Speed, Fanny

Born: 1820-09-16 Jefferson County, Kentucky

Died: 1902-08-10 Louisville, Kentucky

Flourished: Louisville, Kentucky

Alternate name: Henning

Born to a wealthy family near Louisville, Fanny attended boarding school at an academy in Science Hill, Kentucky. In 1841, while staying in the home of her uncle, John Williamson, she became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln and his close friend Joshua F. Speed. Fanny and Speed married on February 15, 1842, and they initially made their home on a farm outside Louisville. In 1851, the Speeds moved into Louisville, where Joshua went into real estate with Fanny's brother, James Henning. Fanny Speed had no children. Born into an Episcopalian family, Fanny became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

Kathleen Jennings, Louisville's First Families (Louisville: Standard, 1920), 83; Robert L. Kincaid, Joshua Fry Speed: Lincoln's Most Intimate Friend (Harrogate, TN: Lincoln Memorial University, 1943), 16-18, 20-21; Gravestone, Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, KY; Western Christian Advocate 68 (20 August 1902), 2.