Lincoln parallels

-    with John F. Kennedy
Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives in 1846; JFK in 1946
Lincoln was elected President in 1860; JFK in 1960.
Lincoln's successor was his Vice President a Southerner named Johnson born in 1808;
Kennedy’s successor was his Vice President a Southerner named Johnson born in 1908.
-    with Barack Obama
Lincoln was the first President elected from Illinois; Obama the second.
Both were virtually unknown in the country as well as in their respective parties 24 months before they won the White House.
The heir apparent to their party’s presidential nomination was the senator from New York [William Seward and Hillary Clinton respectively] each of whom was then named Secretary of State.
Each had two young children on entering the White House although Lincoln’s two young boys were far more rambunctious – they would burst into Cabinet meetings to jump on their daddy’s lap; they would routinely charge a nickel ‘admission’ to members of the public who wished to see their father during what Lincoln called ‘Public Opinion Baths. Barack Obama’s two young girls, by contrast, have proven to be far more polite.