Edward Askew Sothern the play that Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. Sothern's role was Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. At first, he was reluctant to accept the role; it was so small and unimportant that he felt it beneath him and feared it might damage his reputation. He mentioned his qualms to his friend, Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the leading role of Asa Trenchard in the play. Jefferson supposedly responded with the famous line: "There are no small parts, only small actors." On 15 October 1858, "Our American Cousin" premiered in New York.
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park earliest memories was his near drowning in Knob Creek, and being saved by the neighbor's son. Lincoln lived here until the age of seven, when his family moved to Indiana, to the site now commemorated as the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. The original Memorial was constructed by the Lincoln Farm Association. In 1916, they donated the Memorial to the Federal government, which established the Abraham Lincoln National Park on July 17, 1916. The War Department administered the site until August 10, 1933, when it was transferred to the National Park Service. It was designated as the Abraham Lincoln National Historical