BERLIN, Pa. (WJAC) — Most people can share at least one story about a run-in with someone famous. Even fewer people can say they're related to someone famous.
A Somerset County man is in that niche group, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone more well-known than his cousin.
Without giving away his last name, Ralph, a Berlin resident since 1983, took a very big interest in his family's genealogy.
But ironically, Ralph may be able to tell you more about his famous relative than he can about his own life.
To Ralph and his family, their relation to this well-known figure really isn’t that big of a deal.
Ralph said, "For us it's basically 'OK. Next subject,'"
But when others find out, they have quite a different reaction.
"Well without using any expletives, most of them are taken back," he said.
If you think you've already made the connection on who Ralph is related to based on his appearance, you can thank his mother for asking him to shave one day.
"I said OK. Went back to the bathroom, shaved the mustache off, came out and said, 'good enough?' and she said good. By that time, she had this picture right here that I have in my hand off the wall, and she said 'Now look at him, Go to the mirror and look at yourself. You look like your cousin.' and your cousin is President Lincoln."
Ralph's relation to President Lincoln was something he knew about well before he took a razor to his mustache.
He's a historian of sorts. He’s done reenactments, speeches, and involved in a slew of historical societies.
This 11th generation Lincoln can tell you practically anything about our 16th president.
But the man who knows so much about Abraham Lincoln can only tell you so much about Ralph Lincoln.
The discovery of a brain tumor in the 1980's ravaged much of his memory prior.
Referring to his memory prior to 1982, Ralph said, "It's garbled up. It's a mess. Most of it I don't remember."
He added, "I looked at photo albums, and they're (just) pictures. They hold nothing else to me except for it's a picture.”
The diagnosis was grim if he underwent surgery
According to Ralph, the doctor said, "I’m going to give you a 50/50 chance of living, a 50/50 chance of being paralyzed, or partially. There’s always a risk."
But the doctor's prediction was even worse if he didn't undergo surgery.
"If I seen the flowers coming up in spring, he didn't think I would see too much past that. And I just said 'do it. Do the surgery.'"
The surgery was a success. Ralph didn't suffer any paralysis. But he says it's still not uncommon for him to forget things about his day-to-day life. So, he keeps a journal.
"So, if I need to pull a reference, say 'What did I do last Monday?' I got a book. I can read it," Ralph said.
The man who sifts through history books is now sifting through history of his own.
Honesty was his cousin's famous trait. For Ralph, it's his optimism. When talking about his bright outlook on life, he said, "I’m not done. I'm off on a new adventure. What lays on the other side? We don't know. And there's only one way to find out."
To learn more about Ralph, his relation to President Lincoln and some of his endeavors, you can access his website here.
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