Thomas Lincoln (January 6, 1778 – January 17, 1851) was an American farmer, carpenter, and father of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Unlike some of his ancestors, Thomas could not write. He struggled to make a successful living for his family and met challenges of Kentucky real estate border disputes, the early death of his first wife, and the integration of his second wife's family into his own family before making his final home in Illinois.