[29] Family, neighbors, and schoolmates recalled that his reading included the King James Bible, Aesop's Fables, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.[30]

New Salem, Illinois
As a teen, Lincoln took responsibility for chores and customarily gave his father all earnings from work outside the home until he was 21.[31] Lincoln was tall, strong, and athletic, and became adept at using an ax.[32] He was an active wrestler during his youth and trained in the rough catch-as-catch-can style (also known as catch wrestling). He became county wrestling champion at the age of 21.[33] He gained a reputation for strength and audacity after winning a wrestling match with the renowned leader of ruffians known as "the Clary's Grove Boys".[34]
In March 1830, fearing another milk sickness outbreak, several members of the extended Lincoln family, including Abraham, moved west to Illinois, a free state, and settled in Macon County.[35][e] Abraham then became increasingly distant from Thomas, in part due to his father's lack of education.