appeals to moderate Southern interests. Speed actively encouraged Lincoln's 1858 U.S. Senate campaign against , leveraging his knowledge of border state dynamics to advise on electoral strategies. As the contest concluded, Lincoln consulted Speed regarding concerns over potential voting irregularities, reflecting trust in his friend's judgment on regional political reliability. For the 1860 presidential race, Speed promoted Lincoln's candidacy through his Southern networks and personally voted for him in Louisville—one of approximately 91 such votes in , a predominantly Democratic slave state. After Lincoln's November 6, 1860, election victory, Speed relayed critical assurances of Kentucky's Union loyalty to avert in this strategically vital border state. On November 14, 1860, he wrote to the president-elect detailing supportive sentiments among key figures, followed by an in-person meeting in on November 21 to coordinate efforts preserving state allegiance. These interventions, informed by Speed's on-the-ground ties, helped reinforce Kentucky's neutrality and ultimate Union commitment, countering pro-Confederate pressures.

Political Positions and Civil War Involvement

Views on Slavery and Union Preservation

Joshua Fry Speed inherited a share of the family's enslaved population at Farmington, the Speed near , where up to 64 individuals labored in hemp production and domestic service, providing essential economic support for the estate's viability in a border state's mixed agricultural system. As manager after his father's death in 1840, Speed oversaw their operations, viewing as a entrenched necessary for Kentucky's socioeconomic rather than a moral absolute demanding eradication. Speed opposed the extension of into western territories, voting against a 1849 Kentucky constitutional amendment that would have eased importation of slaves for resale, a stance aimed at preserving sectional equilibrium within the Union. He rejected immediate abolition, prioritizing Union preservation over disruptive reforms, as evidenced by his defense of slaveholders' legal even while acknowledging slavery's abstract moral wrong, arguing that forcible interference risked national dissolution without practical Southern alternatives. Over time, Speed's position evolved toward gradual solutions, including to incentivize slaveholders and to relocate freed individuals, critiquing radical abolitionists for their uncompromising demands that disregarded Kentucky's hybrid society of Unionist slaveholders and overlooked feasible transitional paths. This pragmatic approach reflected his commitment to stabilizing the Union through balanced incentives rather than ideological confrontation.

Support for Lincoln's Policies

Despite voting as a Democrat in the 1860 presidential election due to policy differences, Speed congratulated Lincoln upon his victory on November 14, 1860, and quietly rejoiced at the outcome as a step toward preserving the Union under constitutional principles. He actively supported Lincoln's initial war measures to maintain federal authority, organizing secret Unionist meetings in on May 7, 1861, and facilitating the distribution of 5,000 "Lincoln guns" to loyalists on May 18, 1861, followed by another 5,000 on June 5, 1861. These efforts underscored his commitment to Union preservation without immediate disruption to border state allegiances, coordinating supplies for federal forces including General Sherman in October 1861. Speed aligned with Lincoln's overarching goal of restoring the Union through , viewing primarily as a pragmatic wartime tool to weaken the Confederacy rather than an antislavery moral crusade. He strenuously opposed General John C. Frémont's military order in and personally advised Lincoln against issuing the in 1862, warning that such a would alienate pro-Union slaveholders in and other border states, potentially tipping them toward . Despite these reservations, Speed pragmatically deferred to Lincoln's judgment, recognizing the measure's role in sustaining the war effort, as Lincoln anticipated Speed would ultimately acknowledge its justice. While opposing abolition by executive fiat or immediate mandate, Speed accepted the Thirteenth Amendment's ratification in as a practical means to conclusively end the rebellion and facilitate peace, prioritizing constitutional restoration over punitive radicalism. As a loyalist who owned enslaved people, he cautioned against harsh policies that risked further dividing Unionists, advocating instead for measured reintegration of the to secure lasting fidelity to the federal compact without alienating moderates essential to national cohesion. His frequent confidential visits to Washington during the war reinforced this stance, providing Lincoln with grounded advice on sentiment to balance with .

Activities in Kentucky During the War

During the early months of the Civil War, Joshua Fry Speed actively supported Union efforts in by coordinating the distribution of arms to pro-Union partisans, including weapons known as "Lincoln guns" supplied directly from President . On May 27, 1861, Speed informed Lincoln that these arms had been successfully distributed, contributing to the organization of Unionist forces in a state teetering between loyalty and secession. As a member of the prominent Speed family in Louisville—a city rife with divided allegiances—he leveraged his local influence to rally Unionists and counter secessionist pressures, despite some Confederate sympathies within his extended kin and community. Speed functioned as Lincoln's informal confidential agent in Kentucky, providing on-the-ground assessments of political and military conditions. He made frequent trips to Washington to advise the president personally and corresponded regularly on critical issues, such as Kentucky's entrenched support for in September 1861, which heightened risks, and the morale of Union troops amid border-state tensions. These reports helped Lincoln navigate Kentucky's strategic importance, ensuring its neutrality initially and eventual Union alignment without full-scale invasion. Amid wartime disruptions, Speed maintained oversight of his and interests, adapting operations to supply shortages and labor instability while prioritizing Union stability over personal economic ventures. His mediation efforts in Louisville focused on fostering Union loyalty among wavering elites, using family networks to prevent broader Confederate mobilization in the region.

Post-War Career and Personal Life

Following the Civil War, Joshua Fry Speed concentrated his efforts on management in Louisville, continuing a established in with his brother-in-law James W. Henning. This venture involved overseeing properties for absentee owners displaced by wartime service in Union or Confederate forces, for which Speed charged modest fees to preserve assets amid economic upheaval. Such activities capitalized on land value shifts caused by and disruptions, positioning Speed to benefit from Kentucky's relatively intact Unionist economy compared to deeper Southern states. Speed extended his influence into transportation and commerce infrastructure, assuming the presidency of the Louisville and Portland Canal Company, which enhanced navigation critical for regional trade recovery. He also served as president of the Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railroad for two years, aiding post-war rail expansion despite labor transitions from to wage systems in Kentucky's and sectors. These roles underscored adaptations to free labor dynamics, favoring direct wages over prevalent elsewhere, as Kentucky's border-state status preserved commercial networks. Further diversifying, Speed became president of the Louisville Hotel, supporting urban hospitality growth, and held directorships in the Louisville Safety Vault Company, Louisville Cement Company, and of Louisville. These investments reflected confidence in Louisville's developmental trajectory, leveraging the city's avoidance of full-scale Confederate destruction to foster banking and amid Reconstruction-era for Union-aligned recovery. By the late 1870s, such endeavors had solidified Speed's prosperity, with and corporate leadership yielding substantial returns in a diversifying economy.

Marriage, Family, and Domestic Affairs


Joshua Fry Speed married Fanny Henning, a member of a prominent Louisville , on February 15, 1842. The union produced no children, yet the couple cultivated deep bonds with Speed nephews and nieces, who frequently visited their household, embodying extended kinship networks typical of Southern planter society. Following their marriage, Speed and his wife resided for nine years in the Pond Settlement area of , before relocating to Louisville and later to their estate "Cold Spring" adjacent to the future Cherokee Park. Domestic routines emphasized companionship, with the pair engaging in and equestrian pursuits, while Speed assumed a patriarchal role in overseeing inherited through connections. Their home served as a hub of , welcoming relatives and guests in a manner reflective of antebellum Southern customs. Religious observance marked the household, as Speed affiliated with Trinity Methodist Church, fostering an environment of piety amid the era's social transformations. In the post-emancipation context, Speed navigated labor and economic shifts by maintaining property integrity through , ensuring continuity for inheritance without direct progeny. This approach underscored fiscal prudence and familial duty in a changing Southern landscape.

Death and Immediate Aftermath

Final Years and Health Decline

In his later years, Joshua Fry Speed experienced a progressive decline in health primarily due to , which curtailed his active participation in business and civic affairs. By the mid-1870s, he had reduced his direct involvement in enterprises such as the and various railroads, where he had previously served as president or director, shifting focus to overseeing family real estate holdings and properties in Louisville, including his residence at "Cold Spring" near Cherokee Park. Despite these limitations, Speed maintained some leisure pursuits, including a trip to in 1876 and a winter sojourn in Nassau in 1881-1882, reflecting efforts to manage his condition through rest and travel. Speed's conservative social commitments persisted through affiliations with local institutions, notably his membership in Trinity Methodist Church in Louisville, which aligned with traditional community values in the post-war . His estate, valued at approximately $600,000 at death, underscored the enduring management of Speed family assets amid his health constraints. Speed died on May 29, 1882, at the Louisville Hotel from complications associated with diabetes, at the age of 67.

Burial and Family Succession

Joshua Fry Speed died on May 29, 1882, in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 67. He was interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, joining numerous Speed family members buried there, including his parents John Speed and Lucy Gilmer Fry Speed. Speed and his wife, Fanny Henning Speed, had no children, leaving his estate—comprising real estate holdings, farmland, and personal effects—to be distributed among extended family members through probate proceedings in Jefferson County. The Speed family, centered at the ancestral Farmington plantation, ensured continuity of familial interests by retaining oversight of Speed-linked properties and businesses in Louisville's burgeoning post-war economy. The family preserved Farmington as a private heritage site into the late 19th and early 20th centuries, safeguarding artifacts such as Speed's correspondence with , which later informed historical collections at institutions like the Filson Historical Society. This stewardship reflected the Speed clan's emphasis on dynastic legacy amid Louisville's industrial expansion.

Historical Legacy and Assessments

Contributions to Lincoln's Biography

Joshua Fry Speed supplied critical primary material to William Herndon, Lincoln's longtime law partner who compiled an early biography, through a series of nine letters dated from June 22, 1865, to December 6, 1866. These communications detailed Lincoln's arrival in Springfield in 1837, their shared lodging above Speed's store, and intimate discussions on personal and political matters, offering unvarnished insights into Lincoln's daily habits and intellectual habits during his formative years. Speed's anecdotes focused on verifiable episodes that illuminated Lincoln's character without , such as Lincoln's act of rescuing fledgling birds encountered during a walk, which Speed recounted to demonstrate Lincoln's innate rooted in practical observation rather than abstract . In these accounts, Speed stressed Lincoln's preference for logical over emotional excess, as evidenced by Lincoln's advice to Speed on resolving personal doubts through reasoned self-examination and his skeptical inquiries into religious during a 1864 conversation. This portrayal balanced Lincoln's documented melancholy—detailed in shared letters from 1841 regarding a broken —with his capacity for detached rationality, providing Herndon with evidence to resist purely hagiographic narratives prevalent in postwar tributes. Speed's preservation of Lincoln's correspondence further enriched biographical records, archiving letters that exposed Lincoln's pre-presidential , including the August 24, 1855, missive critiquing slavery's moral and expansionist logic through slavery's incompatibility with natural rights and republican governance. These documents, reluctantly shared with Herndon, enabled of Lincoln's evolving leadership by tracing intellectual threads from personal friendships to formation, unfiltered by later mythologizing.

Evaluations of Influence and Character

Historians assess Joshua Fry Speed's influence on primarily as a personal stabilizer rather than a policy driver, emphasizing emotional support during Lincoln's documented periods of melancholy. In , following Lincoln's broken engagement to Mary Todd, Speed's reassurances and their shared correspondence helped avert Lincoln's , with biographer Charles B. Strozier describing the as "therapeutic, even redemptive." Speed's own marriage in November 1842 further bolstered Lincoln's resolve to wed Todd on , 1842, as Lincoln credited Speed's example in navigating relational doubts. This non-ideological counsel persisted despite their slavery rift, as evidenced by Lincoln's confessional 1855 letter to Speed articulating anti-slavery convictions while valuing the Kentuckian's candor. Speed's character emerges in accounts as affable and hospitable—traits evident in his initial aid to the impecunious Lincoln upon arriving in Springfield on April 15, 1837, sharing lodging and a amid financial straits—yet firm in defending regional interests. As a Whig legislator in from 1848 to 1850, he exemplified party virtues of pragmatic compromise, prioritizing Union preservation over immediate abolition in a slave-holding border state, even as he owned enslaved people inherited from his family plantation. His vehement opposition to General John C. Frémont's 1861 emancipation order and private urging against the underscored this resolve, prioritizing constitutional limits amid wartime exigencies. Speed's legacy as a conduit between Southern moderates and Northern Republicans remains underappreciated in Union victory , which often foregrounds radical abolitionists. Operating as Lincoln's confidential agent in early in the Civil War, he facilitated arming Union loyalists and relayed border-state sentiments, aiding Lincoln's calibrated approach to secessionist pressures without alienating moderates. This bridging role, rooted in Speed's shift from Whig to Democrat while upholding federal authority, highlighted pragmatic realism over sectional purity, though overshadowed by more dramatic figures in post-war narratives.

Key Controversies

The Fabricated Diary Claim

In 1999, gay activist and playwright publicly claimed to have discovered a authored by Joshua Fry Speed that purportedly documented a homosexual affair between Speed and during their time sharing accommodations in , from 1837 to 1841. Kramer asserted the provided primary evidence of romantic and sexual intimacy, drawing on it to argue Lincoln's predominant in interviews and writings. However, Kramer never produced the for scholarly examination, citing its residence in a , which deprived it of any verifiable or independent authentication. Historians specializing in Lincoln's life, such as Harold Holzer, immediately dismissed the claim as a , noting Kramer's admission to fabricating aspects of the story during private conversations. The alleged 's absence from established Lincoln and Speed archives, including the Presidential Library and the Speed family papers at the Filson Historical Society, further undermines its existence, as no corroborating references appear in contemporary correspondence or inventories of 19th-century materials. Analyses of similar purported Lincoln-era documents have routinely identified forgeries through forensic methods, such as ink composition, paper aging inconsistencies, and anachronistic phrasing—standards that the unexamined diary evades but which align with patterns in rejected Lincoln hoaxes. Kramer's promotion of the aligns with activist efforts to reinterpret historical figures through a modern lens of , prioritizing speculative narratives over empirical records like the well-documented platonic letters between Lincoln and Speed, which emphasize mutual friendship and professional counsel without erotic undertones. Mainstream historians, including those from the , universally reject the claim as baseless, attributing its persistence to ideological revisionism rather than evidentiary rigor, and caution against sources driven by contemporary agendas that overlook contextual norms of 19th-century male boarding practices. No peer-reviewed study or archival discovery has substantiated the since 1999, reinforcing its status as a fabricated unsupported by primary sources.

Interpretations of Personal Relationship with Lincoln

Joshua Fry Speed and Abraham Lincoln shared a close friendship beginning in 1837, when Lincoln arrived in Springfield, Illinois, and rented a room above Speed's , leading to their sharing a double bed for approximately four years due to financial constraints common among young professionals of the era. This arrangement reflected practical necessities in frontier settlements, where inns and housing were scarce and bed-sharing among unrelated men, including friends and business associates, was a standard practice unassociated with erotic implications. Historians emphasize that such domestic proximity fostered bonds of mutual support, as Speed provided emotional counsel during Lincoln's periods of melancholy following romantic setbacks, including the death of and a broken engagement with Mary Owens. Their correspondence, spanning decades, featured affectionate language typical of 19th-century male epistolary norms, where men expressed deep emotional attachment through terms of endearment and sentimental prose without implying sexual intimacy. For instance, Lincoln's letters to Speed conveyed profound gratitude and reliance, yet aligned with the era's conventions of platonic "romantic friendship," which emphasized loyalty and shared hardship over physical romance, as evidenced in analogous relationships among figures like Henry David Thoreau and his companions. Speed reciprocated this closeness, later recalling Lincoln as a confidant who influenced his own views on slavery, but both men's documented heterosexual pursuits—Speed's courtship and 1842 marriage to Fanny Henning, with whom he fathered nine children, and Lincoln's 1842 marriage to Mary Todd—underscore the absence of any contemporaneous accounts suggesting deviation from these patterns. Modern scholarly interpretations occasionally posit a romantic or sexual dimension to the Speed-Lincoln bond, drawing on the bed-sharing and letter tone, but these claims lack primary and have been critiqued for imposing 20th- and 21st-century categories of sexuality onto 19th-century contexts. Historians such as B. Strozier argue that no direct or indicates of the relationship, attributing such readings to selective emphasis that overlooks the ubiquity of non-erotic intimacy in pre-Freudian America and the men's subsequent lives. Speed himself, described by contemporaries as a "lady's man" known for romantic pursuits with women, maintained the friendship as one of intellectual and political kinship, offering Lincoln advice on , , and personal resilience without hints of exclusivity or secrecy that might signal romance. Empirical assessment favors viewing the relationship through its demonstrable impacts: Speed's role in bolstering Lincoln's emotional stability and early political networks, evidenced by their lifelong correspondence on national issues like the Kansas-Nebraska Act, rather than unsubstantiated projections of . Claims of , often amplified in popular media, fail to account for the era's socioeconomic realities—such as poverty-driven —and the heterosexual trajectories of both men, prioritizing contextual over interpretive influenced by contemporary identity frameworks. This platonic interpretation aligns with broader historical patterns of male camaraderie that sustained ambition amid adversity, as seen in Lincoln's reliance on Speed during his ascent from store clerk to statesman.

References

  1. https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/persons/SP00351
  2. https://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/the-boys/joshua-speed/index.html
  3. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeMoments/moments08RS/22_web_leg_moments.htm
  4. https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/17-2-2_Part-I-Joshua-Fry-Speed-1814-1882_.pdf
  5. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-abraham-lincolns-bromance-alter-course-american-history-180962203/
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  13. https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G005828.pdf
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  27. https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1806&context=etd
  28. https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/documents/D200280
  29. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6940169/joshua_fry-speed
  30. https://www.completely-kentucky.fandom.com/wiki/Joshua_Fry_Speed
  31. https://filsonhistorical.org/research-doc/speedfamily-2/
  32. https://kentuckyhistorictravels.com/2024/07/07/farmington-historical-treasure-in-the-highlands-of-louisville/
  33. https://visitfarmington.org/past-and-future-2/
  34. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms001002.3
  35. https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/speed.htm
  36. https://www.masshist.org/database/456
  37. https://pagesix.com/2009/12/31/honest-abe-didnt-want-men/
  38. https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/12/31/Historian-Lincoln-gay-claim-a-hoax/48481262295827/
  39. https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/12/31/UPI-NewsTrack-Quirks-in-the-News/96981262298061/
  40. https://www.edsteers.com/Legends-Excerpt.html
  41. https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/fact-or-fiction-january-2004/
  42. https://www.artofmanliness.com/people/relationships/the-history-and-nature-of-man-friendships/
  43. https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/abraham-joshua/
  44. https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-106/bedfellows-forever
  45. https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-lincoln-bedroom/
  46. https://cupblog.org/2016/06/03/debunking-the-myth-that-lincoln-was-gay/
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