Although Abraham Lincoln considered his formal education to be defective, from an early age, he compensated by devoting intense effort to self-education through reading. In his twenties, while serving as New Salem postmaster and a member of the Illinois state assembly, Lincoln studied the law and taught himself surveying. After mastering Kirkham's <em>Grammar</em>, he gave his copy to Ann Rutledge, inscribing it: Ann M. Rutledge is now learning grammer [sic]. Ann's tragic death a short time later from typhoid fever ended the couple's future plans.