Lincoln Street
From Worcester Activist wiki
Also WINSLOW and MERRICK STS. & ABRAHAM LINCOLN
In the twilight of a distinguished lifetime, the eyesight of Levi Lincoln, Sr., of Worcester began to dim.
Riding along Lincoln street in his carriage toward his farm, he met a man smooshing a large flock of geese. Their white heads bobbed every which way.
Mr. Lincoln mistook them for children. Flinging out a handful of small coin, he said: “Bless you, my children!”
The Lincoln family is one of the most remarkable in the history of Worcester.
Levi, Sr., began as a blacksmith, went to Harvard and planned to become a minister. But he heard John Adams speak and decided to go in for law. When the Revolution broke out, Lincoln volunteered and served with the Army in Boston.
In Worcester he practiced law in 1775, became a judge of probate and delegate to the convention that framed the Massachusetts constitution. Honor after honor followed-State Legislature, Congress, attorney general under Jefferson, state councilor, lieutenant-governor and finally governor.
His son Levi, Jr., went to the State Senate at 30; became a speaker of the House of Representatives; lieutenant-governor; associate justice and then governor for nine years. Later he went to Congress and in 1841 became collector of the Port of Boston.
Another son William, was a Worcester historian, a magazine and newspaper writer and editor. In 1835, he represented Worcester at the General Court and as a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Another son, Enoch became governor of Maine.
It would take a lot of type to tell the whole story of this distinguished family. They were descendants of Samuel Lincoln who settled in Hingham after 1628.
Abraham Lincoln came from the same family.
Lincoln street, one of the city’s important arteries, was the great stagecoach route to Boston in the old days. Appearing about 1722, it runs from Lincoln square northeast to Shrewsbury.
Two other streets honor Lincoln family names. They are Winslow street and Merrick street. The later was named for the wife of D. Waldo Lincoln.
The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.
